A one-hour time limit on three parking spaces at White Rock’s Five Corners will remain in effect despite acknowledgment this week that city staff acted on an unsigned request in making the initial change.
Following a staff review of the matter, council Monday endorsed a recommendation to maintain the parking restrictions, which were implemented in December following complaints of a need for more regular turnover.
Since the change – which affected three of 14 stalls in front of nine businesses at 15202-15228 Pacific Ave. – other area merchants have made repeated demands that it be reversed. They argue it was done without proper consultation; that further studies show the majority of merchants oppose the change; and, that it is negatively impacting business.
Monday, Glynis de Crewe-LeBlanc and Rod LeBlanc reiterated their concerns in a delegation to council. The Lifelong Health partners also questioned the legitimacy of the unsigned Oct. 12 letter that city staff acted on, which claims to come from the property management company and represent six of the complex’s commercial tenants.
LeBlanc said the letter appears to have been cut-and-pasted together, and noted an address it provides for the commercial block is actually that of his own home.
“It is a complete fabrication,” LeBlanc charged. “It was done on false grounds. The disturbing thing is the city has continued to act on bad faith… based on extraneous information and fraudulent information.”
In a package distributed to council, LeBlanc presented a May 26 letter from the property management company that supports a return to the two-hour parking limit.
In discussing staff’s review of the matter, the city’s director of financial services, Sandra Kurylo, confirmed the initial changes to the parking restrictions were made “in good faith” as a result of the Oct. 12 letter, and that she is not aware of any actions taken to clarify who wrote the letter.
A timeline of steps taken in the months following note city surveys found some support for the one-hour stalls, and it was determined that converting three was “a good compromise,” Kurylo said.
In supporting the recommendation, Coun. Al Campbell pointed to an abundance of two-hour spots in the area.
“There are, in fact, 25 other two-hour parking spots,” Campbell said. “There is more than adequate parking.”
He criticized LeBlanc for making “innuendos” against the city and those who requested the change.
Coun. Helen Fathers voted against Kurylo’s recommendation, citing the “very muddy” process it has entailed.
“Puddles of mud are clearer than this whole process has been,” Fathers said. “I can’t support the recommendation. Obviously, new information has come up.”