'We scrounge for that money': Victoria family struggling to afford parking in low-income building

Kassandra Lima sits with her fiancé and the couple's three-year-old son.

Kassandra Lima, her fiancé and their three-year-old son were evicted from their last apartment after the family’s landlord decided to move in.

But the couple qualified for low-income housing, and felt incredibly fortunate to move into a two-bedroom unit in downtown Victoria for $1,200 a month. 

“We managed to get into Pacifica Housing, The Dalmatian,” said Lima.

There they ran into another snag, however – it didn’t come with a parking spot.

The couple now pays nearly $400 per month for a spot through Robbins Parking.

“We scrounge for that money,” Lima said.

The family couldn’t do without their vehicle either, as Lima’s fiancé, Brandon Anderson, is a driver for SkipTheDishes.

“I absolutely need the vehicle to do that,” said Anderson.

“Now we are searching for change in our couch, just trying to afford parking,” said Lima. “It’s just difficult and it doesn’t make sense.”

The family needs their vehicle to earn enough income to afford to pay their subsidized rent.

Aeryn Donald, another tenant of The Dalmatian, has raised the issue before. Donald lives with a disability that affects the soft tissues in the body, and having a vehicle is essential for her daily life.

“My call is to ask City Hall to stop approving low income buildings that don’t have accessible and affordable parking,” Donald told CTV News on July 25.

“We should not be asking low-income people to give up their assets, some of the things that matter most to them in their day to day lifestyle,” said Doug King, the executive director of Together Against Poverty.

The advocacy group says the approval of the building with such limited parking was a short sighted move by the city.

“It’s really problematic,” said King. “You know I think you are starting to see the impacts on the individuals that have moved into this building.”

CTV News reached out to the City of Victoria for comment but was told nobody was available on Friday.

Pacifica Housing rents 20 parking spots from the developer of the building for $255 per month. The non-profit says it would be willing to rent one of those spots to Lima’s family at that cost if any are currently available.

Lima said they would take parking at that cost “in a heartbeat.”

“We’re not looking for free parking,” she said.