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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 8.2 Shared Parking ReportG~~~ OF~DU~~~ ~9' ~-' _~' `82 ~~~~~i~ ~ ~~~~~l STAFF REPORT CITY CLERK DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL File # ^®©~]-®® DATE: April 20, 2010 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers FROM: Joni Pattillo, City Manager SUBJECT: Informational Report on Shared Parking Prepared By: Marnie R. Waffle, Senior Planner~~ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: As part of the 2009/2010 Goals and Objectives, the City Council established goals to review parking standards and examine the City's Zoning Ordinance requirements to streamline entitlements for businesses seeking to locate in the City of Dublin. As part of this effort, the City Council has adopted Zoning Ordinance amendments related to Indoor Recreational Facilities and Large Family Day Care Homes and is currently considering amendments related to Eating and Drinking Establishments and Outdoor Seating. The focus of this Staff Report is on shared parking which occurs when two or more uses are located on the same site and share a parking lot. FINANCIAL IMPACT: No financial impact. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council: 1) Receive Staff's presentation and 2) Direct Staff to prepare Zoning Ordinance Amendments that would allow shared parking to be reviewed through the Minor Use Permit process. b i e By Community Development Director Revie y Assistant City Manager Page 1 of 8 ITEM NO. ~ ' 2' DESCRIPTION: As part of the 2009/2010 Goals and Objectives, the City Council identified the review of parking standards and examination of Zoning Ordinance requirements to streamline entitlements for businesses seeking to locate in the City of Dublin. As part of this effort, the City Council has adopted Zoning Ordinance amendments related to Indoor Recreational Facilities and Large Family Day Care Homes and is currently considering amendments related to Eating and Drinking Establishments and Outdoor Seating. These amendments ease the permitting and parking requirements for these Use Types. The focus of this report is shared parking which occurs when two or more uses are located on the same site and share a parking lot. ANALYSIS: Chapter 8.76 (Off-Street Parking and Loading Regulations) of the Dublin Zoning Ordinance contains parking requirements for all Use Types. When two or more Use Types are located on the same site and share a parking lot, the amount of parking required is the sum of each Use Type. The Zoning Ordinance does not contain a shared parking standard. When the sum of each Use Type is more than the amount of parking provided on the site, adjustments or reductions may be granted. These adjustments include compact car substitution; motorcycle space substitution; off-site parking; parking exceptions (10% reduction); parking reductions for an individual use; parking reductions for shared parking; and parking variances. A brief discussion of each type of parking adjustment is included below. • Compact car substitution is allowed in parking lots with 20 or more parking spaces. It is commonly used in newer shopping center designs and has the potential to yield additional parking due to the reduced size requirements of a compact car parking stall. Up to 35% of the required parking spaces may be provided with compact stalls. • Motorcycle parking is allowed in parking lots with 40 or more parking spaces. In such cases, one regular parking space may be replaced with motorcycle parking for every 40 required spaces. • Off-Site Parking is allowed with the approval of a Conditional Use Permit by the Zoning Administrator when the required number of parking spaces cannot be provided on the same site as the approved use. • Parking exceptions may be granted by the Community Development Director for up to 10% of the required parking spaces due to unusual design situations. • A Parking Reduction for an Individual Use is allowed with the approval of a Conditional Use Permit by the Zoning Administrator when the Applicant believes the number of parking spaces required for their use is not applicable because the use would function differently than the generic use type and associated parking standards contained in the Zoning Ordinance. • A Parking Reduction for Shared Parking is also allowed with the approval of a Conditional Use Permit by the Zoning Administrator when two or more adjacent use types, by their nature and operating times, would not conflict with one another. Page 2 of 8 Shared Parking reductions are the most common parking reductions requested and typically occur in commercial shopping centers or light industrial zoning districts. • A Parking Variance is allowed with the approval of a Variance by the Zoning Administrator, Planning Commission or City Council for all other requests to deviate from the required parking standards. This option is rarely, if ever, used as the other parking exceptions have been found to be adequate to accommodate requests for parking reductions. This report focuses on shared parking which occurs when two or more Use Types are located on the same site and share a parking lot. Shared Parking Shared parking occurs any time two or more Use Types are located on the same site and share a parking lot such as in a shopping center. As noted above, the Dublin Zoning Ordinance does not have a parking standard for shared parking and requires that the sum of all Use Types be provided. However, when the amount of parking provided in a parking lot is less than the required sum of all Use Types, a request for shared parking can be made. A shared parking request is subject to review and approval of a Conditional Use Permit by the Zoning Administrator if all of the following conditions are met: • The Conditional Use Permit findings can be made. • A sufficient number of spaces is provided to meet the greatest parking demands of the participating use types and to ensure that there will not be a parking deficiency. • Satisfactory evidence is provided that the use types, by their natures and operating times, will not conflict with each another. • Overflow parking will not adversely affect any adjacent use. • Additional documents, covenants, deed restrictions or other agreements as may be deemed necessary by the Zoning Administrator are executed to assure that the required parking spaces provided are maintained and that uses with similar hours and parking requirements