SR-417-001-01
F:\PCD\Share\council2002\East West Prkg
Council Meeting: September 24, 2002 Santa Monica, California
To: Mayor and City Council
From: City Staff
Subject:Establishment of an East-West Commercial Corridors Parking Task Force
and a Professional Services Contract with Urban Studio for an Amount Not
to Exceed $138,000, Including Contingency, for Urban Design, Parking
Utilization and Financial Analysis in Support of the Task Force Process
INTRODUCTION
This report recommends that the City Council establish a task force to evaluate and
make recommendations concerning potential parking solutions to serve east-west
commercial corridor needs. It also recommends that Council authorize a contract with
Urban Studio to develop information and analyze alternatives in support of the task force
process.
BACKGROUND
On May 8, 2001, the City Council requested that staff develop an approach to developing
and evaluating parking solutions for the Wilshire, Santa Monica and Pico Boulevard
commercial corridors. The establishment of preferential parking districts in residential
areas adjacent to east-west commercial corridors has generated concern about the
availability of parking to serve older commercial uses along these corridors.
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In response, staff outlined a process involving the creation of a task force to commence
work after completion of the Downtown Parking Task Force process. The task force
would assess the availability of public parking along the east-west commercial corridors
and explore alternative measures where a need is demonstrated.
DISCUSSION
East-West Corridors Parking Task Force:
A task force process will facilitate a broad-based community discussion about possible
parking solutions to serve east-west commercial corridor parking needs. The process
will include open meetings and workshops to disseminate information, evaluate options
and formulate recommendations to be forwarded to the City Council for consideration.
The Task Force will explore solutions based on information previously developed by staff
and new information developed by a consultant team supporting the process.
The City has used the task force model to address a range of policy and planning issues
in the recent past. These include the Downtown Urban Design Committee, the 415
Pacific Coast Highway Working Group, the Downtown Parking Task Force, the Civic
Center Working Group and the currently convened Promenade Uses Task Force. The
committees have included five to seven seats comprised of City Council, boards and
commission members. In some cases the Council has included business people and
residents who do not hold elective or appointed office but who bring particular expertise
to the process.
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Groups that have an interest in east-west corridor parking issues have been contacted
and a six-member task force could be comprised of:
2 City Council members
o
1 Planning Commissioner
o
2 Business Owners along the commercial corridors: one large and one small
o
business with customer and/or employee parking needs
1 Resident adjacent to a commercial corridor
o
Staff recommends a task force as outlined above because it provides a diversity of
opinions related to the east-west commercial corridors. The City Council could adjust
the mix or expand the task force membership, but a group much larger than six will likely
not be as effective in operating efficiently. If Council follows the model recommended
above, there will be an application process for the 2 business-owner seats and 1 resident
seat, including advertising the availability of the seats in the local newspaper; a
requirement for applicants to complete a questionnaire; and City Council selection of
specific representatives. Council will designate the Council participants at the same time
the business-owner and resident applicant list is brought back to Council for selection.
Council can also invite the Planning Commission to identify its representative.
The schedule anticipates that Council will select task force members at the first meeting
in December, after staff proceeds with advertising, review of applications and preparation
of a Council report. Once appointed, the task force members will be queried for their
availability and the first meeting will likely be set for January, 2003. The meetings will be
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publicly noticed and will, most likely, be held at the Ken Edwards Center. It is estimated
that the work of the task force will take approximately one year.
Consultant Scope of Work:
A scope of work was developed to procure the consultant team that will assess the City?s
east-west commercial corridor public parking needs and to develop strategies to address
needs. The team will include expertise in the fields of urban design and architecture;
parking utilization analysis; cost/funding analysis and facilitating task force meetings.
The detailed parking utilization study will focus on Wilshire and Santa Monica
Boulevards, as a first phase, because of budget limitations. Solutions developed for
these corridors will likely be applicable to commercial areas along Pico Boulevard and
other east-west corridors. Strategies could range from low cost on-street measures to
capital-intensive off-street measures. The consultant team will also work with the task
force to develop financing strategies, as no City funds have been identified for
implementation.
The task force will review a work plan with the consultant at the outset of the task force
process and may make some adjustments to the scope of work. However, it is
anticipated that the consultant team will begin collecting and analyzing parking utilization
information in advance of the first task force meeting so that it will be ready when the
task force is ready to review the information.
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Consultant Selection Process:
A Request for Proposals (RFP) was sent to ten firms in early July and one firm, Urban
Studio, submitted a proposal. The team is led by John Kaliski, as Principal, and includes
Kaku Associates and Allan Kotin as sub-consultants. A four-person committee
comprised of representatives from Planning and Community Development and Resource
Management reviewed the proposal, determined it to be responsive and recommended
the selection of this firm. The team is recommended on the basis of their approach to
the project, experience with similar studies and the study corridors, and the experience
of key project personnel.
BUDGET/FISCAL IMPACT
Funds for this study were approved during the Mid-Year budget process and are
available in account 01274PY.555060.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Approve the establishment of an East-West Commercial Corridor Parking Task Force
to address parking needs.
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a professional services contract
with Urban Studio in an amount not to exceed $138,000, including contingency, for
urban design, parking utilization and financial analysis services.
3. Authorize the PCD Director to issue any change orders to complete additional work
within budget authority.
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Prepared by: Suzanne Frick, Director, Planning and Community Development
Ellen Gelbard, Assistant Director, Planning and Community Development
Lucy Dyke, Transportation Planning Manager
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