A local housing developer says he’s disappointed and a bit frustrated by city council’s rejection of his request to reduce parking requirements for an affordable housing project at 410 Cook St.

Kirk Potter, the president of Energy North Construction, said in an interview Tuesday afternoon the decision comes even after city administration had indicated to members of council that reducing the parking requirements by three stalls, from 11 to eight, was not an issue.

The city’s development review committee reviewed the request for the amendment to the zoning bylaw and did not have an issue, he noted.

Potter said administration had indicated it would be even less of an issue after that section of Cook Street is reconstructed later this year and angle parking on the street is created.

The proposal for the development of a four-storey apartment complex with 16 micro-units and two commercial spaces for lease was not about making money, he said, but rather about providing more affordable housing.

The payback period, Potter said, is 20 years. When you start putting elevators in buildings, it gets expensive, he noted.

“This is not a money-maker,” he said. “I have lived here a long time, and I see some of the substandard housing people are living in and I would like to see that improved.”

He said he would like to ask the three city councillors who voted against the parking reductions why they did not support the affordable housing proposal. (See story above.)

The vote at Monday’s meeting resulted in a three-three tie, as Mayor Dan Curtis is taking a leave of absence while he runs for the Liberal party in the April 12 territorial election. Tie votes result in the proposal being defeated.

In hindsight, said Potter, perhaps council should have delayed the vote until after the election, when Curtis may have been back in the chair.

The mayor was enthusiastic about the proposal, Potter said.

The company president said they’ll have to sit down now with the architect to look at options to redesign the project to make it work.

Providing affordable housing is still the priority, he said.

Through a grant from the Yukon Housing Corp., 10 of the 16 micro-units would have been available as affordable housing for the next 20 years.

Increasing the availability of affordable housing has been identified as a priority by city council.

The councillors who voted against the parking reduction voiced concerns over the impact of increasing on-street parking.

Potter said they were hoping to begin construction in May, but that will be delayed now.

Working with the architect, they’ll have to reconfigure the design, but Potter said he is committed to the 10 affordable housing units, and any shrinkage in the building’s footprint will mean a reduction in the six units that would have been available for regular rent rates.

Potter said he is still hopeful they can proceed. He said he has well over $500,000 sunk into the project so far, not including the purchase of the property.