"Absolutely not true": Vancouver developer refutes condo owner's parking stall claims
Wesgroup Properties is refuting the claims of a new condo owner who said that his parking stall did not meet the City of Vancouver’s size requirements.
Sunny Lee told Daily Hive Urbanized he was upset that he could barely fit his car into a parking stall he had received just weeks ago at the Wesgroup Properties Avalon3 development.
Lee was assigned a stall and paid $2,500 to upgrade it to one that included electric vehicle charging capabilities. Lee told Daily Hive Urbanized that a member of the home possession team agreed that his stall was substantially smaller than the other stalls.
Daily Hive Urbanized spoke with Wesgroup Properties Senior Vice President of Development Brad Jones, who says that Lee’s claims are wrong.
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“It’s disappointing and unfortunate this story has gotten to where it’s gotten to, suggesting that requirements haven’t been met. That is absolutely not true,” Jones said.
According to a statement from Wesgroup, the measurement photo illustrates that the stall is approximately 91 inches to centreline, which complies with Vancouver city regulations.
“For clarity, 91″ equals 2.3 m, which is the permitted width of a small car stall per the City of Vancouver Parking and Loading Design Supplement.”
The statement goes on to say, “City of Vancouver Parking and Loading Design Supplement notes ‘column encroachments up to 0.15 m (6”) on small car stalls are also acceptable provided the required setbacks as noted in (b) above are met.'”
Lee claims the column in the parking stall encroaches 10 cm (4”) into the parking stall, which Wesgroup states that according to the City is less than the permitted 6” allowance.
According to Jones, the City dictates and regulates the breakdown of each type of stall. Jones said that when a development is two years out, they’re not able to guarantee a purchaser what type of parking stall they will receive. The stalls are assigned at random.
It’s important to note that Lee drives an SUV, which he has to try and fit into a small car space.
“This project went through two years of development permit and building permit processing,” said Jones, adding that all of the City’s requirements were met.
Daily Hive Urbanized asked Jones if he believes parking stalls in Vancouver developments have become increasingly small over time.
“I believe that over the last decade plus, as there’s been smaller vehicles on the market, we are starting to see and have seen the stall sizes change. I think it’s a result of urban development.”
Jones mentioned how there’s more that needs to be crammed into developments like bike parking stalls, storage lockers, and all of the utility and service infrastructure.
“And so, I don’t know that we’ve seen parking stalls get smaller, I think we’ve seen the concept of small car stalls become more prevalent over the last 10 years.”
Wesgroup forwarded a letter from the architect who gave his stamp of approval on the lot, but Lee says the City is still planning on sending someone over to Lee’s building on Thursday morning to verify.
In a statement to Daily Hive Urbanized, the City of Vancouver said that City staff regularly review development drawings to ensure requirements are met.
“Our inspectors are looking into this issue and will follow up with the resident, and if needed, the developer with next steps. We encourage the resident to reach out to the developer for interim parking.”
You can view the City of Vancouver parking stall guidelines here.
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