Memorandum
City of Lawrence
Planning and Development Services
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TO: |
Diane Stoddard, Interim City Manager |
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FROM: |
Planning Staff |
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DATE: |
March 17, 2016 |
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RE: |
FDP-15-00642 - HERE Supplemental Parking Information |
At the January 26, 2016 City Commission meeting, the Commission considered a revised Final Development Plan for the HERE mixed use project to revise parking in the garage from a robotic system to a valet system with a new access point on 11th Street. The Commission deferred the item and directed the applicant to provide more detail regarding the valet operations in order to ensure that provided parking would be useable, safe and efficient so as to not create a burden for the neighborhood or residents of the new development. This memo responds to Commissioner questions regarding proposed valet and metered parking as a means to satisfy the parking requirements for the project.
Key Points
1. The design of the parking garage does not meet the standards of the Development Code for a self-park garage, but does adhere to sound design principles for a valet operated garage and will, in Staff’s opinion, function safely and efficiently as a 510 space valet operated garage.
2. The design exceeds the required number of accessible spaces by providing four van-accessible spaces and virtually unlimited standard accessible spaces with the operation of the full-service valet parking system.
3. If approved, the number of parking spaces provided accommodates 592 of the approved 624 bedrooms. 13 units (32 bedrooms) and all of the commercial space will not be occupied unless and until additional parking is provided.
4. Electrical meters will be withheld from the units that are not able to be occupied with the approval of this plan.
5. The fee and fine schedule for the parking meters on Mississippi and Indiana Streets is identical to that of KU, which is anticipated in the approved Development Agreement.
Parking Layout Analysis
The reduction of parking on-site due to converting from robotic parking to valet parking provides 618 total spaces (garage and on street) to accommodate the mix of uses in the building. The applicant has provided additional information relating to the operation and functionality of the proposed valet parking as well as information of how similar projects function. The revised Final Development Plan includes a parking diagram that shows the parking arrangement for 510 spaces on two levels of the building. One area is accessed from Mississippi Street. The second floor is accessed from 11th Street. The parking area is designed as a full-service valet garage. Users would enter the garage from Mississippi Street and retrieve their vehicles from the same staging area.
A standard parking space in the Development Code is 18’ by 8.5’ for 90 degree parking with a minimum access aisle width of 24’ to accommodate two-way traffic. These standards accommodate self-parking operations and allow for the greatest amount of maneuverability within a parking lot or parking structure. The proposed plan includes parking spaces that are 8’ x 18’ for standard sized cars and 7’-6” x 18’ for small cars. Additionally, the interior access aisles range from 15’-6” to 22’ width throughout the two levels of garage parking. Standard one way access aisles are 18’. Standard two way traffic circulation is not required in this application since the general public will not have access to the parking garage. By limiting the public access to the area along Mississippi Street, the interior parking lot design can be reduced to facilitate more vehicular parking spaces but is only achievable with professional parking services (valet operations).
Staff has reviewed a number of municipal codes and found few that provide guidance for valet parking garages. Where valet parking is mentioned, the codes indicate that parking space sizes and drive aisle widths may vary from city standards and tandem parking arrangements may be utilized. Houston, Gaston County, North Carolina, and Durango, Colorado all permit valet parking as an alternative to self-parking layouts. The Durango code specifically states that valet parking spaces may be reduced to a 7’-6” width x 18’ length. These codes require city approval of the alternative valet parking plan.
Staff has reviewed the layout for function, to ensure that every space is useable for valet operations, and for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAG). The Development Code requires that 13 accessible spaces be provided for this project. Two van-accessible spaces are provided on Mississippi Street and there are grade challenges for much of the on-street parking to provide more than this on the street. In the previous plan, the robotic parking system was designed to be accessible and provided the remaining spaces. The layout and operation of the garage as a full-service valet system serves a similar purpose and has been designed to comply with the ADAG. Four van-accessible spaces are provided (two on the street and two in the garage) and one valet-attended space is provided to serve demand well beyond the 13 that the code requires. The overall layout, with spaces in the street and in the full service valet garage, serves various kinds of vehicles and driver abilities. Staff concludes that the proposed layout demonstrates that vehicles can be efficiently parked in the spaces available; however, the spaces would not be acceptable as a patron-oriented self-parking garage.
