The parking lot that was established at the site of the downtown fire in 2023 (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

By Liam Verster

Parking Lot Woes

Vernon property owner frustrated with delays in establishing a new parking lot downtown

Mar 13, 2025 | 12:00 PM

The owner of the property that was ravaged by a fire has been trying to establish a new parking lot in downtown Vernon, but has become frustrated wit the delays and hoops he’s had to jump through.

Gary Batula owns the property at the intersection of 30th Street and 29th Avenue, which used to house a number of businesses including the Okanagan Eatery, until the fire in July of 2023 completely destroyed the structure.

Batula had the debris cleared from the property and filled in the hole at the site, and started working with Impark in the hopes of establishing a new parking lot.

The property owner said Impark was overseeing the logistics, such as how many spaces could be established at the site and running the meters, and they believed they had the same zoning as the city parking lot down the road.

“On December 6, [2024,] we weren’t even open for two days, I don’t even think there was anybody parked there, and it was shut down by bylaw the next day,” Batula told Vernon Matters.

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He said there was an apparent zoning issue and he applied for a Development Variance Permit, though more than three months later that hasn’t been granted.

“Now [the city is] sending out letters, the input process is what I think they call it where they send out notifications to the neighbours, newspaper advertisements, website packages,” Batula said, adding he believes there’s a need for more parking downtown, especially with the plan for the Greater Vernon Cultural Centre to take up some of those located in the city’s downtown lot,

“We know there’s [a need] for parking downtown, we don’t need to do a study to figure that out.

“The neighbours have approached us, from the Kal to lawyers downtown to the Friendship Centre beside us, have all approached us about parking for that parking lot. But yet we still have to go out to survey to make sure that we need the parking that we need.”

If and when approved, the parking lot at the corner of 30th St. and 29th Ave. could have roughly 40 spots on site.

Batula said he wished that the process could be sped up so the lot could be opened and operational.

The City of Vernon responded to Vernon Matters’ request for comment on the delays opening the lot, stating:

“There is a process for approving every application, and the timeline for approval depends on when that process begins.The City of Vernon has been working with the applicant through the required permitting steps. A timeline has been provided, and the application is progressing, including the necessary public notification, which is expected to take a few weeks. Once that step is complete, the permit could be issued.”

Batula added the fire that destroyed the building remained classified as suspicious, but no arrests had been made or charges laid.

He said that fact, accompanied by the hoops he’s had to jump through to get this parking lot operational, has made him very hesitant to opening any other businesses in Vernon.