SR-07-28-2015-7C 417-011/422-000City Council Report
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Santa Man ®ea,
City Council Regular Meeting: July 28, 2015
Agenda Item: 7
To: Mayor and City Council
From: David Martin, Director, Strategic Planning (PCD)
Subject: Municipal Code Chapter 3 Amendments - Bike & Car Share, Parking
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council introduce for first reading the attached
ordinance amending the Municipal Code to add Chapter 3.20 (Bike Share) to define the
system and regulate use of bike station equipment; amend Chapter 3.06 (Car Share) to
allow off - street car share spaces, and refine provisions of Chapter 3.12 (Traffic
Regulations) that regulate parking in front of commercial driveways under specific
circumstances.
Executive Summary
The City is implementing Council priority programs to encourage diverse modes of
transportation that expand transportation choice and can reduce vehicle trips and
parking demand throughout the City. These programs are important components of the
City's overall strategy to reach the LUCE goal of "no net new PM peak hour trips." Two
of these programs - bike share and car share - are scheduled to launch within the next
year. Bike share will be the first to begin operations and is scheduled for system testing
in a few weeks, with full roll out in November. A car share pilot would follow shortly
thereafter subsequent to selecting a provider through the request for proposal process.
In addition, the City has a permitting process that allows businesses under certain
circumstances to obtain permits to park in locations that block their driveways, provided
that sidewalk width is maintained. A previous Code amendment removed language that
allows angled parking to be permitted where feasible, and it is now proposed to restore
that language.
The following summarizes staffs recommendations:
Bike share: Add Chapter 3.20 Bike Share with provisions that define bike share,
specify use of hub (station) racks, and provide enforcement mechanisms.
® Car share: Amend Chapter 3.06 to allow the City's program to designate car share
spaces also in public off - street City -owned parking facilities such as in parking
structures or City -owned surface lots.
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® Parking in front of commercial driveways: Amend Chapter 3.12 to restore the ability
for commercial property owners to obtain permits for angled parking in front of their
driveways subject to permit when specific conditions can be met.
The enforcement of the bike share ordinance will entail administrative costs by the
Police Department to be recovered through impound release charges as detailed below.
The recommended Municipal Code amendments have no other financial or budgetary
impacts.
Background
Bike Share
On November 14, 2014, Council authorized a contract for the procurement, installation
and operations of the bike share system and provided direction to staff on a number of
follow -up implementation items that required Council approval including amending the
Municipal Code as necessary to accommodate the program. The staff report identified
to Council that the Code would need to be amended to prohibit the use of racks in this
"smart bike" system by non - system bicycles and noted that other possible regulations
would be explored and recommended as appropriate.
The newly revised Zoning Ordinance (SMMC Article IX) includes City Bike Share as a
permitted use in all districts. While most stations will be located on the public right of
way, the designation of bike share as a permitted use ensures that hubs may be
expanded in the future onto private properties through development agreements or by
property owner request.
The Municipal Code amendments recommended herein are needed for operations and
enforcement when bike share is implemented citywide later this year.
Car Share
Car sharing, a membership based system where pre- approved members have access
to private automobiles on a short -term basis at a specified rate (inclusive of fuel,
insurance, and maintenance), makes it easier for households to live without a car or a
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second vehicle while also serving as a first- and last -mile option for transit riders. On
July 10, 2012, Council approved Ordinance No. 2403 (CCS), which authorizes the
implementation of a City car share program and allows staff to designate specific on-
street parking spaces for the exclusive use of car share vehicles. Subsequently, on
June 25, 2013, Council authorized a two -year contract with the Hertz Corporation to
provide a pilot car share program in the City of Santa Monica. Hertz became non-
responsive during the contract negotiations and on May 27, 2014, Council withdrew
authorization of the negotiations with Hertz and directed staff to initiate a new request
for proposals for the Pilot Car Share Program.
The Municipal Code amendments recommended herein are needed to authorize a City
car share program inclusive of public off - street parking spaces.
