SR-417-007 (6)
F:\PCD\Share\council2000\DntnPrk TaskFrc
Council Meeting: December 19, 2000 Santa Monica, California
To: Mayor and City Council
Chairperson and Redevelopment Agency
From: City and Redevelopment Staff
Subject:Recommendation for the City Council to 1) Approve the Establishment of a
Downtown Parking Task Force to Address Downtown Parking; and 2)
Authorize the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute a Professional
Services Contract with Black & Veatch in an Amount Not to Exceed
$1,098,000, Including Contingency, for Engineering Design Services
Related to Seismic Upgrade of Parking Structures 7 and 8.
Recommendation for the Redevelopment Agency to Authorize the
Executive Director to Execute a Professional Services Contract with Black
& Veatch in an Amount Not to Exceed $1,098,000, Including Contingency,
for Engineering Design Services Relating to Seismic Upgrade of Parking
Structures 7 and 8.
INTRODUCTION
This report recommends that the City Council establish a Downtown Parking Task Force
to evaluate available information and make recommendations on downtown parking
solutions and that the City Council and Redevelopment Agency take necessary action to
initiate design of seismic retrofitting for Parking Structures 7 & 8.
BACKGROUND
On April 26, 2000, the Planning Commission reviewed the ?Downtown Parking
Management Program,? by Kaku Associates. The report assesses parking utilization in
the downtown area, identifies specific parking shortage issues and outlines a series of
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possible measures to improve the parking experience. The Planning Commission
supported the majority of the management and operational recommendations in the
report, including Transportation Demand Management (TDM) and parking operation
refinements. The Commission expressed concern over the recommendation to add
parking and suggested a community participation process to assess community
sentiment. The Commission also requested information on the cost of various
alternatives and assessment of possible circulation and traffic impacts. The Commission
acknowledged that parking is a key element to the continued success and vitality of the
Downtown and asked staff to continue identifying parking opportunities so options would
be available if the process determined more parking is necessary.
DISCUSSION
Downtown Parking Task Force:
Staff recommends that a task force be established to facilitate a broad-based community
discussion about the future of the downtown and the need for additional parking. The
Task Force will review the policy issues and develop solutions, primarily based on the
available information, which includes:
?
?Downtown Parking Management Program,? by Kaku Associates (April, 2000) .
?
?Comprehensive Parking Development Strategy for Downtown Santa Monica,?
prepared by Integrated Design Services, Inc. (April, 2000), which incorporated the
findings of previous seismic analysis and developed costs for retrofitting and
adding spaces in the downtown area. Alternatives include adding more parking
levels to the existing structures, demolishing existing structures and rebuilding
larger structures, and adding new parking facilities on publicly owned sites near
downtown.
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?
The recent Citywide Public Opinion telephone survey, conducted in November,
2000, which included several questions to assess resident opinion about adding
more parking in the downtown area. The survey was designed to be statistically
valid and reach a broad spectrum of residents.
The Planning Commission also asked for circulation analysis of additional parking
facilities to assess impacts on congestion. Traffic and circulation impacts will be
assessed as required once options are narrowed.
The City has used several task force models in the past. The Downtown Urban Design
Committee was made up of three Council members and two Planning Commissioners.
The 415 Pacific Coast Highway Working Group was comprised of Council members and
representatives from Council appointed Boards and Commissions. The eighteen-
member Homeless Task Force was made up of representatives from the business,
resident, religious and social service communities.
Staff met with representatives from the Bayside District and Chamber Parking and Traffic
Committee to discuss the process and composition of the task force. The group felt it
was important to have Council and Planning Commission representation and, in addition,
Bayside and Chamber participation. The group supported a nine-member task force
consisting of:
?
City Council (two seats)
?
Planning Commission (two seats)
?
Bayside District (three seats representing a cross-section of property owners,
employers and residents)
?
Chamber of Commerce (one seat)
?
At large (one seat representing an employee or patron who is a ?user? of
downtown facilities)
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Staff recommends a task force as outlined above because it provides a diversity of
opinions related to downtown parking. The City Council could also choose to expand the
task force membership to include more ?users,? a member of the Environmental Task
Force or other interested parties, but a group much larger than nine will likely not be as
effective in operating efficiently. If Council follows the recommended model each
represented organization could select its respective appointments and notify staff of the
results. If there is an ?at large? seat as outlined above, the Bayside District would be
interested in identifying representatives for Council?s consideration.
