Bendigo council to vote on bid to scrap minimum parking in city centre

It could ease the strain on a separate push by a Hargreaves Mall developer pushing back against a requirement they find room for car parks.

Developer Bendigo Hotel Investments wants to build a 110-room hotel and 100 seat restaurant where the vacant Thomas Jewellers shop sits.

It has proposed building no new car parks, even if it could need as many as 101 on its busiest nights.

It is in the midst of negotiations with the City of Greater Bendigo even as councillors prepare to consider planning scheme changes for the middle of town.

The hotel could become one of the last major projects the city considers under the current rules, in a town where many people are accustomed to parking as close as possible to the business they want to visit.

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Minimum parking laws have been used in the city centre since the middle of the 20^th century but have become increasingly controversial in recent decades, not least because developers can struggle to find the space needed in the middle of an increasingly large city.

Increasing numbers of councils are leaving parking to the private sector. Some have argued, for example, that the laws increase the cost of developments and that costs maintaining them are often passed on to ratepayers.

Bendigo council officers are urging the city to scrap arbitrary parking spot numbers and let businesses decide how many they need.

"They are the ones that need to justify their proposals to financiers for a building to be constructed," it said in a draft parking strategy last November.

"It therefore makes sense that they only provide the parking that is needed for a development to work, not what an arbitrary figure set by bureaucrats many years ago has estimated."

Not everyone is convinced.

Letters to The Bendigo Advertiser's editor and comments on social media consistently show heated responses from people concerned parking is already under pressure.

That said, the council received little critical feedback on the reforms when they were released for public comment late last year.

"The city's proposed approach to car parking was well supported by those submitters that took the time to read the Parking Futures Action Plan," a council officer report prepared ahead of next week's meeting stated.

Those who did write to the council believed parking would still be added to the city centre as part of most developments.

"But (they believed) it would be added at a rate that was appropriate for each development," the report found.

"It also would remove the planning permit trigger for existing buildings, which is a small but significant barrier to small businesses wanting to start up in an established building."

The change would still need to be approved by Victoria's planning minister, which council director of strategy and growth Bernie O'Sullivan said could take time.

"Despite this, if it is adopted by council, it will still be considered by planning staff when making assessments. That's because it represents the council's high level strategic direction," he said.

Currently, BHI would need to build at least 13 car parks to meet mandatory minimums for the restaurant and cafe planned for the hotel's ground floor.

That number might be higher because planning authorities have the power to decide their own numbers for hotels in Bendigo, BHI's traffic consultants say.

Then again, it could be lower, Mr O'Sullivan said.

"Applicants can already apply for exemptions to this minimum, and Council grants these exemptions where appropriate.

The council often waives parking requirements. It charges $10,526 a year for each vanished car space.

Mr O'Sullivan said any incoming reforms would not change the way council would make overall decisions.

"We consider the kind of development, whether it is appropriate for the area, demand, times of use and many other things," he said.

"Parking, including existing on or off street parking (and accessibility to public transport) is just one consideration."

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