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sr-042611-11aCity Council Meeting: April 26, 2011 Agenda Item: lIA To: Mayor and City Council From: Eileen Fogarty, Planning and Community Development Director Subject: Amendment of Preferential Parking Zone W and Creation of Preferential Parking Zone Y Recommended Action Staff recommends that City Council: 1. Amend Zone VV to extend the hours of preferential parking restrictions from 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. to 24 hours a day on the following six blocks: • Franklin Street between Santa Monica Boulevard and Colorado Avenue (two blocks), and • Broadway and Colorado Avenue between Berkeley Street and Centinela Avenue (four blocks). 2: Create Zone Y in the area bounded by Ashland Avenue, 23~d Street,- Dewey Street and 16th Street (excluding Ashland Avenue) with parking limited to two hours from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, except by permit. 3. Approve the attached Resolution amending Preferential Parking Zone W, creating Preferential Parking Zone Y and amending Resolution 9344 CCS (Resolution of the City Council of the City of Santa Monica Re-Establishing Various .Preferential Parking Zones) by replacing Exhibit A. Executive Summary Residents of two neighborhoods have petitioned to amend or establish preferential parking regulations because unregulated non-resident parking is impacting their ability to find parking near their homes. In Zone W, the established regulations end at midnight and non-residents utilize these streets when patronizing a nearby sports bar. In addition to hindering residents' ability to find parking near their homes, residents contend that the behavior of the patrons as they return to their vehicles results in unsafe and disruptive conditions. Similarly, residents of several blocks in the proposed Zone Y are unable to find parking near their homes because spaces are occupied by Santa Monica College students who park on their streets Monday through Friday during the school year. Staff recommends the above actions to reduce the impact on non-resident parking in both neighborhoods. 1 Should Council approve the recommended action, it is estimated that new permit sales would generate $750, which would -offset the cost to the City of issuing permits to residents. Additionally, new signage would be required at an initial cost of $6000 for the first ten blocks. . Background Preferential parking is a taol the City uses to manage non-resident parking on residential streets, as authorized by Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 3.08 and the California Vehicle Code. Preferential parking regulations manage the use of on-street parking to assist residents in finding parking near their home. Only residents who live on a block with preferential parking restrictions are eligible to purchase a permit. Residents may petition to initiate a preferential parking zone at any time. Upon receipt of a petition representing two-thirds of the residential units on a block, a parking occupancy study of the neighborhood is conducted and a community meeting is held. When petitions are submitted, staff evaluates the larger neighborhood, rather than an individual block. As a result, staff typically recommends pre-approving regulations for a neighborhood to streamline and expedite the process for adjacent blocks should some displacement occur. Ultimately, the Council considers the request and can approve creating or modifying the preferential parking zone. Changes to established regulations are achieved by the same process. Zone W was established by Council on Julv 20, 1999. The proposed Zone Y is immediately south of Zone L, which was established by Council on June 14, 1988 and amended several times since. The most recent amendment was on June 11, 2002. Discussion Zone W Zone W is located on the eastern end of the Mid-City neighborhood and is zoned R2 (Low Density Multiple Family Residential). The zone is bounded by Santa Monica Boulevard on the north, Centinela Avenue on the east, Colorado Avenue on the south and Yale. Street on the west (Figure 1). Commercial uses line Santa Monica Boulevard, 2 including auto dealerships, offices, shops and a sports bar. A large synagogue and school campus is located in the neighborhood on the 1500 block of Franklin Street between Broadway and Colorado Avenue. fi~ Figure 1 }k, Legend ~a Petitioning Block ~ Zone W East: No parking 7A-12A Zone W West: 2HR 8A-SP M-F, No parkingaii other times '.:,Zonex: 2HR 9A-6P, No parking 6P-9A ~Zonell: No parking SA-12A `'"._ Zone S: No parking7A-6P M-F QSynagoguef5chool Sports Bar Preferential parking regulations were originally approved for this zone in 1999 and included two sets of regulations. The blocks to the west were approved for: • Two hour parking 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and no parking all other times, except by permit. The blocks to the east were approved for: • No parking 7 a.m. to 12 a.m., except by permit. The blocks directly to the north of this zone have the following regulations: Two hour parking 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and no parking 6 