A massage therapy and acupuncture clinic on Ross Street will create additional parking frustrations in an already congested area, says an apartment owner.
Terry Welty appealed to city council on Monday to reject Andrea Cardwell’s application to rezone a house at 4018 50th St. so that she could open the business.
Welty said he is constantly dealing with drivers who park in tenant stalls.
His apartment building is directly behind a strip of businesses that include a clothing consignment store and an ice-cream shop.
“The more congested you make an area, the less respect people have for tenants that are there,” Welty said. “They say, ‘My 15 minutes of going to the ice-cream shop or going to the massage parlour for 20 minutes is more important than the tenants’ time. They should wait.’”
Police don’t arrive in time to handle complaints, Welty said.
He also claimed prostitutes and drug dealers are on hand after hours.
Andrea Cardwell replied that she wants to work with Welty on addressing area parking problems. Six stalls will be in the rear of the clinic.
“I live close by so I won’t be driving there,” she said. “It’s not a retail business, so there’s not the coming and going.”
Councillor and downtown business owner Lorna Watkinson-Zimmer sympathized with Welty. Based on her experience, it doesn’t take long to get a bylaw officer and a tow truck to come.
“I think now that this has come out, we can help you a little bit more,” she told Welty.
Community Services director Colleen Jensen will facilitate a meeting with the community and the RCMP.
Deputy Mayor Frank Wong was the only member of council to vote against rezoning the house, which was inadvertently half-zoned neighbourhood commercial and half-zoned medium density residential land use district years ago.
He said it should have remained residential.
Councillor Tara Veer said she would like to see an area redevelopment plan for the neighbourhood.
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com