The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday April 30, 2008 - 5 It will take more than a doctor to fix parking dispute at medical building Landlord's paid parking request uncovers bylaw infraction By Tina Depko OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF It was standing room only at the planning and development council meeting on Monday night as more than 100 local residents came out to show solidarity against a bylaw amendment that would see pay parking at the Trafalgar Professional Centre. The property located at 1235 Trafalgar Rd. is a busy medical centre, housing everything from family doctors and radiologists to orthodontists and a drug store. The lawyer representing the building's owner, Northwest Healthcare Properties, fielded questions from councillors before more than a dozen delegates made their opinions known on the issue. The general consensus among the crowd was that the paid parking proposal of the bylaw amendment is unacceptable. "I think paid parking is unnecessary and a bad idea," said David Posen, a long-time physician in Oakville, who has been a tenant of the Trafalgar Professional Centre for 21 years. "What public good would be served by paid public parking? I can't find any." The issue is larger than just whether to allow Northwest Healthcare Properties to charge for parking. The root of the parking woes actually stems from the medical office overuse of the building. The problem was revealed in January 2007 when Lakeshore Group, on behalf of Northwest Healthcare Properties, applied for a zoning amendment to permit a paid parking system with a kiosk and gates to deter what it claimed was illegal parking on site. However, the application revealed that the medical building does not comply with the Town's bylaws in regards to both building usage and parking. The Town of Oakville does not allow building owners to put medical offices in the basement or on the first floor, with the maximum amount of space allowed for medical office use on the second, third and fourth floors being 2,092.46 square metres. The proposal by the owners of the building on Trafalgar revealed that nearly the entire building -- or 5,634.2 square metres -- was being used for medical purposes. The high medical usage of the building revealed a corresponding deficiency in parking. There are 221 spaces on site, but 64 are used by the apartment buildings located to the east, leaving 157 spaces. The building's owner was previously approved by the committee of adjustment to use 32 parking spaces for staff at Trinity United Church's lot. However, Northwest Healthcare Properties representatives said Monday night that a separate arrangement has been made to utilize 72 spots at Trinity United Church. Regardless, a Town bylaw states that there must be one parking spot for every 23.2 square metres of area in a medical building. This means that the required parking spaces for the current medical use of the Since 1968 Auto and Home Insurance We find the right price, coverage and service for you. We deliver outstanding personal service: · When you call our office we ask for your name, not your account number. · You speak to the same person every time you call so we know who you are. · Proudly serving Oakville for 40 years. Please call us today for a Home & Auto Quote www.dobson-toncic.com 101-2020 Winston Park Drive, Oakville ON, L6H 6X7 See Plan page 13 905-829-2907 A Reason to Celebrate! Thank you Oakville! We've been awarded the 2007 Oakville Business Excellence Award for Entrepreneur of the Year, presented by the Oakville Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club of Oakville. We're honoured to be recognized in this way by the Oakville business community, our peers, and especially our Customers! A Special Offer from SupperWorks! Add a FREE entrée to your order! h on all orders placed between April 30th and May 31st on any 6, 9 or 12 entrée order. E-mail info@supperworks.com or call 905-827-8433 with your order number and your choice of free entrée (from the same menu) and we'll add it to your order at no charge. It's simply our way to say, "Thank you!" We look forward to seeing you soon! Chris and Joni, SupperWorks Rotary Club of Oakville West 481 North Service Road West (just east of 4th Line), Unit A24, Oakville 905-827-8433 | www.SupperWorks.com