Fiscal Note
No fiscal impact.
Title
SUBSTITUTE - Convening a Staff Team that will address the issues of on-street parking in the City and policies that influence such parking.
Body
WHEREAS, concerns about availability of on-street parking for neighborhood uses is one of the most significant issues leading to neighborhood resistance to new development proposals; and,
WHEREAS, the City expects to be adding approximately 1,600 new dwelling units annually for the next twenty-five years, all or nearly all of which are expected to have an impact on street parking and there is a desire to have development proposals go as smoothly and expeditiously as possible; and,
WHEREAS, availability of parking for residents and guests is a component of a good quality of life for many residents; and,
WHEREAS, certain neighborhoods are heavily impacted by event parking which displaces neighbors being able to park on the streets of their neighborhood; and,
WHEREAS, some residents do not have off-street parking readily available; and,
WHEREAS, the residential parking permit program, while having some positive impacts on parking availability for residents, it does not have an impact on major event parking and it is oversold by up to 2.5 permits to each available space; and,
WHEREAS, availability of on-street parking is critical for many small businesses and restaurants to be successful; and,
WHEREAS, on-street curb space often provides the closest and most convenient access to a destination for people traveling by motor vehicle, and availability of on-street parking and passenger loading zones are critical for general accessibility and for accessibility to people with disabilities; and,
WHEREAS, some developers rely on the availability of on street parking to accommodate the parking needs of residents and patrons of businesses in their development to save on the cost of constructing off-street parking for the development; and,
WHEREAS, currently the Zoning Administrator can waive up to 20 spaces of “required” parking; and,
WHEREAS, when development proposals come before the Plan Commission, the developer often does not know whether a parking intensive use will be part of the proposal or does not disclose such a use because of a desire to avoid the expense of creating parking within the development; and,
WHEREAS, when the city absorbs the parking needs of developments, and of the residents in new developments, and of business patrons and of entertainment venue attendees on city streets, such use of the street right-of-way impacts general accessibility and people with disabilities and the availability of the street for use for traffic lanes, for protected bike lanes, for pedestrians, for bus lanes, for terraces and for street trees; and,
WHEREAS, the transportation sector is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gases and single occupancy vehicles are a major portion of the transportation sector; and,
WHEREAS, the presence of copious amounts of free parking leads to more use of single occupancy vehicles even when solid alternative transportation options are available; and,
WHEREAS, parking policies impact the use of single occupancy vehicles and use of mass transit, bike and pedestrian modes of transportation all of which impact emission levels and traffic congestion; and,
WHEREAS, the Comprehensive Plan includes a strategy to implement a Transit Oriented Development overlay zoning district along BRT and other existing and planned high-frequency transit service corridors which include a goal of reducing parking requirements to support transit uses; and,
WHEREAS, the Comprehensive Plan includes a strategy to use technology to enhance parking management systems; and,
WHEREAS, the Transportation Policy and Planning board pursuant to M.G.O. 33.55(6)(b) is charged with considering, developing and recommending transportation policies and plans, including for on-street parking; and,
WHEREAS, the issue addressed by the Resolution is complex because it involves a mixture of transportation and development issues; and,
WHEREAS, a dedicated workgroup of relevant staff would prepare a report with background information, policy analysis and recommendations to assist the Transportation Policy and Planning Board in creating a policy for recommendation to the Common Council,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mayor and the Common Council shall convene a Staff Team that will address the issues of on-street parking in the City and policies that influence such parking. The Staff Team will be under the direction of the Department of Transportation Director in collaboration with the Planning Director; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following representatives will participate on the Staff Team and shall include agency heads or their designees:
• Zoning Administrator or designee (1 representative)
• Planning Director or designee (1 representative)
• DOT Director or designee (1 representative)
• Transit General Manager or designee (1 representative)
• Parking Manager or designee (1 representative)
• Economic Development Division Director or designee (1 representative)
• City Traffic Engineer or designee (1 representative)
• Further input as needed from Streets, Engineering, and Community Development; and,
BE IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that the Staff Team shall examine and report on the following issues and such relevant topics that are identified in the course of the review as they relate to our current parking system, policies and goals, and shall consider issues and questions raised in the attachment, and as a result of such study shall:
• Develop a policy that minimizes development parking impact on existing residential neighborhoods while encouraging mode shift.
• Investigate measures to manage shared parking demand of infill development such as business, high density residential, entertainment, and special event needs and recommend associated policies.
• Develop a policy for responding to developer requests for and or/reliance on use of city owned parking and use of public right-of-way to meet their parking and loading requirements; and,
• Review current RP3 permit and enforcement revenue streams and investigate potential new costs that could be included in RP3 on-street parking rates.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Staff Team will define the scope of work to include but not be limited to collecting needed data, coordinating focus groups of stakeholders, consulting with parking experts, researching best practices and undertaking other actions as needed to provide supported and clear recommendations. The staff team will bring the work plan to the Transportation Policy and Planning Board for acceptance and will regularly report its progress to and receive feedback from the Transportation Policy and Planning Board; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Staff Team shall complete its review and make final recommendations to the Transportation Policy and Planning Board on or before April 30, 2020; and,
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Transportation Policy and Planning Board will review the Staff Team’s recommendations and then develop and recommend ordinance and policy changes to the Common Council on or before September 30, 2020.