In making appointments the Council should note that this task force would not be the
only task force meeting during this timeframe. Staff will be recommending formation of a
Civic Center Specific Plan Task Force in late January comprised of City Council,
Planning Commission, Recreation and Parks Commission and other Board and
Commission representatives.
Staff anticipates the first Downtown Parking Task Force meeting will occur late in
January, 2001. The meetings will be publicly noticed and will, most likely, be held at the
Ken Edwards Center. The initial meetings will be used to review the available
information and are likely to focus on a policy decision regarding the need for additional
parking and appropriate siting. The seismic upgrade schedule for downtown structures
will be affected by these decisions and it is, therefore, important that the task force
proceed expeditiously. July, 2001 is the target date for submission of task force
recommendations to Council.
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Downtown Parking Structures 7 & 8:
After the Northridge Earthquake in 1994, the City received authorization to spend $1.6
million Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds to retrofit Parking
Structures 7 and 8. The FEMA funds carry expenditure deadlines for parking structures
7 and 8 of April 2001 and February 2002, respectively. This funding is significant and
the City must demonstrate progress towards expenditure.
The decision to proceed with seismically retrofitting Parking Structures 7 and 8 will not
affect the task force evaluation of parking options, since these structures are not
candidates for additions or rebuilding. Parking Structures 7 and 8 are the newest and
largest of the downtown public parking structures and were constructed in 1979 in
accordance with the requirements of the 1976 Uniform Building Code. To this end, staff
is recommending that the design of the retrofit work begin now. The Council/Agency
authorization to fund the design phase, in order to meet the deadlines, would allow the
City to use the time-sensitive federal grants from FEMA. Santa Monica Place has been
consulted about this course of action and concurs that it would be timely.
A Request for Proposals for seismic retrofit design services was issued to seven pre-
qualified consulting firms. Four proposals were received and evaluated by a selection
committee based on the following criteria: 1) technical competence of the firm and its
understanding of the scope of the project; 2) recent project experience demonstrating the
firms expertise in parking structure seismic retrofit design 3) past performance with the
=
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City and other agencies in meeting schedules, responsiveness, and cooperation; 4)
staffing resources; and 5) proposed methodology. The committee unanimously selected
Black & Veatch based on its thorough understanding of the project requirements, the
excellent qualifications of its proposed design team, and its highly satisfactory service to
the City on other past projects.
BUDGET/FISCAL IMPACT
There is no immediate budget impact associated with the task force. Funding for
recommended solutions would be included as part of the annual Capital Improvement
Program (CIP) process.
Funds in the amount of $1,098,000 are available in Account No. C17067500.589000,
Earthquake Recovery Redevelopment Bond Proceeds, to fund the design work related to
seismic work on parking structures 7 and 8.
TOTAL RDA SEISMIC FUNDS AVAILABLE $1,700,000
$
954,941
Contract
Contingency $143,059
$
1,098,000
Total
FUND BALANCE $602,000
RECOMMENDATIONS
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Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Approve the establishment of a Downtown Parking Task Force to address downtown
parking needs.
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a professional services contract
with Black & Veatch in an amount not to exceed $954,941 for engineering design
services relating to the seismic upgrade of Parking Structures 7 and 8, and approve
$143,059in contingency funds for the contract; and
3. Authorize the City Engineer to issue any change orders to complete additional work
within budget authority.
Staff recommends that the Redevelopment Agency:
1. Authorize the Executive Director to execute a professional services contract with Black
& Veatch in an amount not to exceed $954,941 for engineering design services
relating to the seismic upgrade of Parking Structures 7 and 8, and approve $143,059
in contingency funds for the contract.
Prepared by: Suzanne Frick, Director, Planning and Community Development
Jeff Mathieu, Director, Resource Management
Craig Perkins, Director, Environmental and Public Works Management
Anthony Antich, P.E., City Engineer
Lucy Dyke, Transportation Planning Manager
Ellen Gelbard, Deputy Director, Planning and Community Development
Tina Rodriguez, Redevelopment Administrator
Jack Schroeder, Disaster Recovery Manager
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