Office and day care staff working out of the building at 478 Range Rd. will continue sharing the 13 parking stalls there now.

On Monday evening, city council voted 4-2 to give the property a restricted zone to permit just the 13 spots.

In doing so, council opted not to move to a mixed use commercial zone. That would have granted permission for as few as six parking spots or required the building's owners to prepare another required six parking stalls on the neighbouring property to keep the Neighbourhood Commercial zone.

Council's decision means that while the owners – Borud Enterprises – can keep their parking stalls to 13 in what would normally be a 19-stall zone.

However, it must meet all the other requirements of the Neighbourhood Commercial zone.

Councillors Betty Irwin and Dave Stockdale voted against the restricted zoning.

"I am really opposed to spot zoning,” Irwin said.

The move will set a precedent, she predicted, and means that anyone can look for a way out of meeting the parking rules on his or her property.

Like Irwin, Stockdale voiced his support for the option that the Boruds put the additional six stalls on their adjacent property that would be required without the rezoning or restricted zoning.

"I'm just not comfortable with this,” he said of the restricted zone, after noting there were "too many alarm bells” going off for him to offer support to it.

The building had met its initial parking requirements in the Neighbourhood Commercial zone when the only business there was a day care. However, the addition of office tenants, including the Northern Safety Network Yukon and Environmental Dynamics Inc., required there to be 19 parking spaces.

Borud then approached the city and eventually sought to have the property's zoning changed to mixed use commercial on the advice of planners, company co-owner Dave Borud told city council in an earlier presentation.

When the proposal came forward to council though, members took issue with what the rezoning could mean down the road.

While Borud informed the city his company has no plans to reduce the parking to six spots or expand the building, under the mixed use zoning, the owners could do that.

Though Borud may not have any such plans, council members argued there would be nothing to stop any future owners of the property from doing so.

Council then deferred its decision, instructing city staff to look at another solution.

On Monday, a new report was presented to council proposing the restricted zoning.

"The purpose of the ‘restricted' designation would be to allow for the variance to the parking requirements (19 decreased to 13 stalls) and to remove the 25 per cent limit for office use on the first floor,” notes the report presented to council by land development supervisor Pat Ross.

"The provision of 13 stalls on the property would be set as a requirement of additional parking stalls triggered by future changes of use.

"Any future development or change of use resulting in a total parking requirement exceeding 19 stalls would be subject to the standard zoning parking requirements.”

While Irwin and Stockdale voiced their opposition, other council members were pleased with the new proposal.

"We're here to encourage development,” Coun. Dave Austin said in expressing his support.

In this case, Coun. Doug Graham said, the change isn't a major one. With 13 parking spots, Borud was short only six, he pointed out.

"I don't think this is particularly bad,” he commented, pointing out the city has made exceptions for other cases in the past because regulations don't always meet everyone's needs.

Coun. Ranj Pillai was absent from Monday's meeting. He is away this week representing the city at the Hockey Day In Canada festivities in Stratford, Ont.