Parking in Front of Commercial Driveways
Council adopted an ordinance allowing commercial property owners to obtain permits
for parking in front of their private driveways in May 2003. Initially, the language did not
specify the specific direction for parking and some businesses were allowed angled
parking in front of their driveways on street blocks where angled parking predominated.
However, a subsequent change to the municipal code specified that cars blocking
driveways must be parked parallel to the curb. While most streets have parking oriented
parallel to the curb, some streets have angled parking. The angled parking that had
previously been permitted was thus unintentionally prohibited through this amendment.
The Municipal Code amendments recommended herein are needed to clarify that
angled parking is permitted where appropriate.
Discussion
Bike Share
The Social Bicycles (SoBi) equipment to be installed and operated by CycleHop, the
City's bike share operator, was selected for its flexibility and value, which has allowed
staff and CycleHop to plan for the siting of approximately 65 -75 hubs (stations)
throughout Santa Monica, including up to five in Venice (City of Los Angeles). The
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system's "smart bike" technology provides the registration, checkout and locking
mechanism on each individual bike, eliminating the need for kiosks at every hub and
replacing complex docking technology with simple branded racks. The rack design
makes it easy for Breeze bikes to park and lock. However, in this type of system, there
is nothing to physically prevent people from locking their bicycles to Breeze hub racks.
For this reason, it is necessary to enact Code provisions that prohibit use of the rack by
non - system bicycles and authorize the City's Code Enforcement officers to enforce the
provision.
As a new activity within the City, the Code does not contain provisions to regulate bike
share. Staff proposes to create a new Chapter 3.20, which is currently "Reserved" for
such a purpose. The new chapter defines bike share generally and the bike share
system specifically as the City -owned and operated system and prohibits privately -
owned bicycles from being left standing or parked in the system's station areas. The
proposed language contains enforcement provisions including removal, impounding and
administrative penalties (fines) that may be imposed for violation of these provisions.
The language also makes non - payment of user fees and misuse of the bicycles in a
way that endangers public health or safety or threatens injury to persons a violation of
the Municipal Code.
Car Share
Updates to the Municipal Code on July 10, 2012 specifically authorized the possible
utilization of public, on- street spaces for a City car sharing program. In further
assessing local needs, industry best practices, and City resources staff recommends
the modification of Ordinance No. 2403 (CCS) to add the possible utilization of public
off - street spaces for a City car sharing program. The City owns and operates a
substantial number of off - street parking lots and garages with a wide geographic
distribution throughout the City making them ideal locations for a car sharing service.
The proposed changes would allow the City to dedicate off - street parking resources for
the use of a car sharing program.
Car sharing is also encouraged by the City's updated Zoning Ordinance, adopted on
June 23, 2015, through provision 9.28.180(C) which allows for the reduction of two
parking spaces for every car sharing parking space provided, with a maximum of 25%
of the required parking spaces, not to exceed 10 spaces. Additionally, the City
continues to negotiate the placement of car sharing vehicles at numerous private off -
street locations in the City, such as two vehicles at The Village project, through the
Development Agreement process. The selected operator would be encouraged to
pursue additional private off- street locations, particularly in areas where public off - street
locations are not available, in order to form a more geographically diverse car share
network.
Parking in Front of Commercial Driveways
Parked vehicles can be cited for blocking driveways. Commercial property owners have
the option to apply for a permit to allow them to block their own driveway when the
placement of the parked vehicles is consistent with road safety guidelines. As of May
2015, there are 25 permits issued to six different businesses. Businesses in the vicinity
of Olympic Boulevard have applied for parking that would otherwise comply with the
Municipal Code, but are interested in having angled parking consistent with the street
parking adjacent to their business.
Because of a Code revision that required parking (by permit) that blocks a driveway to
be parallel to the curb, angled parking is now excluded in some locations in which it had
previously been allowed. Consequently, staff has had to deny applications for angled
parking that had been approved in the past. Business owners have decided not to
pursue permits for parallel parking because it is impractical to have cars park parallel
between angled street parking spaces. This has resulted in a loss of parking that
businesses need. The proposed change would reinstate the ability to permit angled
parking in front of driveways if that is the predominant design of public parking on the
street.
