‘Ottawa’ Court says ByWard Market Condo Board Can Block Parking Bid Over Security Concerns
Living in the ByWard Market has its benefits: ready access to bars and eateries, proximity to the National Gallery of Canada, living a short stroll from Parliament Hill.
But it also comes with a higher-than-usual crime rate and a large transient population, which tends to make residents more security conscious than most.
A case newly settled by Ontario’s Court of Appeal underscores that tension.
A commercial owner in the Place St. George condominium at 160 George St. approached the condo board in 2012 with a plan to convert about 30 existing monthly parking spaces to 24/7 pay-and-display hourly parking.
The board balked. “That was not in keeping with the security and safety posture that we maintain, so we said no,” said Gordon Diamond, the condo board president.