as those uses sharing the parking facilities remain for the life of the documents, covenants, deed restrictions, or other agreements. Recent Zoning Ordinance amendments modified the approval process for shared parking requests associated with Indoor Recreational Facilities. Under the new process, the Community Development Director reviews shared parking through the Minor Use Permit process. Further discussion on the Minor Use Permit process is provided below. All other requests for shared parking are subject to the Conditional Use Permit process. In order to determine whether sufficient parking is provided to meet the greatest parking demands of all Use Types so that there will not be a parking deficiency, a parking study is conducted and a report prepared by a registered traffic engineer. The traffic engineer evaluates the nature and operating times of the Use Types affected to determine peak demand periods. Page 3 of 8 Parking counts are conducted during peak demand periods to determine whether sufficient parking is available to meet the greatest parking demands of all Use Types and whether overflow parking would be an adverse impact. The data is presented in the traffic engineer's report. Following the completion of the parking study, a public hearing is held before the Zoning Administrator to determine whether to grant a Conditional Use Permit for shared parking. A Staff Report is prepared along with a Resolution recommending either approval or denial of the shared parking request. A public notice is published in the newspaper 10 days prior to the public hearing and mailed to all property owners and tenants within 300-feet of the project site where shared parking is being requested. The cost to the applicant for the City to process a Conditional Use Permit request for shared parking is a flat fee of $750. This flat fee amount covers approximately 6 hours of Staff time to process the Conditional Use Permit request. The cost associated with any additional Staff time is covered by the City. In addition to the application fee, the cost associated with preparing a parking study is charged to the applicant. The cost of a shared parking study varies depending on the scale of the project and the scope of work. Parking studies could range from $3,000 - $15,000. When a shared parking request is associated with a Use Type that is subject to approval of a Conditional Use Permit, the shared parking request is processed concurrently with the land use application that is subject to a Conditional Use Permit. However, not all shared parking requests are associated with conditionally permitted uses. In such cases, while the Use Type is permitted by-right, a Conditional Use Permit would be required for the shared parking request. Minor Use Permit One common Use Type associated with shared parking requests is the Indoor Recreational Facility. Recent amendments to the Zoning Ordinance established a Staff level approval (Zoning Clearance) for Indoor Recreational Facilities and a Staff level approval (Minor Use Permit) for shared parking requests associated with such facilities. These amendments replaced the Conditional Use Permit process for shared parking with the Minor Use Permit process. A Minor Use Permit for shared parking for an Indoor Recreational Facility is reviewed by Staff for compliance with the Chapter 8.76 (Off-Street Parking and Loading Regulations). A parking study is prepared to evaluate parking demand, the operational characteristics of affected Use Types, and overflow parking. A public notice is mailed out to all properties within 300-feet of the project 10 days prior to a decision being made by the Community Development Director. The Community Development Director's decision is appealable to the Planning Commission. While the Minor Use Permit process for shared parking for Indoor Recreational Facilities does not eliminate the need for preparing a parking study, the new process has resulted in faster processing times for Indoor Recreational Facilities. Page 4 of 8 Comparison with Tri-Valley Cities Shared Parking Standards In evaluating Dublin's provisions for shared parking, Staff looked at other Tri-Valley cities to see how they address shared parking. Similar to Dublin, all of the Tri-Valley cities require that the sum of all Use Types be provided when two or more uses are located on the same site and share a parking lot. However, the cities of San Ramon, Livermore and Pleasanton have also adopted shared parking standards for select Zoning Districts as further discussed below. The Dublin Zoning Ordinance does not contain a shared parking standard but rather allows for shared parking on a case-by-case basis in all Zoning Districts. This provides Staff an opportunity to review the operational characteristics of specific Use Types and peak parking demands in determining whether shared parking is feasible. This process provides maximum flexibility in responding to changing trends in the marketplace. San Ramon The City of San Ramon's shared parking standard is for a retail complex with multiple tenants that has been developed as an integrated center with shared parking. A retail complex up to 50,000 square feet in size has a parking requirement of 1 parking space for every 225 square feet of floor area; a retail complex greater than 50,000 square feet is parked at 1 parking space for every 250 square feet of floor area. For Use Types that require more parking than a retail use, for example, fitness centers, office uses or theaters, additional parking is required unless a parking reduction is approved. Livermore The City of Livermore has a Zoning District parking standard that applies to all uses permitted within the respective Zoning District. For example, Livermore's Neighborhood Commercial (CN) Zoning District requires 1 parking space for every 200 square feet of floor area and the Neighborhood Mixed Use (NM) Zoning District requires 1 parking space for every 500 square feet of gross floor area. Zoning District parking standards have also been adopted for the Central Business Zoning District, Commercial Office Zoning District, Industrial Zoning District and others. However, Livermore's Off-Street Parking regulations further state that off-street parking shall be provided either in accordance with the Zoning District standard or by the sum of each use, whichever is greater or more applicable. Pleasanton The City of Pleasanton has a shared parking standard of 1 parking space for every 400 square feet of