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Alternatives
As an alternative to the proposed amendments to the Municipal Code, Council may
elect to make no changes, in which case Code Enforcement staff would not be able to
cite bicycles parked in bike share stations. If Council chooses not to make amendments
to Chapter 3.06 in regard to Car Share, staff would develop the program using parking
resources only on City streets; parking spaces located in City parking structures and
other off - street locations would not be included. Should Council prefer to leave the
current restrictions to parking in front of driveways, businesses that had previously been
able to park at an angle will be required to only park parallel.
Environmental Analysis
The proposed Municipal Code amendments are exempt from the provisions of the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the
State Implementation Guidelines in that these provisions accommodate the
implementation of City programs designed to reduce vehicle trips, with positive
environmental effects. Approval of the programs by Council is taken through separate
actions with associated CEQA review. Therefore, it can be seen with certainty that
there is no possibility that the Council's action on the proposed text amendments may
have a significant effect on the environment.
Public Outreach
Outreach for the bike share program has been extensive and was outlined to the
Council in the February 10, 2015 staff report. Discussion of the purpose of bike share
racks has consistently noted that other bicycles would not be allowed to use the bike
share stations.
The proposal to allow off - street car share comes from further research into best
practices to include in a vendor RFP. Outreach on the program will be required as part
of that contract.
The request to reinstate previous Code language emerged from the City's interaction
with businesses that have been affected by enforcement of the revised (current)
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language that has eliminated angled parking.
Notice of the proposed Municipal Code amendments was published in the Santa
Monica Daily Press at least ten consecutive calendar days prior to the hearing.
Next Steps
The Breeze bike share program is scheduled for system testing in the latter part of
August, to be followed by a full- system launch in November. Based on the Council's
approval of this ordinance, all stations would be clearly marked to prohibit the parking of
unauthorized bicycles on the station racks.
Staff will continue to develop the car share program through the anticipated release of a
request for proposals for a car sharing program in the summer of 2015 with the award of
a car sharing provider contract going to Council shortly thereafter.
Changes to the driveway parking permit provisions would enable staff to continue to
renew driveway permits which allow vehicles to park angled to the curb, and issue new
permits to businesses consistent with municipal code provisions.
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Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
The enforcement of the bike share ordinance will entail administrative costs by the
Police Department for impounding and storing unauthorized bicycles. However, most of
these costs should be recovered upon release of bicycles from impound to bicycle
owners. The estimated administrative costs will be presented to Council with the next
mid -year budget, which will coincide with the bike share launch. The recommended
Municipal Code amendments have no other financial or budgetary impacts.
Prepared By: Liz Bar-El, Senior Planner
Approved Forwarded to Council
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David Martin, Director 711612015 Elaine M Polachek, Asst. City Ma?YA@ 8015
Attachments:
A. Article III Code Amendments 7 -28 -15 ORDIANANCE (5) (PDF)
B. July 10, 2012 Staff Report (web link)
C. June 25, 2013 Staff Report (web link)
D. May 27, 2014 Staff Report
E. November 11, 2014 Staff Report
F. February 10, 2015 Staff Report
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City Council Meeting: 07 -28 -2015 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA AMENDING ARTICLE III, CHAPTERS 3.06 (CAR
SHARE), 3.12 (TRAFFIC REGULATIONS), AND 3.20 (BIKE
SHARE) TO ACCOMMODATE CITY - SPONSORED BIKE SHARE
AND CAR SHARE PROGRAMS AND MODIFY TRAFFIC
REGULATIONS RELATING TO PERMIT PARKING IN FRONT OF
COMMERCIAL DRIVEWAYS
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Monica (the "City ") has established goals
in the Land Use and Circulation Element and the Sustainable City Plan to
reduce congestion and GHG.emissions that harm air quality and contribute to
global warming; and
WHEREAS, the strategy for reducing vehicle trips and vehicle miles
traveled (VMT) includes encouraging all members of the Santa Monica
community to take more trips using bicycles and to reduce car ownership
through providing alternative transportation solutions; and
WHEREAS, on November 11, 2014, the City Council of the City of Santa
Monica (the "City Council ") selected CycleHop, LLC, as the City's operator to
install and operate a "smart bike" bike share system including stations with
racks that are designated for the exclusive use of the bike share system; and
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WHEREAS, the City -owned Breeze bike share system is scheduled to be
launched in 2015 with 500 bicycles and 1,000 racks at more than 75 locations
citywide; and
WHEREAS, the City requires enforcement tools to remove unauthorized
bicycles from bike share station racks and ensure compliance with City
regulations governing use of the City's bike share system and the City's right of
way; and
WHEREAS, the current Municipal Code provisions for car share assumed only
the use of on- street parking spaces and the City wishes to initiate a car share program
that will be inclusive of both on- street and off - street parking spaces; and
WHEREAS, in recognition of the continuing need for businesses to
provide parking to meet their needs, the City desires to restore previous
language allowing angled tandem parking for commercial uses that blocks a
driveway at appropriate locations based on the predominant parking pattern on
the block.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 3.06 of Article III of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is
hereby amended as follows:
Chapter 3.06 CAR SHARE
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3.06.010 Purpose.