p.m. to 9 a.m., except by permit. In October 2009, 71 % of the households on the 1400 -block of Franklin Street between Santa Monica Boulevard and Broadway petitioned for increased overnight restrictions, 3 to match the blocks to the north and west. As one of the only blocks in the area to allow overnight parking without a permit, the 1400 block of Franklin Street experiences parking by patrons of the sports bar who park at or before midnight, when the restrictions expire. This results in late-night noise and disturbances noted by residents in the petition. As a result of the petition, a parking occupancy study was conducted. The parking occupancy of each block was recorded every hour between 9 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Saturday, October 9 and Tuesday, October 12; 2010: The counts indicate that on-street parking in Zone W is difficult to find in the evening, with peak occupancies ranging between 70 and 100 percent. Meanwhile, the four block commercial stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard between Yale Street and Centinela Avenue had an average of 16 parking spaces available every hour between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m., indicating that patrons of the sports bar should continue to be able to find on-street parking in the area, even if the regulations are amended. Maps of the peak parking occupancies have been included as Attachment B. Full study results are included as Attachment C. A community meeting was noticed to residents, businesses and property owners in the neighborhood and held on February 10, 2011. Ten people attended and spoke about the difficulties they have finding parking at night and the behavior of bar patrons. Residents also raised concerns about potential abuse of disabled parking placards which exempt users from preferential parking regulations. The issue has been referred to the Police Department for follow up. Discussion at the meeting included the potential to standardize the regulations so that all streets in Zone W would have: Two hour parking 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and no parking all other times, except by permit. However, those in attendance were unanimous in their opposition to this proposal, citing concerns that the streets would be overrun again by non-resident vehicles and noting past experience with the synagogue and a nearby auto repair shop. Complete comments are included as Attachment D. Additionally, five emailed comments were received, with three residents 4 opposed to allowing non-residents to park for two hours without a permit, one business in favor, and one resident in favor of maintaining the current regulations. Staff recommends amending the regulations on the eastern blocks of Zone W to no parking, except by permit. While stringent, they are fundamentally no different than the existing regulations which only allow non-resident parking from midnight to 7 a.m. In fact, the only group that would be impacted by this change is the sports bar patrons. They are not without options however, as the bar offers valet in addition to the spaces typically available on Santa Monica Boulevard. These changes would not affect the valet operation. Zone Y Zone Y is proposed for the southern portion of the Sunset Park neighborhood and is zoned R1 (Single Family Residential). The zone would be bounded by Ashland Avenue on the north, 23~d Street on the east, Dewey Street on the south and 16th Street on the west (Figure 2). Ashland. Avenue is excluded from the zone as it is already approved for the Zone L parking restrictions of: no parking 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, except by permit. Preferential parking regulations were originally approved for Zone L in 1988 and the zone has been augmented several times since. In May 2010, 67% of the households on the -1600 -block of Weilesley Drive between Ashland Avenue and 17th Street petitioned for preferential parking restrictions. Over the years, as pre-approved blocks in Zone L became preferential parking zones, Santa Monica College student parking pressure spread south toward the 1600 block of Wellesley Drive and adjacent streets. Parking is already limited by the fact that Wellesley Drive and Bryn Mawr and Sunset Avenues are narrow and parking is only allowed on one side of each block. Residents of these blocks cannot purchase permits to park around the corner in Zone L which compounds the problem. 5 Legend 1. Woodlawn Cemetery 2. Santa Monica College 3. Will Rogers Elementary 4. John Adarns Middle 5. Marine Park ~a Pre-approved "~ Implemented '•• Petitioning Block C~ Existing Zone L ~ Proposed Zone Y As a result of the petition, a parking occupancy study was conducted of the blocks bounded by Ashland Avenue, 18th Street, Dewey Street and 16th Street. The study recorded the parking occupancy every hour between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. on Monday, October 25, 2010. The counts indicate that on-street parking in the area can be difficult to find on the blocks immediately south of Ashland Avenue, with peak. occupancies ranging between 73 and 110 percent. High peak occupancies were also recorded on the 1700 blocks of Bryn Mawr and Sunset Avenues. A map of the peak parking occupancies is included as Attachment E. Full study results are included as Attachment F. While not included in the study area, staff recommends including the area between 18th and 23~d Streets in Zone Y as high occupancies have been observed in this area as well, especially on Pier Avenue. 