Parking Availability and Occupancy
For the HERE project, parking demand is established using both the commercial and residential uses in the mixed-use building. Commercial retail is calculated at 1 space per 300 SF of use, restaurants are calculated at 1 space per 100 SF of customer service area plus 1 space per assumed employee, and residential is calculated at 1 space per bedroom plus 1 visitor space per 10 units. The number of units is relevant only in that they are a function of the mix of units desired – 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, 3-bedroom, etc.
The original project provided 685 spaces to accommodate 624 bedrooms and 13,561 SF of commercial space with 5,882 SF assumed to be restaurant use and the remainder retail or service uses. This also took into account 36 shared parking spaces and a reduction of 1 required space as bonus points related to the MU district were redeemed.
The proposed project includes 510 valet spaces in the parking garage and 108 metered on street parking spaces. The applicant is actively working to develop an additional parking area that would support the fully activated building. The future parking lot will require applicable land use entitlements prior to development.
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Parking Demand
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Parking Supply
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The available parking supports most, but not all, of the proposed residential development and none of the commercial spaces. The attached documents highlight 13 residential units (32 bedrooms) on the 3rd and 4th floors of the building that will not be occupied unless and until all off-street parking is provided. Electrical meters will be withheld from these units until occupancy can be granted.
Metered Parking
Metered parking is a design element of this project. Metered parking is located along the east and west sides of both Mississippi and Indiana Streets. The original approval included a development agreement that planned for metered parking on Mississippi Street and Indiana Street and established that HERE would set, collect and retain meter revenues and the City would enforce the use of the meters and would retain all fines associated with the meters. The fees and fines were to be similar to KU’s system with the goal that the fees and fines be set high enough to be a deterrent to students utilizing the parking for campus related visits.
City staff provides enforcement for Downtown meters Monday through Saturday between 9:30 A.M. and 6:00 P.M., excluding city holidays. Meters in the Downtown area provide 15 minute, 30 minute, 2 hour, 5 hour and 10 hour parking.
City parking control and court staff need to continue discussions with the developer on the level of enforcement and the exact methods of implementing metered parking at this location, but the proposed fee and fine schedule is noted below and requires City Commission approval.
The following table provides a summary of the fees and fines existing for the city and KU and proposed for HERE.
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City of Lawrence |
KU |
HERE @ Kansas Proposed |
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Fees |
2 HOUR MAXIMUM METERS Nickel = 6 minutes Dime = 12 minutes Quarter = 30 minutes Dollar = 2 hours
15 MINUTE MAXIMUM METERS Nickel = 3 minutes Dime = 6 minutes Quarter = 15 minutes
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$1.50 per hour |
2 Hour Meter @ $1.50 per hour. |
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Fines per violation |
$3.00 $15.00 after 10 days |
$15.00 $25.00 after 14 days |
$15.00 $25.00 after 14 days |
The City Commission will be required to approve by ordinance the parking fine for the HERE @ Kansas project.
Conclusion and Staff Recommendation
The building is nearing completion and the applicant’s goal is to accommodate students for the 2016-17 school year. Staff finds that the valet and metered parking system is safe and efficient, but only accommodates a portion of the approved mixed use building.
Staff recommends approval of the revised Final Development Plan subject to the following conditions:
Recommended Actions
Staff recommends the following actions related to this request.
1. Approve the Final Development Plan, FDP-15-00642, with the conditions set forth in this memo.
2. Set the parking meter fee and fine schedule for the Mississippi Street and Indiana Street parking meters and direct staff to submit an adopting ordinance for future consideration.