Council
Meeting: June 11, 2002 Santa
Monica, California
To: Mayor
and City Council
From: City
Staff
Subject: Recommendation to: 1) Adopt a Resolution Creating Preferential Parking Zone UU (Ocean Avenue/2nd Street/3rd Street/4th Street between Wilshire and Montana, and Montana Avenue/Idaho Avenue/Washington Avenue/California Avenue between Ocean Avenue and 4th Street), 2) Amend Preferential Parking Zone ZZ (5th Street/6th Street/7th Street between Wilshire and Washington, and Washington and California Avenues between 4th Street and 7th Street), 3) Eliminate Zones NN and RR as they are completely contained within Zone L, and 4) Amend City Council Resolution 9344 CCS
This report recommends the adoption of a new
preferential parking zone including Ocean Avenue, 2nd Street, 3rd
Street, and 4th Street between Wilshire Boulevard and Montana
Avenue, and Montana Avenue, Idaho Avenue, Washington Avenue, and California
Avenue between Ocean Avenue and 4th Street. It also recommends amending Zone ZZ
(directly to the east of UU) to have compatible regulations. Finally, it recommends elimination of Zones
NN and RR which are contained within Zone L.
There
are currently no preferential parking regulations within proposed Zone UU (See
Attachment B). Two blocks have submitted complete petitions for preferential parking to the
Transportation Management Division: the 1000 block of 3rd Street between Wilshire Boulevard and California Avenue,
and the 200 block of California Avenue between 2nd and 3rd
Streets. Many other blocks have started
the petitioning process but have not yet gathered the required number of
signatures. This area is in the
California Coastal Zone, within which the California Coastal Commission works
to ensure beach access for all Californians.
Therefore, the City will not implement daytime restrictions in this
area, but may provide evening and nighttime restrictions to help residents park
near their homes.
Parking demand in this area is high due to its dense residential development as well as its proximity to the successful business districts on Montana Avenue and in the Downtown/Bayside. Employees from a few large hotels in this area park on the residential streets. Many buildings in the area, including both residential and commercial buildings, were constructed prior to the adoption of current parking standards. Most available spaces in the adjacent commercial areas are subject to fees and/or time limits in order to encourage turnover and offset the cost of providing parking facilities for visitors and employees. Proximity to the beach and Palisades Park also contributes to demand.
The City has recently reconfigured street parking to
add 42 spaces on 3rd and 4th Streets and constructed a
294-space parking structure (Structure 9) on 4th Street just north
of Wilshire. The structure provides
hourly parking (free, for the first two hours) and a limited number of monthly
permits, including a night/weekend permit designed for residents’ use.
On September 25, 2001, the City Council approved
preferential parking for the area just east of this area, namely 5th,
6th, and 7th Streets from Wilshire to Washington, and
California and Washington Avenues from 4th to 7th Street
(known as Zone ZZ). Restrictions in
this area are “Two-hour parking 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. daily, except by
permit.” When Council approved Zone ZZ,
it acknowledged that residents in the coastal area often parked on the streets
in Zone ZZ in the evenings and overnight.
It is for this reason that Council did not make regulations extend later
for Zone ZZ, but agreed to re-visit the Zone ZZ regulations along with
regulations in this coastal area.
A summary of parking occupancies observed is included
as Attachment C. The summary is based on a survey conducted in September 2001
in the area bounded by Wilshire Boulevard, 5th Street, Montana
Avenue and Ocean Avenue. It indicates
that parking spaces are scarce during the day and at night. Occupancies greater
than 85% occur frequently throughout the day, indicating a high demand by
residents, intensified by demand by non-residents. The survey suggests that
parking demand for adjacent evening uses, especially visitors and employees of
the Ppromenade
and area hotels, overlaps with the parking demand of residents.
Metered parking spaces on Wilshire Boulevard are
heavily used during the midday and late afternoons, even though free parking is
available for up to two hours in City structures. The metered parking on 4th Street just north of
Wilshire Boulevard, and adjacent to unregulated, free parking in the
residential area has less use. This suggests that while some people are willing
to pay to park close to their destination, others are willing to park farther
from their destination if the parking is free, especially if they are visiting
or working in the commercial area for an extended period of time.
These observations, made after the opening of Parking Structure 9 in August 2001, indicate that demand remains high around the structure. Although spaces are available within the new structure, many visitors, employees and residents continue to choose free, long-term parking in front of residences. This confirms that providing additional paid parking opportunities without concurrently regulating street parking does not relieve pressure on neighborhood streets.
Residents, businesses and property owners of the area
were notified of the proposed preferential parking zone by mail and invited to
a December 2001 community meeting to discuss preferential parking. Residents wished that they could have
daytime restrictions as well as nighttime restrictions and stressed that they
don’t perceive that the majority of non-resident parkers are going to the
beach. Some (especially the residents
of 4th Street) felt that parking has been more difficult since the
implementation of Zone ZZ directly to their east. They also discussed the density of their blocks and the
difficulty of obtaining signatures.
Staff helped interested people from the same blocks to meet and
coordinate signature collection. A
listing of the comments received at the meeting and in writing is included as
Attachment D.
Transportation Management Division staff and Economic
Development staff also met with managers from two area hotels, the Fairmont
Miramar and the Radisson Huntley, in November 2001. Staff
explained that evening/overnight regulations may be coming which would impact
their employees who park on the street.
Staff discussed with the hotels alternate parking solutions for their
night staff that could be encouraged, such as carpooling, special bus shuttles which the hotels would provide to take employees to
an off-site parking location, and overnight parking in local structures, including their
own.
The regulations proposed by staff are:
The specific blocks that would be in preferential
parking zone UU are:
Consistent with Council recommendations at the time
of the adoption of Zone ZZ, and because Zones ZZ and UU are geographically
adjacent to one another, an amendment is proposed which would be make Zone ZZ
consistent with the new Zone UU in the evenings and overnight. The amended regulations proposed by staff
are:
Staff is recommending changes to clarify and simplify
the preferential parking resolution. No
actual regulations are affected.
Council adopted Zone NN to regulate parking on Pearl Street between
Euclid and 11th Streets in May 1998 and Zone RR to regulate parking
on Pacific Street between Euclid and 11th Streets in October
1998. These streets have the same
regulations as Zone L and the streets have been contained within Zone L since
its most recent amendment in December 1999.
Zone L currently regulates a large area around the Santa Monica College
with the following restrictions: No parking 8am – 8pm Monday through Thursday
and no parking 8am – 5pm Friday, except by permit. Staff recommends eliminating Zones NN and RR as they are
incorporated in Zone L.
Initially, it is estimated that area residents in the
proposed zone will purchase approximately 420 new permits. This will generate
an estimated $6,300 in additional revenue per year.
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 was recently amended to define 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 little or no expansion of use beyond that existing at the time of the lead agency’s determination. . ." This exemption lists as an example of "existing facilities:" "( c ) 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.
It is recommended that the City Council approve the attached Resolution creating Preferential Parking Zone UU, amending Preferential Parking Zone ZZ, and eliminating Preferential Parking Zones NN and RR, 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.
Attachments: A Resolution Establishing Preferential Parking,
Exhibit A –
E Letter to
Coastal Commission Staff
E-1 Map Sent
with Letter to Coastal Staff
Prepared
By: Suzanne Frick, Director of
Planning and Community Development
Lucy Dyke,
Transportation Planning Manager
Beth
Rolandson, Senior Transportation Planner
Ruth Harper,
Transportation Planning Associate