6 Twenty-three people attended a community meeting held January 20, 2011. Those in attendance expressed split opinions, with some in favor of preferential parking and others opposed. Complete comments are included as Attachment G. Additionally, 22 emailed comments were received, 17 of which were residents opposed to preferential parking, with the majority of emails coming from the 1700 block of Wellesley, one block away from the petitioning block. In an effort to balance these viewpoints, staff recommends the following restrictions: Two hour parking 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, except by permit. The center of the SMC campus is a 15-20 minute walk from the blocks in the proposed Zone Y. The longer walk and limited parking time will make this area ineffective for most students' parking needs. At the same time, these regulations would allow vehicles to park from 4 p.m. overnight to 10 a.m. the next day without a permit and. would not be in effect on weekends. This would minimize the perceived inconvenience of permit parking and many residents could likely forgo purchasing permits altogether. Alternatives The Council could maintain the existing conditions or adopt different hours and types of restrictions than recommended. Additionally, Council could direct staff to reevaluate who is eligible to purchase permits. Currently, only residents who live on the block with preferential parking regulations are eligible to purchase a permit. Residents may be frustrated when an adjacent block petitions for preferential parking because they can no longer park on those blocks. If all residents within one or two blocks of a zone were eligible to purchase a permit, it would address the issue and may reduce the number of blocks applying for parking permits. For example, some residents of the petitioning block in the proposed Zone Y mentioned at the community meeting that this would be preferable to implementing preferential parking on their block. 7 Finally, Council could direct staff to further explore citywide implementation of Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) policy T22.2: "Expand management options for residential parking permit districts in order to increase parking availability for residents" (LUCE page 4.0-71). Options include: • Limiting the number of residential permits issued, so that permits are "more than just a `hunting license"' (p. 4.0-68). Currently, residents are issued one permit for every vehicle they own and up to two visitor permits per household. In many neighborhoods, this results in a stark imbalance between the number of permits issued and the amount of on-street parking spaces. One way to achieve this would be to have an escalating fee schedule, where second or third permits cost more than the first permit. ® Excluding new residential projects from participation in preferential parking to various degrees (p. 4.0-69). Incentivizing residents to use garages for parking rather than storage (p. 4.0-69) or preventing residents with available off-street parking from purchasing permits. Environmental Analysis The proposed project has been determined to be categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to Article 19, Section 15301 (c) which defines Class 1 exempt projects in the following way: "Class 1 consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing; or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that existing at the time of the lead agency's determination." This exemption includes: "Existing highways and streets, sidewalks, gutters, bicycle and pedestrian trails, and similar facilities." Preferential parking zones involve only the issuance of permits for the use of an existing public street and include negligible or no expansion of this existing use. 8 Financial Impacts & Budget Actions An estimated 50 new permits would be sold in Zone Y upon Council approval, with further permits sold as additional blocks petition. This will generate $750 in account 01225.400290, which would offset the cost to the City of issuing permits to residents in the zone. In Zone W, the change in regulations would not change the number of permits sold. New signage will need to be ordered and installed for both zones at an initial cost of $6000 for the first ten blocks. Funds are available in account 01486.544010. Prepared by: Jason Kligier, Transportation Planning Associate Forwarded to Council: Approved: ~e'""\ / a Ro Gould ~T~ City Manager Attachments: A. Resolution Establishing Preferential Parking, Exhibit A -Preferential Parking Zones B. Zone W peak parking occupancy maps (2) C. Zone W parking occupancy study results D. Zone W community meeting comments E. Zone Y peak parking occupancy map F. Zone Y parking occupancy study results G. Zone Y community meeting comments 9 vevew~mem Attachment B (1 of 2) Peak Parking Occupancy: Tuesday, October 12, 2010 ~~ ~ 6' ti3~° 9~0 ~` cif, ti osq ~~ ~~j~ ~ ~~~~~ o® .1oq ~~~ t ~ ol~ ~ ., ,~~_ ~j °° e~q .1,P p0 o8q °s ~1c . ~ ~' '~' `~' ~ °~°~ ~ c~~q Oq i~ <,~~ ~~ Santa Aloniea" .