Parking in Waterloo Region

[Markster]

TriTAG is reporting an interesting development from Kitchener's zoning bylaw review:

http://www.tritag.ca/blog/2016/06/16/a-p...kitchener/

The big game changer though, is found in this clause:

   In a UGC-1, UGC-3, or UGC-4 zone, an exemption from the parking spaces required in Table 5-3 may apply up to the first 10,000 m2 of gross floor area of buildings on a lot for non-residential uses, and up to the first 100 dwelling units for residential uses.

Essentially, new or repurposed buildings downtown that have less than 10,000 square metres of floor space, (or fewer than 100 units), would see no parking requirements at all. Considering that structured or underground parking costs $20,000-50,000 per space, this could greatly reduce the cost of new development and consequently, housing. It could also lead to blocks with more active frontages, since there would be less need for driveways or garage entrances if a developer opts for no parking at all.

You can see the clause itself in here:
http://www.kitchener.ca/en/insidecityhal...tion-5.pdf

This is actually pretty phenomenal, and I'm actually having a hard time believing that this isn't a typo.  It's very strictly limited to downtown, as that is the only place you find UGC zones.  UGC-2, the one not included, is the "Civic District", bounded by Weber, Queen, Ellen, and Frederick.

Are they really, actually, going to permit, as of right, a parking-free, 99-unit apartment tower above a 10,000m2 retail/office?

If so, that's amazing. It allows downtown to be built back up to its old pre-war form. Projects no longer need to be massive lot-consolidations, just to be able to build the density to support the parking requirements.