Saint John crackdown on parking lots unfair says developer
CBC News | Posted: December 9, 2015 9:55 PM | Last Updated: December 9, 2015
Paul Daeres and his two children were charged with operating illegal parking lots in the uptown
The City of Saint John was in court this week, laying charges against what it says are illegal parking lots in uptown Saint John.
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Paul Daeres and his two children, who own three of the lots, were charged, which Daeres says is "unfair and …ridiculous."
Daeres says he pays property tax for the lots and, despite what the city says, claims all but one are zoned correctly.
He acknowledges one lot on Germain Street is not properly zoned, but he says it will continue to operate because his clients have paid for spots until next May.
"I have a problem how they enforce the bylaw. They make bylaw in June, middle of June, in July they want you to close down. You have customers to look after for 20, 30 years. You're not going to kick them on the street."
Litsa Daeres, his daughter, says she already closed her parking lot on Garden Street, but thought she had more time to do so.
"When we went to court yesterday, or got summonsed for having a illegal parking lot, it was a little bit of a misunderstanding because my brother and I thought we were at the deadline for it."
In mid-September, city council authorized legal action against the owners of a number of unregistered parking lots after receiving a report from city staff.
The owners of 31 other lots are now in discussions with the city to bring their properties into compliance, but Paul Daeres says he feels he's being targeted unfairly with legal action.
He believes it's an attempt to push people to park in the underused Peel Plaza lot, an assessment with which Saint John councillor Donna Reardon disagrees.
"From my perspective, absolutely not. I mean that will be a benefit to that parking lot, to that parking garage. The bottom line is that empty lots in your neighbourhood and in the city of Saint John are not good. They are not economic drivers."
The Daeres family has pleaded not guilty to the charges and will be back in court in February.