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The City of Edmonton will soon begin cracking down on unpermitted parking lots in the downtown core, including fines and cutting off site access.
Surface parking lots made headlines a few years ago because a city report found 90 per cent of those in central neighbourhoods were operating without a permit.
City council launched a program in 2024 to bring the lots into compliance, with a pathway to getting a temporary permit — provided site owners improved landscaping, drainage and lighting.
The fast-approaching deadline to access that program is June 30. After that, the period of voluntary compliance is over.
“It’s important that we’re all abiding by the rules,” Coun. Anne Stevenson said in an interview.
“It’s just not tenable to leave surface parking lots that are unlicensed as they are.”
The city has bought this lot with plans to turn it into a pocket park. Coun. Anne Stevenson says it went up for sale as the city works to bring unlicensed lots into compliance. (Emily Williams/CBC)
Stevenson said the city wants owners to either develop their land, sell it or bring their lot into compliance.
According to a memo written to councillors this week, there were 113 lots identified that could be brought into compliance under the program.
In the year-and-a-half application period, 66 applications were made. As of June 23, only 18 had been approved.
Multiple warning letters were sent to owners of lots in 2025 and 2026.
“After June 30, administration will initiate progressive enforcement including stop orders and regular penalty fines starting at $1,000, escalating to mandatory court summons on locations without a valid development permit,” the memo reads.
It goes on to say if that doesn’t work, city staff may block off site access and charge the cost back to the owner.
“It’s a good first step,” said Downtown Edmonton Community League president Cheryl Probert.
She said the fact that only 66 lot owners applied for the program is a little surprising.
“I do think that 18 months to get an application together and get it submitted should have been more than adequate time for any motivated business owner to do that.
“It’s quite generous as far as I’m concerned.”
Cheryl Probert, president of the Downtown Edmonton Community League, said she’d like to see more parking lots converted to green space downtown. (Emily Williams/CBC)
Stevenson said while derelict parking lots have been an issue in the core for decades, the scale of the problem and resources needed for enforcement meant that it never got dealt with.
She said she’s glad to see that’s changing, whether it’s problem buildings like Dwayne’s Home, the old downtown BMO site or derelict properties.
“We’ve proven that we can do it with really persistent focus and energy.”
Success and room to grow
Some lot owners that didn’t want to come into compliance, instead chose to sell.
Both Stevenson and Probert pointed to O-day’min Park previously having been gravel parking lots, and another site at 100th Avenue and 103rd Street where the city bought a parking lot with the intention of turning it into a pocket park.
Probert said she’d like to see even more lots be converted to green space downtown, noting that there’s an abundance of parking in the area.
An area that continues to be a hot spot for gravel parking lots is the Quarters, east of 97th Street, Stevenson said.“I think that’s likely to be an area of focus moving forward.”