The car share permit requirements established in this Chapter are intended to
promote sustainable and alternative diverse transportation practices, alleviate traffic
congestion, manage the availability of on street parking utilization of parkinq resources,
particularly in areas that will maximize the use of car share vehicles, and thereby
improve traffic and parking circulation.
3.06.020 Definitions.
The following words or phrases as used in this Chapter shall have the following
meanings.
(a) Car Share Vehicle. "Car share vehicle" shall mean a motor vehicle, no more
than six feet in height, that is operated as part of a regional fleet by a public or private
car sharing company or organization and provides hourly or daily service.
(b) City Car Share Program. "City car share program" shall mean a program
under which the City designates en stree parking spaces for the exclusive use of
vehicles displaying a valid car share permit.
(c) Car Share Permit. "Car share permit' shall mean a permit issued by the City
for a car share vehicle.
(d) Eligible Car Share Organization. "Eligible car share organization" shall mean
a public or private car sharing company or organization that satisfies the criteria of this
Chapter.
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3.06.030 Designation of car share parking spaces.
The Director of Planning and Community Development, or designee, is
authorized in accordance with the purposes of this Chapter to designate stFe °per
,,.Bens of streets parking spaces by signs or markings upon which parking is reserved
for the exclusive use of car share vehicles.
3.06.040 Car share permit required.
No person shall stop, park or leave standing any vehicle in a place designated for
the exclusive parking of car share vehicles participating in the City car share program,
unless the vehicle has a valid car share permit displayed as directed by the City.
3.06.050 Eligibility criteria for car share company or organization.
Participation in the City car share program is limited to car share companies or
organizations selected through a competitive bidding process, based on criteria
including but not limited to the following:
(a) The car share company or organization must have an online or other similarly
accessed real -time system used for processing and paying for car share vehicle
reservations;
(b) The car share vehicles may be accessed where they are parked without
requiring a person to go to a different physical location to execute a contract or pick up
keys or other access and ignition devices.
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SECTION 2. Chapter 3.12 of Article III of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is
hereby amended as follows:
3.12.830 Parking prohibited in specified places.
(a) Unless otherwise designated by a posted sign or a parking meter, no
person shall stop, park or leave standing any vehicle in front of any entrance to any
carport, garage or in front of any driveway apron, or upon that portion of any public
street or place in the City where the City has erected a sign or painted in red a portion of
the curb line.
(b) Notwithstanding the prohibitions contained in subsection (a) of this
Section, the owner or occupant of a single -unit commercial property may obtain a permit
or permits authorizing parking or leaving vehicles standing in the street in front of across
the driveway of that commercial property. Fer purposes of this s, b68Gtion "aGF„SS the
" . At
no time may a person park a vehicle in such a manner that blocks or intrudes upon any
portion of a sidewalk or horizontal extension of a sidewalk adjacent to the driveway or
extension of a driveway crossing over the public right -of -way.
