The City of Regina could begin laying the groundwork for a tax on standalone surface parking lots located in the city’s centre. At Wednesday’s meeting, Regina’s executive committee will discuss a recommendation that could eventually lead to the creation of a property tax subclass for standalone surface parking lots (SSPLs). The tax subclass would apply to SSPLs in areas that have established intensification boundaries, with a focus on the Warehouse District, Downtown and Centre Square. This would also transition surface parking lots that are owned by the city toward residential and commercial use. If approved at the following council meeting, city administration will be tasked with drafting a report that would follow the completion of the City Centre Transportation Study and Parking Travel Demand Strategy. The report would outline the findings of those studies and be presented to council by Q4 of 2028, along with a recommended delivery plan and implementation timelines. The city defines SSPLs as vacant properties that don’t contain a building and are used exclusively for parking. There are currently 142 SSPLs located within Regina’s city centre, representing 19 per cent of sites within the city’s Underutilized Land Inventory. According to an administration, 58 per cent of city centre SSPLs are used by private businesses to provide customer or employee parking and about 30 per cent operate as public parking facilities. Redevelopment of existing SSPLs has been limited — as only four sites have been removed from the underutilized land inventory since 2019. Administration points to site contamination, market and financial restraints as obstacles to redevelopment along with the continued need for parking to support residential tenants, customers, employees and broader business attraction and workforce retentions efforts. According to Wednesday’s agenda. A city centre SSPL subclass would not increase the total amount of property tax revenue collected by the city. Instead, it would redistribute the burden by increasing property taxes on city centre SSPLs while cutting taxes and all other commercial properties citywide. The agenda also revealed that through administration’s engagement, stakeholders have expressed “limited confidence” that a city centre SPPL property tax subclass would effectively reduce the number of existing SSPLs or encourage redevelopment. The report cited concerns like lower profit margins for operators and higher parking rates for users as possible causes for concern. The associated City Centre Transportation Study and Parking Travel Demand Strategy would need $400,000 in general capital funding, subject to approval through the 2027-28 budget process. Representatives from the Regina and District Chamber of Commerce, Mitchell Developments and the Brandt Group of Companies are expected to speak on the topic as delegates during Wednesday’s meeting. Parking ticket collection In another issue concerning parking, executive committee will discuss amendments to Regina’s traffic bylaw that would see increased fees for parking violations. Most of the proposed new fees represent a $15 increase over existing penalties. The recommendation also directs administration to create two full-time positions to be considered during 2027-28 budget deliberations that would start a program for parking immobilization and seizure for unpaid parking tickets. Additionally, the recommendation contains a measure that would direct administration to include $250,000 for consideration during 2027-28 budget talks. Councillors will also hear from representatives of Regina Public Library regarding its 2027 budget submission. The executive committee meeting is set to begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
