NO. 06-2017

An ordinance to revise Ch. 1284 "Off-Street Parking, Ingress and Egress, and Loading Requirements" that outlines off-street parking requirements and related design standards.

The City Zoning Ordinance, initially adopted in 1924, has always included regulations concerning parking, landscaping, and fencing. While recent proposed revisions were prompted by the Redevelopment Ready Certification program (attached, pgs. 8-10), staff has struggled with interpretation and administration of regulations concerning all three topics. Additionally, the large number of parcels developed throughout the city have resulted in numerous nonconforming instances that could potentially cause problems if the property were ever to be improved or redeveloped. To alleviate these issues, the parking and fence ordinance are being revised to ensure consistency with other regulations, clarify definitions and how regulations should be applied, and eliminate to the extent possible, nonconforming situations where redevelopment would be very difficult. Although there are currently minimum landscaping standards located throughout the zoning ordinance, the proposed landscaping ordinance is new. All three ordinances were crafted together because of the amount of overlap between them, particularly as it relates to screening between residential and commercial properties.

Ch. 1284 Parking

The current and proposed parking ordinance applies to any multi-family residential complexes, office, commercial, and industrial developments where significant redevelopment of a property is being proposed (i.e. where a parking lot is slated to be removed and replaced) and for all proposed new developments.

Very few regulatory changes were made to the draft ordinance; the revisions to the ordinance primarily include:

• Addresses inconsistencies with other chapters, including setbacks and screening from adjacent properties.
• Organizes the ordinance into a format that makes it easier for staff and the public to understanding.
• Addition of diagrams to visually explain standards.
• Allow for flexible parking development, including calculating parking based on usable floor area (excluding stairs, storage rooms, bathrooms, etc.) rather than gross floor area, introduces an exemption if a property provides bicycle parking, and provides for shared parking areas between properties.

Parking regulations have not historically been a barrier to development in the City. Conversely, most developers choose to construct much more parking than what is currently required. These large expanses of parking lots, particularly those that are not often filled even close to capacity, are costly to construct and maintain, have implications for stormwater management, groundwater pollution, and limits future development potential of the property. Therefore, the draft ordinance proposes to institute maximum parking standards. The language includes exceptions for those developments that can justify larger parking lots, and would also allow developers to put land into set-aside for future parking development if/when deemed necessary.

Planning staff surveyed over fifteen properties (attached) in the city that are developed for a variety of office/commercial uses to analyze how proposed new standards could potentially impact existing development as well as anticipate future needs. The study shows that with the exception of parking for “big-box” businesses, the proposed regulations adhere to current parking needs. It is staff's opinion that the options written into the draft ordinance are sufficient to provide flexibility for a developer seeking more parking than outright required by code, and will not be a barrier to new development in the city.

The draft ordinance had been shared with the City Engineers at the  Department of Public Works and the City Attorney's Office for their review and input. The revisions have been discussed with both Business Improvement Districts as well as multiple businesses and property owners.

A press release was issued outlining the changes and encouraging property and business owners to contact the Planning Department if they have questions about any of the proposed regulations. Because each property is unique and there are multiple factors that may apply, Planning staff would have to discuss how regulations could impact their existing parcel as well as any future plans for redevelopment on an individual basis.

The Planning Commission has reviewed the draft ordinance at two public meetings, and held one public hearing. At their July 27, 2016 meeting they unaminously recommended approval to the City Commission.