SR-021396-8CPCD:CM:CA:taxis;Winword
Council Meeting, February 13, 1996
To: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
T t' t i3 ~ 3 egg
Santa Monica, California
SUBJECT: Recommendations to Introduce for First Reading an
Ordinance Amending Municipal Code Section 6.45.080
Regarding Parking Regulations for Taxicabs and Direct
Staff to Install Interim Taxi Zones in the Third Street
Promenade Area
Introduction
This report recommends that the City Council introduce for first
reading an ordinance amending Municipal Code Section 6.45.080
regarding parking regulations for taxicabs and direct staff to
install interim taxi zones in the Third Street Promenade area.
Discussion
On three occasions in the past 18 months, various taxi operators
have addressed the Council regarding the need for more taxi zones
throughout the City, especially in the Bayside District area.
Additionally, operators have raised concerns about existing
Municipal Code regulations regarding the standing, stopping, and
parking of vehicles in public parking spaces (SMMC Section
6.4S.0S0). There are currently more than 250 taxi licenses
issued in the City and eight designated taxi zones.
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Taxi Requlations
The Council directed staff to evaluate the Municipal Code
provisions regulating taxi cabs within the City and make
appropriate recommendations. The taxi operators are particularly
concerned about Municipal Code Section 5.48.080, which contains
parking regulations for taxicabs.
The City Attorney's Office has evaluated the operators'
suggestions about Section 6.48.080. In response, the
accompanying proposed ordinance amending Section 6.48.080 would
make this provision more understandable and more reflective of
current practice.
Subsection (a) currently refers to taxi stands being assigned to
specific taxicab owners. Taxicab operators have correctly noted
that, in fact, the City does not make such assignments.
Therefore, it is proposed eliminating from subsection (a) the
language referring to assignments.
Subsection (b) is presently confusingly worded. Accordingly, an
amendment is proposed to clarify that taxicab stands are
available for use by taxicab operators 24 hours a day, except
when other City laws, such as street cleaning provisions,
prohibit the occupation of the stands.
The taxicab operators have also requested that subsection (d) be
amended tc escalate violations from their present status as
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misdemeanor-infraction "wobblers" to straight misdemeanors. This
proposed change would prevent the court from trying such cases as
infractions and would require that all such cases be tried as
misdemeanors. Subsection (d~ was recently adopted in its present
form in response to a suggestion from the Presiding Judge. Prior
to the change, violations were straight misdemeanors. The
Presiding Judge recommended reducing violations to wobblers so
that such cases could be tried as infractions, without juries,
thereby reducing court congestion. Consistent with the court's
recommendation and this Council's prior action, it is recommended
keeping subsection (d} in its current form.
Taxi Zones
In July 1994, two taxi operators spoke to the Council regarding
the scarcity of taxi zones throughout the City. At that time,
Council directed staff to meet with the operators and devise a
plan that could create additional taxi zones. However, the
Council expressed a concern that existing public parking not be
eliminated to accommodate new zones.
It should be noted that several years ago, the City and the BDC
developed and began to implement a plan to install between 15 and
20 full-time or "night-time" only taxi zones along Arizona, Santa
Monica and Broadway, adjacent to the Third Street Promenade.
However, as installation was in progress, several complaints were
made by merchants adjacent to the zones and, for that reason,
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implementation was halted and some of the zones removed. Five
taxi zones remain.
At a meeting with City staff, the taxi operators indicated that
their need for established taxi zones was twofold: 1) to provide
a designated waiting place in order to be available for patrons
to walk up and hire a taxi, and 2) to provide parking places
while waiting to be dispatched to a patron. The operators
submitted a list of approximately 25 potential taxi zone
locations. The list included locations up and down Ocean Avenue
and Wilshire Boulevard, the 5t John's and Santa Monica hospital
areas, the Airport Business Park, Main Street and Downtown. The
operators stressed that their greatest need for designated zones
was in the downtown area, particularly with the popularity of the
Third Street Promenade.
Staff has since reviewed the list of locations and has determined
that it is feasible to install eight additional taxi zones
outside of the downtown area, including three near the hospitals,
two in the Airport Business Park, one on Ocean Avenue near the
Pier, one in the Main Street area and one near Santa Monica
Place. While these proposed locations in most cases will require
the use of existing public parking spaces, none of them are
immediately adjacent to any business and therefore, should not
create any adverse impact on public parking. These eight new
zones can be installed within the next four weeks.
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Far other locations, such as those near certain hotels, motels,
restaurants, and other businesses, staff advised the operators
that it would be feasible to install additional taxi zones only
if the adjacent business was in concurrence. Since the locations
were places that the operators indicated they had business
acquaintances, the taxi operators agreed to obtain letters of
concurrence from the affected businesses. To date, staff has not
received letters of concurrence from any of the aforementioned
establishments.
