HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.1 Attch 1 CCSR 05-15-2012 iii � `" STAFF REPORT CITY CLERK
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W CITY COUNCIL File #570-20
DATE: May 15, 2012
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Joni Pattillo, City Manager `�.J �..� r ,
SUBJECT: Village Parkway Pilot Parking Program
Prepared by Kristi Bascom, Principal Planner
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Since the adoption of the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan in February 2011, City Staff have been
working to implement the goals and policies of both the Specific Plan and the subsequent
recommendations of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Technical Assistance Panel report. One of
the recommendations from the ULI report was to incentivize more commercial businesses in the
downtown by having greater flexibility in regulatory standards such as the City's parking
requirements. The City Council will provide direction to Staff on testing a parking reduction pilot
program in a portion of the Village Parkway District for a period of three years.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
None at this time.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council provide Staff with direction on whether or not to amend
the Zoning Ordinance to temporarily suspend the parking standards in a portion of the Village
Parkway District for a limited term of three years.
( OP I
Submitted By Reviewed By
Director of Community Development Assistant City Manager
DESCRIPTION:
The overarching goal of the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan (DDSP) is "to create a vibrant,
dynamic commercial and mixed-use center that provides a wide array of opportunities for
shopping, services, dining, working, living, and entertainment in a pedestrian-friendly and
aesthetically pleasing setting that attracts both local and regional residents."
The DDSP established three distinct districts, each including its own set of design standards
tailored to the envisioned uses. The Transit-Oriented District embraces the West Dublin
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ATTACHMENT 1
BART station and is the district where a vast majority of the new residential development in
Dublin is envisioned to take place. The Retail District includes much of the existing retail core
and aims to stimulate infill development and redevelopment of aging buildings and large parking
areas. The Village Parkway District embraces the existing successful service and retail uses
along a "Main Street" corridor, and this district has the most potential to reutilize and re-tenant
existing buildings with more intense uses such as restaurants, service retail, and other local-
serving businesses.
Background
Since before Dublin's incorporation in 1982, the Village Parkway District has been home to
many locally-owned businesses. Several of the property owners along Village Parkway have
owned their properties for many years. Through the years, these owners have expressed an
interest in being able to utilize the existing buildings more intensely. In many cases, more
intense uses are restricted by the amount of parking available on the subject parcel and whether
or not the new user can meet the parking requirements of the City's Zoning Ordinance.
Some property owners have suggested that the Village Parkway District cannot achieve greater
vibrancy and intensity with the City's current parking standards. This suggestion is supported by
the reality that those uses which add vitality to an area — restaurants, bars, entertainment, retail
establishments — would not have sufficient parking on most parcels along Village Parkway due
to the existing building and development patterns in place.
In accordance with Section 8.72 (Off Street Parking and Loading), the parking requirements for
these uses are as follows:
Sit Down Restaurant: 1 parking space per 100 square feet of floor area accessible to
customers plus 1 parking space per 300 square feet of floor area not
accessible to customers.
Specialty Restaurant: 1 per 200 square feet
Bar: 1 per 100 square feet
General Retail: 1 per 300 square feet
Entertainment Uses: Parking requirements vary from 1 per 100 square feet for comedy or
night clubs to parking based on a per seat basis for theaters.
Existing Conditions
A parking analysis completed in 2010 in conjunction with the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan
identified 1,395 off-street parking spaces in the entire Village Parkway District. This district
contains approximately 373,652 square feet of building area, which equates to roughly 1 parking
space for every 268 square feet of building area. This average includes uses that require less
parking, such as warehouse (1 space per 1,000 square feet) as well as uses that require more
parking, such as commercial schools (1 space per 50 square feet of instructional area).
Parking in downtown commercial districts
In downtown areas throughout the Bay Area, cities have taken varying approaches to deal with
the requirement to provide off-street parking. On-street parking is also commonplace. Some
cities, including Pleasanton, have moved to a market-based approach that allows buildings in
the downtown to change uses and complete small additions without requiring additional parking.
Dublin has traditionally had sufficient parking in the downtown to meet the parking requirements
outlined in the Zoning Ordinance. As properties in the downtown districts intensify, the ULI
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study (Attachment 1) recommended examining whether the traditional parking requirements
should continue to apply in all cases. There appear to be property owners in Downtown who
support a market-based approach to parking instead of a regulatory approach.
Under a market-based approach, the DDSP would continue to regulate the use types, but
parking requirements of the use types would not be a consideration. Under this approach,
parking supply and demand would be managed by the property owners and tenants, and not
regulated by the City. It would become the responsibility of the property owners, property
managers, and businesses to lease tenant spaces to the right combination of users to ensure
that there is sufficient parking to serve the businesses and their customers.
Proposed Pilot Program
A pilot program to test a market-based approach for parking is one way of testing the concept to
see if it could be successful in Downtown Dublin as a whole. Staff has discussed the pilot
program concept with two property owners on Village Parkway who have experienced
limitations on their ability to lease their property due to the City's parking requirements. The
area to test a proposed market-based parking reduction pilot program is shown on Figure 1
below.
Figure 1
The address range of the proposed
-.w ,e4 in. study area is all of the even
13° ;: .+► numbers between 7016 and 7150
Village Parkway.
. - The 4.3-acre area consists of four
• f properties owned by two owners.
y - 1. Each building has multiple tenant
.rig. spaces that house a variety of uses
, including retail, indoor recreation,bar/restaurant, auto repair and
'.-.•- s. • service, warehouse, and personal•
y ss. , service. There is a total of 76,160
Nt- " ' ` square feet of building area and
j: > 160 parking spaces spread
k: throughout the properties.
Staff believes that this section of
Village Parkway would be an
. P interesting location to test a pilot•
• ,�' , market-based parking program for
•=7. 191, ; several reasons:
• "' ° 1. The buildings on these
properties are located close to the street, which makes them good candidates for more
active uses.
2. There is on-street parking in front of these buildings that could be utilized by customers.
3. The four parcels are fairly self-contained. If the pilot program leads to more intensive
parking demands, it is expected that there would be limited spillover parking onto other
Village Parkway properties.
4. The property owners have expressed a willingness to try a market-based approach.
If the City Council would like Staff to pursue a pilot market-based parking program for these four
parcels on Village Parkway, Staff would:
1. Prepare amendments to Chapter 8.72 (Off Street Parking and Loading) of the Zoning
Ordinance to temporarily waive the parking requirements on the parcels noted above
during the pilot program;
2. Meet with the two property owners to review the proposed amendments and program
details;
3. Send a notice to all property owners and businesses within the Village Parkway District
notifying them of the pilot program and seeking their input on the concept;
4. Prepare the appropriate environmental review;
5. Send out Public Hearing Notices to all property owners and businesses within the Village
Parkway District and within 300 feet of the District; and
6. Prepare Staff Reports for the Planning Commission and City Council.
It is estimated that Staff would spend approximately 40 hours on research, meetings, and
preparing the necessary documents and outreach materials. The City Attorney is estimated to
spend approximately 8 hours on the project.
NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH:
Public notices are not required on items where the City Council is providing feedback or
direction. Staff met with the two affected property owners and they expressed support for the
pilot program described in this Staff Report.
Notification of the meeting and a copy of the Staff Report was provided to the two subject
property owners. Future public hearings on this topic will be noticed in accordance with State
Law.
ATTACHMENTS: 1. Urban Land Institute Technical Assistance Panel Report, July 2011
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