Three Leamington taxi companies could see their licenses revoked over parking concerns.
A new by-law passed by the municipality at the end of 2016 required the companies to have designated parking.
Director of Legal and Legislative Services, Ruth Orton, says the taxi companies in town were given six months notice with the deadline set for June 30 to have site plan approval. However, Orton says all three companies missed the deadline.
Cabs aren't allowed to park on any municipal roadway or property in Leamington.
Orton says cab parking was one of the main issues council considered when drafting the new by-law.
"Complaints we received were that taxicabs were taking up some of the spaces that were really for some of the patrons of our uptown businesses," says Orton.
Orton says the municipality was in regular communication with the cab companies after giving notice of the need for new parking arrangements.
"We followed up in March when we had not received any applications for site plan approval and we followed up again just prior to them receiving notice of this hearing."
As far as Nader's Taxi owner Imad Alaskar is concerned, new designated parking shouldn't be an issue tied to a licence to operate cabs.
His business leases space and Alaskar feels it's the landlord should be made to comply.
"If there's something wrong with the building, they don't want us to use it it — like a taxicab company — they should talk to the landlord and let us know to move from that place," says Alaskar. "We can go to look for someplace else."
Orton says a hearing on Monday will decide if the licensing issue for the cab companies.
"Really, it's the committee's decision as to what happens with their licenses," says Orton. "It's not an automatic revocation as there is some miscommunication that's out in the public that it's an automatic revocation — it is not."
Alaskar doesn't want to see his licence revoked.
"That means I'm going to sit on the road," says Alaskar. "I'm going to sell my house because I'm going to lose my house actually because I just bought and they're going to take it and I have two kids at university."
The Appeal Committee Hearing is set for Monday at 4pm in Leamington Council Chambers.
Sun Parlor Taxi, Leamington Yellow Taxi and Nader's Taxi are all set to appear before the hearing for failing to comply with the taxicab by-law.
A fourth cab company in Leamington has until the end of the year to comply with the parking requirement because of a two-step process it undertook with the municipality.