In addition to the creation of the eight new designated taxi
zones, staff has, in the past, offered to establish a "staging"
area on the west side of 5th Street between Santa Monica
Boulevard and Broadway. This proposal, however, has been
rejected by the taxi operators. AdditionallyF this area is no
longer feasible for a staging zone due to the high parking demand
generated in the area around Toys-R-Us.
The Bayside District, where there are currently five designated
taxi zones, is the location where the demand for taxis is the
greatest. The Bayside District Corporation (BDC) has been in the
process of developing a Master Plan that includes locations for
taxi zones and taxi staging areas, tour bus zones and a proposed
centralized valet system. The BDC has advised the City that a
preliminary plan will be ready sometime in the spring of this
year. In the meantime, however, the lack of designated taxi
zones around the Third Street Promenade remains a problem.
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Staff agrees that additional taxi zones are needed in the
downtown area. Therefore, as an interim solution, in
anticipation of the implementation of the BDC Master Plan, it is
proposed that additional taxi zones be established, on a
temporary basis, in the Bayside District, on Wilshire Boulevard,
Arizona Avenue, Santa Monica Boulevard and Broadway. Along these
streets there currently exists a variety of an-street uses
including bus zones, loading zones, valet zones and the five taxi
zones.
Staff believes the mast logical locations for taxi zones to serve
the Third Street Promenade is the area immediately east and west
of the Promenade (between 2nd Court and Third Court), and based
on an inventory of available, unrestricted spaces within these
limits, taxi zones could be added at the following locations.
1. Four spaces on the southside of Wilshire east of the
Promenade
2. Five spaces an the northside of Arizona east of the
Promenade
3. Twa spaces on the southside of Arizona
Promenade (this area currently has two
one Police vehicle zone)
4. Three spaces on the northside of Santa
the Promenade (this area currently has
5. Two spaces on the northside of Broadwa
Promenade
west of the
taxi zones and
Monica east of
two taxi zones}
y west of the
It should be noted that all of these available spaces are
adjacent to businesses and will result in a lass of on-street
parking if converted to taxi zones. Also, since staff believes
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that the night-time demand for taxi zones is greater than the
daytime demand, same of these potential locations could be
established as night-time only taxi zones. If Council approves
staff's recommendation for the installation of interim taxi zones
in the Promenade area, staff will establish zones from the
possible locations listed above.
Budget/Financial Impact
There are na budget/financial impacts as a result of the
recommendations in this staff report. The costs to establish new
taxi zones can be absorbed in the division's existing budget.
Recommendations
It is respectfully recommended the City Council:
1. Introduce the accompanying ordinance amending Municipal Code
Section 6.48.080 far first reading; and,
2. Direct staff to install interim taxi zones in the Promenade
area until the implementation of a Bayside District master
plan for taxis, buses and valets.
Prepared by: Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney
Claudia Thompson, Legal Admin. Staff Asst.
Suzanne Frick, Director, Planning and Community
Development
Ron Fuchiwaki, City Parking and Engineer
Laurie DeVarney, Communications Coordinator
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f:~atty~muni~laws~mjm~taxi
City Council Meeting 2-13-96 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER
{City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE DF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING SANTA MONICA
MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 6.48.080 REGARDING
PARKING REGULATIONS FOR TAXICABS
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY
ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1, Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 6.4$.D80 is
amended to read as follows:
Section 6.48.080. Parking of Vehiolea.
(a) No driver shall permit any vehicle
for hire to stand while awaiting employment at
any place other than a stand designated by the
Parking and Traffic Engineer, .~ :d ..~ ~ y_~a tc
.~ 1 114M
(bj No vehicle shall be left unattended
in a stand for a period of time longer than
three minutes.
{c) Stands may be occupied f:.r c rcri:.d
c~ ~._.__~l _r..,,.~ w..,,w~ 4 a..y pit ~::y t :_:t', except
.~ ~ standing, stopping c;.d ~~ parking
arc .~~€ otherwise prohibited by law.
(d) Any person violating this Section
shall be guilty of an infraction, which shall
be punishable by a fine not exceeding two
hundred fifty dollars, or a misdemeanor, which
shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding
one thousand dollars per violation, or by
imprisonment in the County Jail for a period
not exceeding six months, or by both such fine
and imprisonment.
SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code
or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this
Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and na further, is
hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effect the
provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or
phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or
unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent
jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby
declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each and
every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared
invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion
of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or
unconstitutional.
SECTION 4. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall
attest to the passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall
cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper
within 15 days after its adoption, This Ordinance shall become
effective 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
MARSHA JD S MOUTRIE
City Atto ey