SR-05-27-2014-11ACity Council Report
City of
Santa Monica'
City Council Meeting: May 13, 2014
Agenda Item: I
To: Mayor and City Council
From: David Martin, Planning and Community Development Director
Subject: Amendment of Preferential Parking Zone MM
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Amend the regulations to "2 hour parking between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily and No
Parking between 6 p.m. and 9 a.m. daily" for Preferential Parking Zone MM for the
following blocks: Bay, Grant, Pacific and Pearl Streets between Lincoln Boulevard
and 10th Street.
2. Approve the attached Resolution amending Preferential Parking Zone MM and
amending Resolution 9344 CCS (Resolution of the City Council of the City of Santa
Amending Preferential Parking Zones) by replacing Exhibit A.
Executive Summary
Residents of the 800 -900 block of Bay Street have submitted petitions to change the
existing preferential parking regulations on their block to be more restrictive and to be
on both sides of the street. The petition signers assert that nonresident parking in the
neighborhood generated by Lincoln and Pico Boulevard businesses is impacting their
ability to find parking near their homes.
Staff recommends amending the preferential parking regulations in this neighborhood to
provide consistent regulations adjacent to all residences on the blocks immediately to
the east of Lincoln Boulevard. The proposed regulations are: "2 hour parking between 9
a.m. and 6 p.m. daily and No Parking between 6 p.m. and 9 a.m. daily." Additional
revenue is not anticipated as a result of this action. New signage would be required at
an estimated cost of $2,400.
Background
Preferential parking is a tool 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
1
a block with preferential parking restrictions are eligible to purchase a permit. Permits
may be used within two block faces of the permit owner's address.
Residents may petition to modify the regulations in 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. In evaluating the petitions, staff typically evaluates the surrounding
neighborhood, rather than an individual block due to the potential for parking
displacement when regulations are changed. Staff typically recommends that Council
pre- approve preferential parking regulation changes for the entire zone to streamline
and expedite the process for adjacent blocks should some displacement occur. The
Council considers the preferential parking request and Municipal Code requirements to
approve the amendment of a preferential parking zone.
Once Council amends preferential parking regulations, the changes are implemented on
the block or blocks that have submitted qualifying petitions. Changes are not
implemented on blocks that have been pre- approved by the Council until the residents
of those blocks submit qualifying petitions representing two - thirds of the residential units
on the block; this enables residents of other blocks in the zone to retain their existing
regulations or petition to have the updated regulations implemented on their block.
Discussion
Zone MM was established by Council on March 5, 2002. The zone was amended on
March 23, 2004 to change regulations elsewhere in the zone and May 8, 2012 to add
regulations to Pearl Street. Refer to Attachment B for a map of the area parking
regulations. Zone MM consists of the blocks currently being considered, as well as gth
Street immediately north of Pico Boulevard and Michigan Avenue between Lincoln
Boulevard and 10th Street. The neighborhood is predominantly small multifamily
residences and commercial uses along Lincoln and Pico Boulevards.
N
There are currently two types of regulations in Zone MM. The regulations on Michigan
Avenue and 9th Street are 'Two hour parking between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily and No
Parking 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. daily, except by permit." The regulations on Pearl Street and
the north side of Bay, Grant and Pacific Streets are 'Two Hour parking between 7 a.m.
and 9 p.m. Monday — Friday, and Two Hour parking between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on
Saturdays."
The current regulations on Bay, Grant and Pacific Streets are unusual in that they are
only on one side of each street. The regulations on the north side of the street were
approved in 2002 when regulations were established on both sides of Lincoln Boulevard
and both sides of Pico Boulevard. The north side only regulations appear to be a
compromise as there was a reluctance to establish stringent regulations on other
residential streets in the vicinity in the Coastal Zone, specifically on the west side of
Lincoln Boulevard. The one -side of the street regulations are now in place on all three
blocks.
Regulations in the vicinity of Zone MM include Zone L "College Zone" of "No parking
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday — Thursday and between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Friday."
Directly to the south, the blocks west of Lincoln Boulevard have "No parking between 8
a.m. and 6 p.m." Regulations west of Lincoln Boulevard include "No Parking 7 a.m. — 6
p.m. Monday - Friday," "No Parking 8 a.m. — 6 p.m. daily," and 'Two Hour parking 7
a.m. — 6 p.m. Monday — Friday."
3
Existing Preferential Parking Regulations
Zone
Street
Monday- Friday
Saturday
Sunday
MM
Michigan
2 Hour 9am-
2 Hour gam -6pm,
2 Hour 9am -6pm,
Avenue (Lincoln
6pm, no parking
no parking 6pm-
no parking 6pm -
to 10th) and gth
6pm -9am
9am
9am
Street (Freeway
to Pico Blvd)
MM
North side of
2 Hour 7am -9pm
2 hour 9am -6pm
None
Bay, Grant, and
Pacific Streets
MM
Pearl Street
2 Hour 7am -9pm
2 hour 9am -6pm
None
L
_10ffi Street and
No parking 8am-
None
None
Streets to East
8pm Monday -
Thursday, No
parking 8am -
5pm Friday
V
Pine and Maple
No parking 8am-
No parking 8am-
No parking 8am -
Streets
6pm
6pm
6pm
Z
Cedar Street
No parking 8am-
No parking 8am-
No parking 8am -
6pm
6pm
6pm
In March 2013, a petition was submitted to change the existing preferential parking
regulations representing 67 percent of the households on the 800 -900 block of Bay
Street between Lincoln Boulevard and 10th Street. As a result of the original petition, a
parking occupancy study was conducted of the neighborhood. The parking occupancy
of Bay Street and streets to the South was observed hourly on Tuesday, June 4, 2013.