(1) Application Required. An application must be submitted to the City which
includes the following information:
(A) Applicant's name and address;
(B) Address of the property where parking will occur;
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(C) Layout of driveway and detail of parking area it serves;
(D) Certification that entire parking area served provides parking for either the
owner or single tenant;
(E) A Srscaled and dimensioned layout of parking requested in the public right-
of -way showing each proposed space or spaces at least twenty feet in length if parallel
to the curb and eighteen feet in length if designed in another manner;
(F) The names and numbers of person(s) to be notified twenty -four hours a
day, seven days a week, in the event of complaints or concerns regarding parking
operation.
(2) Number of Permits. The number of permits issued annually by the City for
a property shall be limited to the number of parking spaces identified on the parking
layout.
(3) Responsibility for Permits. The permits shall be issued to the owner or
tenant, who shall have the sole responsibility for maintaining control of them and their
use.
year.
(4) Term of Permits. Permits shall expire annually on December 31st of each
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may be set by resolution of the City Council. Additionally, the City may charge a fee to
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cover the cost of processing permit applications, signage, and other costs resulting from
the permitting process.
(6) Signage. The parking area shall be posted with signage to inform
motorists that the driveway is subject to closure at any time by the property owner or
lessee and giving a contact telephone number that will be answered twenty -four hours a
day, seven days a week. The sign(s) shall be placed on the subject property in a
location visible to the public.
days.
(7) Processing. Once complete, applications shall be processed within thirty
SECTION 3. Chapter 3.20 is hereby added to Article III of the Santa Monica
Municipal Code as follows:
CHAPTER 3.20 BIKE SHARE
3.20.010 Bike Share Defined.
Bike Share is a public service provided by the City of Santa Monica in which
bicycles and bicycle storage facilities are made available for shared use to individuals
on a short term basis.
3.20.020 Bike Share System Defined.
Bike share system as used in this Chapter shall mean the system of bicycles,
bicycle racks and kiosks owned by the City of Santa Monica and operated as part of the
City's bike share program.
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3.20.030 Prohibitions Regarding Private Use of Bike Share Facilities.
(a) No person shall park or leave standing any bicycle that is not part of the
City's bike share system at, on, or within any bike rack that is part of the City's bike
share system.
(b) Any bicycle that is not part of the City's bike share system parked or left
standing at a bike rack that is part of the City's bike share system may be removed and
impounded. The owner of the bicycle that is removed and impounded shall be
responsible for any fees in connection with such removal and impounding. City shall
have no liability for loss or damage to locks and other personal items that are attached
to a bicycle that is removed because parked or left standing at a bike rack that is part of
the City's bike share system.
(c) No privately owned and /or commercially operated bicycle facilities other
than the City's designated bike share operator may be stationed in the City's right of
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3.20.035 Bike Share Fees.
Bike Share fees and regulations governing use of the City's bike share system
may be established and changed, from time to time, by resolution of the City Council.
3.20.045 Payment of Bike Share Fees.
No person shall use a bicycle that is part of the City's bike share system without
payment of fees adopted by resolution of the City Council.
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3.20.160 Prohibited activities.
No person shall violate a regulation governing use of the City's bike share
system, or engage in any sports or recreational activity with any bike share bicycle that
endangers public health or safety or threatens injury to persons, or damage to property,
including, without limitation, the City's bike share system.
3.20.200 Penalties.
(a) Any person who violates any provision of this Chapter shall be guilty of an
infraction with a penalty amount of $50.00. Additionally, if a bicycle that is not part of the
City's bike share system is impounded, its owner shall be required to pay a release fee
to recover the cost of impounding and storage of the bicycle.
(b) Any person who violates any provision of this Chapter shall be subject to
administrative fines and administrative penalties pursuant to Chapter 1.09 of this Code.
(c) The remedies provided in this Chapter are not exclusive, and nothing in
this Chapter shall preclude any person from seeking other remedies, penalties or
procedures provided by law.
SECTION 4. 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 no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary
to effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
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SECTION 5. 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 6. 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 after its adoption.
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