~~,~ h,~ j tiQ a ,~~ ~„> '~~., o? D , aov or Santa 6loaiea°0 LEGEND 0 76% - 100 ,, 51% - 75% ®°® Petitioning Block Peak Percentage, Time(s) of observation Attachment B (2 of 2) Peak Parking Occupancy: Saturday, October 9, 2010 ATTACHMENT C Peak Parking Occupancy Tuesday Saturday Block Time % Time Santa Monica - Yale to Stanford 7S% 2P, 8P 100% 8P Santa Monica -Stanford to Berkeley 100% 7P 106% 2P, 11P Broadway - Yale to Stanford 110S% 9P, 10P 1100% 9A, 7P, 10P-2A Broadway- Stanford to Berkeley 100% 9P-2A 113% 6P !, Colorado - Yale to Stanford 1100% 11A, 1P 194% 7P-9P ! Colorado -Stanford to Berkeley 81% 11P 81% 9A Yale - Colorado to Broadway 198% 9P, 11P-2A 193% 1A Yale - Broadway to Santa Monica 90% 9P 93% 1A Berkeley- Colorado to Broadway 197% 10P-1A 95% 11P Berkeley-Broadwavto Santa Monica 88% 8P, 10P-12A, 1A 9S% 1P Centinela - Colorado to Broadway 93% 11P-2A 93% 9P Centinela - Broadway to Santa Monica 93% SP, 10P 98% 1A ATTACHMENT D Preferential Parking Community Meeting Comments Zone W Feb. 10, 2011 10 people in attendance • Busby's is the problem o Lots of noise, especially Thursday-Saturday nights o This is a behavioral problem, notjust a parking problem o Safety issue o .Empty bottles on street o A motorcycle was tipped over o Can Busby's increase parking capacity? • 7:30PM is especially a difficult time for parking • There are many non-permitted cars in the neighborhood in violation of regulations • I can usually find parking on Franklin • We were granted the current regulations because the Nessah Center and the auto businesses would flood the street with cars • New tenants are better neighbors than the Nessah Center was • Regulations should be uniform citywide • There are many handicap parking zones in this neighborhood o There are three on the 1400 block of Franklin o There needs to be a limit per block • In favor of 24 hour restrictions ® Car dealerships on Santa Monica Blvd park their cars on the street o Cars are abandoned on the street 0 72 hour rule violations • Can we install meters on the commercial frontage of Franklin Street? • Many patrons of the Senior Center and the Temple have blue placards o Abuse is Sam-6pm o Also Friday nights and all day Saturday at the temple • Opposed to two hour option 0 2 hours can become 3 or 4 o Auto dealers will abuse it o I like the idea, just not in this area • Can we install speed bumps? • Auto unloading is happening on Franklin LEGEND ' 0 Implemented ~ ~ Pre-Approved ~ ~.v 51% 75 `X . - ,,,'~ / ®, 76% - 100% ~ , ~~`~ u~a'~:r' ' ®_ ,: ,,~~~~~ Attachment E -- Weekday Peak Parking Occupancy ~~~0,5~1~~1o~~a~~~- Pcln[ed: Oee 22, 2x710 14.3721 AM ATTACHMENT F Peak Parking Occupancy Block Time 16`n -Ashland to Sunset 81% 10A, 12-2P 16`n-Sunset to Marine 32% 12-2P 17`h-Bryn Mawr to Sunset I33% 12-4P 17`h-Sunset to Robson 27% 8-10P 18`n- Pier to Marine 63% 10-11A, 1-3P 18`n-Marine to Navy 30% 9-10A Wellesley-17`"to 18"' (78% 3-4P Bryn Mawr-16`nto17`n 91% 6-8P Sunset-17`nto Dewey I86% 7-9P Marine-16`nto17`n 64% 9-11A Dewey-Robson to Sunset 26% 11A-12P Dewey-Sunset tol8`n 67% 12-SP ATTACHMENT G Preferential Parking Community Meeting Comments Zone Y January 20, 2011 23 people in attendance • There are lots of retired people in the neighborhood, which is why there are so many cars here during the day. • Parking on the 1700 block of Pier is full from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mon-Fri. o Trash, noise • The parking problem will be resolved when construction at SMC is complete. 0 1700 Wellesley has no problem. There are only a few student parkers. Residents have baby-sitters, gardeners, many family cars. Two families take most of the spots on the block. • 1700 Sunset has no SMC parking • 1600 Wellesley: the problem was pushed here after Ashland became a permit zone o Students park here all day o Opposed to PP, but it is necessary o Driveways are blocked o I would be okay with just a permit for Ashland, but that is not possible • 17th btw Ashland and Pier is impacted • SMC should shuttle from the beach lots • 3000 16th St mostly no problem o Some college parking o Wed and Thu are difficult because of street cleaning o Marine Park patrons park here • Parking enforcement is very effective • SMC should address this issue • The problem is simply being pushed • 1600 Ashland: Preferential Parking has been great. It's 70-80% better than before and there is less trash and crime. o Current regulations are not overkill • Some neighbors have many cars • 2 houroption is difficult to enforce • .There is no parking problem during the evening • Preferential Parking should only be during regular school hours: 8-4 or 9-4 • 1700 Pier: I would like 2 hour parking, Mon-Fri 9-5 • Two hour option is better for blocks that don't have pref park • 1600 Bryn Mawr wants overnight restrictions • 17th Street: lots of resident cars south of Bryn Mawr Reference Resolution No. 10574 (CCS).