By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
Northumberland County council heard at its April meeting that the county and individual municipalities will have to work together to solve the parking problem that exists at so many Northumberland County Housing Corporation housing projects.
Housing Service Manager Rebecca Carman said that a presentation on this issue was made at council’s Social Services Standing Committee meeting two weeks ago, at the request of the NCHC board of directors, but Deputy Mayor Mandy Martin asked to hear more details.
The county owns and operates 344 units in five of the county’s seven member municipalities, Carman said. And while there is parking available at these sites, there is not ample parking for visitors, guests and (in some cases) all tenants. The result is that they have to look at managing parking and look at options for the removal of unauthorized vehicles.
As a result of their work with legislative services and legal counsel, it has been determined that the county does not have the authority to formulate bylaws for these locations – a power that resides with the member municipalities.
Carman expressed the hope that the county can work with the municipalities on bylaws that address the problem. And depending on the individual situations, she added, this might mean regulating parking on nearby streets where existing space is especially inadequate.
“This is the first time we are bringing this forward, and what we would like to do is have council support it and begin to reach out to member municipalities to explore the feasibility of this and look for opportunities to work together on implementation,” she said.
“We would be looking at inter-municipal agreements and working with local councils to navigate interested member municipalities with the capacity to support us.”
“I thank staff for getting us down this road,” Councillor Brian Ostrander said, adding that it’s a concern that has arisen in Brighton.
“I think this will help alleviate those concerns,” Ostrander stated.
“It all works better when we are working together.”
