Coast Mountain Sports could soon be landing on Free Parking.

City council gave first reading of a rezoning bylaw that would remove the requirement for the shop to make 11 off-street parking spots available by zoning it Core Commercial (restricted) rather than the current Core Commercial zone.

The shop is in the former Bonanza Inn, which would have required more parking spots under the current bylaw except that it was built prior to the parking regulations being developed and so didn't have to provide the spaces.

That left the outdoor store with no parking spots and facing a potential payment of $205,766 to go to the city's parking reserve in lieu of spaces (at $18,706 per space not provided).

It was the change in how the building is used from a hotel to a shop which triggered the parking requirement.

"I believe as we're moving forward with the future of Whitehorse, we're going to see more densification downtown and this is going to be an issue that comes up," Mayor Bev Buckway said. "And it might well be that as our buildings do go higher and the lots are filled in, you're not going to see other places for parking."

Buckway's comments came after Coun. Florence Roberts pointed out there could be a number of businesses which end up in the same situation as Coast Mountain Sports as the use of downtown buildings, which previously didn't have to meet parking regulations, changes.

While she suggested some buildings could be grandfathered in, planning manager Mike Gau noted each business would have to apply individually for the rezoning as the building use changes.

Though Coun. Dave Stockdale said there's an "obvious" need for a change in the regulations, he questioned whether it's practical and could eventually lead to the city needing a parkade.

Both councillors Dave Austin and Jeanine Myhre supported the move. Myhre argued it will mean making use of older buildings rather than tearing them down and building new structures.

There could be benefits for the city as well in encouraging residents to use buses instead of personal vehicles, Buckway said.

Similar situations came up when the Tim Hortons near Main Street and the newest Starbucks on the downtown street were developed. Tim Hortons was able to work out a three-way agreement on another property to provide parking, while Starbucks found the required space in a nearby lane.

With first reading approved, the city will now send out notices to nearby property owners informing them of the application and asking for comments.

Normally sent to properties within 100 metres of the site up for rezoning, in this case Buckway proposed the notice be extended to a 200-metre radius to catch more properties. Ads will also be placed in the newspapers on Friday and June 6 to notify people of the June 23 public hearing on the issue.

"It would be imperative we hear from people in the downtown area and ... this is not just people on Main Street. We want to hear from people in the downtown core," Buckway said.

Following the public hearing next month, a report on the comments would come to council on July 7, with second and third readings of the rezoning proposed for July 14.