In a three-to-two vote, council voted in favour of rezoning to allow for reduced parking for the Hope Station House's future facilities.
During the council meeting on June 23, council agreed with District of Hope staff to reduce the required parking for the site's future restaurant and museum. Parking for the restaurant has been reduced from 15 to eight, and parking for the upcoming Hope Museum is being reduced from four to two.
They also voted to allow an accessibility ramp and off-street parking spaces to be accessed directly from the highway and street.
Councillors Pauline Newbigging and Angela Skoglund voted against the rezoning.
Tashme Historical Society, owners of the station house, originally asked for no additional parking to be implemented at the site, and that all their parking needs be met through the existing 21 public parking stalls in the lot.
Newbigging and Skoglund voted against the parking as they were worried about the difficulties it would cause for the Hope Volunteer Search and Rescue office, which is located next to the station house. Both councillors believe that parking should be prioritized for the search and rescue.
"The applicant wants no parking," said Robin Beukins, director of community development. "And they wanted no off-street parking. So, they were proposing that all the parking for the facility be met though public parking areas. However, staff has recommended a partial reduction of the parking as we think zero is too much."
Beukins said staff provided two options for the parking as Tashme is on a tight deadline with their funding.
The decision around the parking sparked a debate with those in attendance. Bud Gardner, owner of Gardner General Motors, said he did not agree with parking being reduced. During the meeting, Gardner said the lot, where the station house is located, does not have enough parking to accommodate staff and customers for the businesses already there.
He also voiced concern about a restaurant operating at the station house as he believes it will have an unfair tax advantage over the other restaurants in town. Council said it does not believe the restaurant will have an unfair advantage and that the restaurant will be operating on the same conditions as the other businesses in the town.
A representative for Tashme was not present during the meeting.