gross floor area which is applied to two commercial zoning districts, the Central Commercial (C-C) Zoning District and the Service Commercial Zoning District (C-S). The C-C Zoning District is a pedestrian oriented area in the city's central business district and the C-S Zoning District is for commercial uses that are not typically found in shopping centers. Danville The Town of Danville has no shared parking standard or provisions for granting shared parking requests. Page 5 of 8 Shared Parking Reductions Staff also reviewed the regulations of other Tri-Valley cities to see how they address requests for shared parking reductions when the amount of parking required for the sum of all Use Types exceeds the amount of parking provided (see Table 1 below). San Ramon In the City of San Ramon, a shared parking reduction may be requested when two or more adjacent use types have distinct and differing peak parking usage periods. The process for reviewing shared parking requests is similar to Dublin in that a Conditional Use Permit approved by the Zoning Administer is required. However, San Ramon limits the shared parking reduction to a maximum of 25% of what is required. San Ramon also restricts the square footage of office and medical uses within the retail center to 25% of the gross floor area. Survey data may be required to be submitted substantiating the shared parking request. In order to grant the Conditional Use Permit, certain findings must also be made. Danville The Town of Danville does not have a shared parking standard or provisions for granting shared parking requests. However, Danville does allow the Zoning Administrator to grant a Variance to any of the requirements of the Off-Street Parking chapter. A Variance can only be granted when a finding can be made that the strict application of the regulations would deprive the property of privileges enjoyed by other properties in the vicinity and zoning district in which the property is situated. Livermore The City of Livermore allows shared parking reductions for uses which operate part-time such as churches. The required parking may be reduced up to 50% of what is required if it can be shown that other off-street parking areas equal to the amount of the parking reduction would be available when needed and the parking is within 600 feet of the site. The Planning Commission is the decision maker for part-time parking requests. Pleasanton The City of Pleasanton allows for a shared parking reduction for uses that are not in operation at the same time. The hours of operation for the affected uses must be controlled by a Conditional Use Permit and the uses must share the same off-street parking facility. The required parking may be reduced by no more than the use requiring the fewest parking spaces. The following Table summarizes the shared parking exceptions/reductions available for each of the Tri-Valley cities: Page 6 of 8 Table 1. Tri-Valle Cities Shared Parkin Exce tions/Reductions Shared Approval City Parking process Shared Parking Exception Standards Exce tion San Ramon Yes CUP/ZA .Where two or more adjacent use types have distinct and differing peak parking usage periods • Maximum 25% reduction allowed • Survey data may be required • In a retail center, office and medical uses limited to 25% of the ross floor area Danville No N/A A Variance may be granted by the Zoning Administrator to deviate from any requirements of the Off-Street Parkin cha ter Livermore Yes PC • Part-time arkin allowed for uses such as churches Pleasanton Yes CUP .Shared parking allowed for uses not in operation at the same time Dublin Yes CUP/ZA • A sufficient number of spaces must be available to meet the greatest parking demands • Use Types by their natures and operating times will not conflict with one another • Overflow parking will not be an adverse impact • Additional documents, covenants, deed restrictions or other agreement executed to assure arkin remains available ~.ur. ~onamona~ use rerm~r,~ ~H: ~on~ng admirnstrator, PC: Planning Commission; N/A: Not Applicable CONCLUSION: As part of the 2009/2010 Goals and Objectives, the City Council identified the review of parking standards and examination of Zoning Ordinance requirements to streamline entitlements for businesses seeking to locate in the City of Dublin. As part of this effort, Staff has reviewed the regulations pertaining to shared parking and evaluated the provisions of surrounding Tri-Valley cities. Similar to the other Tri-Valley cities, Dublin requires that parking be provided for the sum of all Use Types when two or more uses share the same parking lot. The cities of San Ramon, Pleasanton and Livermore have also adopted limited shared parking standards. The Dublin Zoning Ordinance does not contain a shared parking standard but rather allows for shared parking on a case-by-case basis in all Zoning Districts. This process provides maximum flexibility in responding to changing trends in the marketplace. Recent amendments to the Zoning Ordinance allow shared parking to be reviewed and approved by the Community Development Director through the Minor Use Permit process when shared parking is associated with an Indoor Recreational Facility. The Minor Use Permit process has resulted in faster processing times for the applicant by replacing the public hearing process with a staff level approval process but does not replace the need to prepare a parking study. This new process is consistent with the City Council's Goals and Objectives to streamline entitlements for businesses seeking to locate in Dublin and could also be considered for shared parking requests related to other Use Types. Page 7 of 8 Based on the City Council's desire to streamline entitlements for businesses seeking to locate in Dublin, Staff recommends that the City Council direct Staff to prepare Zoning Ordinance Amendments that would permit shared parking to be reviewed and approved by the Community Development Director through the Minor Use Permit process for all Use Types. NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH: This Staff Report is an informational report to the City Council on Parking Reductions for Shared Parking. Informational reports are not subject to a public hearing and no action to amend the Dublin Zoning Ordinance would be made at this time; therefore, a public notice is not applicable. Public outreach is also not applicable as no action to amend the Zoning Ordinance is proposed at this time. ATTACHMENTS: None. Page 8 of 8