The study indicates that all blocks experience occupancies greater than 85% at some
time of the day. Bay Street occupancies exceed 85 %, a tipping point where it becomes
0
difficult to find a parking space, between 7a.m. and 2 p.m. and from 6 p.m. onwards.
Parking occupancies are greatest in the morning hours closest to Pico Boulevard and at
night time. Maps of the peak parking occupancies are included as Attachment C.
Sample Parking Occupancy for Non - Street Cleaning Weekday
Block Face
loam
6pm
9pm
Bay Street, north side, with
82%
86%
95%
preferential parking
Bay Street, south side, no
95%
89%
89%
regulations
Grant Street, north side, with
50%
65%
75%
preferential parking
Grant Street, south side, no
61%
67%
76%
regulations
Pacific Street, north side, with
78%
83%
72%
preferential parking
Pacific Street, south side, no
86%
68%
79%
regulations
Residents identified employees associated with Lincoln and Pico Boulevard businesses
as contributing to the parking problem in the neighborhood as well as Santa Monica
High School and Santa Monica College students. Night time concerns focused on
customers parking in the neighborhood for drinking establishments on Lincoln
Boulevard. Residents also expressed concern about increased parking demand they
believe will result from Walgreen's opening on Lincoln Boulevard. Blocks in this area are
part of the Employee Parking Permit Program unique to this area which issues up to 20
daytime parking permits to employees working for businesses located on properties with
legal non - conforming parking in the vicinity. Employers, such as Walgreens, that
provide code required parking are not eligible to purchase passes. The passes are
5
limited to one per block and the program has been generally well- regarded. The only
negative feedback associated with the program is the lack of additional permits and
limited geographic nature of the program
A community meeting was held on March 20, 2014 to discuss amending the preferential
parking regulations. Twelve community members were in attendance. Residents
expressed unanimous support for more stringent preferential parking regulations. A Pico
Boulevard employee communicated the difficulty she and her peers experience when
parking, especially for employees of businesses occupying older buildings with
insufficient parking. Full meeting comments are included as Attachment D.
In response to ongoing nonresident parking in the neighborhood including Pico and
Lincoln Boulevard businesses, staff recommends amending the regulations on Bay,
Grant, Pacific and Pearl Streets in this neighborhood to be: "2 hour parking between 9
a.m. and 6 p.m. daily and No Parking between 6 p.m. and 9 a.m. daily, except by
permit." The regulations would be consistent for all blocks in Zone MM, establishing a
base for consistency in the zone and on the residential blocks immediately east of
Lincoln Boulevard and creating a predictable pattern of regulations for residents and
visitors to the area alike. Blocks south of Bay Street are included in the recommendation
to expedite the preferential parking implementation process should residents submit
complete petitions in the future. This is similar to other areas that have requested more
stringent regulations, such as the neighborhood south of Exposition Boulevard. It
enables residents to request the stricter regulations through petition without the need to
return to Council for approval.
Alternatives
The Council could maintain the existing conditions or adopt different hours and types of
restrictions than recommended.
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.
Next Steps
If the preferential parking regulations are amended, they would be implemented on the
petitioning block within eight weeks. Blocks that have preferential parking regulations
would also be eligible to petition for the new, more restrictive regulations. Pre - approved
blocks would be eligible to petition for the new regulations.
Staff is returning to Council with a study session in July in response to requests to
evaluate options for altering preferential parking. Information presented to the Council
will include best practices from other communities with residential preferential parking
programs, options for addressing concerns regarding the existing preferential parking
program, and data about the existing preferential parking system in Santa Monica.
7
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the
recommended action. Staff will return to Council if specific budget actions are required
in the future. Implementing this recommendation will result in a one -time cost in the
amount of $2,400 for the purchase and installation of the new signage. Funds are
available in the FY 2013 -14 budget in division 01416; the expenditures will be charged
to account 01416.544010.
Prepared by: Jason Kligier, AICP, Transportation Planning Associate
Approved:
7t),J k6
David Martin
Director, Planning and Community
Development
Forwarded to Council:
Rod Gould
City Manager
Attachments:
A. Resolution Establishing Preferential Parking, Exhibit A — Preferential Parking
Zones
B. Existing parking regulations map
C. Parking occupancy data maps
D. Community meeting comments
1.3
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Attachment D
Preferential Parking Meeting Comments: March 20, 2014
• Parking Enforcement of 2 hour parking regulations seems lax
• Pacific, Bay and Grant have Friday and Saturday night problems from bar
• Unused parking lot across Lincoln @ Kragen
• Many nights have problems in addition to days
• Building owners rent parking to other people, often for storage
• Parking spaces are taken as soon as vacated
• SMC Students park in the unregulated parking spaces
• Plumbers park trucks here and get picked up to go elsewhere
• Saturdays + Sundays are a little better unless the weather is nice (beach day)
• Residents feel trapped especially on street cleaning days
• Increase 2 block radius
• Office on 10th /Pico has about 10% of employees park in neighborhood, and that is with
securing additional off street parking
• People from outside the neighborhood who park there leave trash
• Homeless —trash and waste
• Employee permits are smart
• Automotive businesses employees use many spaces, also store cars on street
• Request for no parking, except by permit
• These are the only blocks in the area where businesses can park
• Desire for both sides to have regulations
• Prefer street sweeping only twice /month?
Reference:
Resolution No. 10808
(CCS)