City Council Minutes 1999 04 06 - Laserfiche WebLink

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amendments would also affect the title of the Ordinance, if Council adopts the amendments. Paul Wood, Planning Director, stated that Ordinance 1287, Series 1998, if authorized, would establish a parking requirement specific to the downtown commercial district. Both the Planning Commission and City Council have reviewed it on a number of occasions, both in formal public heatings and in work sessions. The initial second reading/public hearing of the ordinance was held at the November 17, 1998 City Council meeting. At that meeting, it was continued until January 5, 1999 to allow the downtown traffic study to be completed. It has subsequently been continued on several occasions, most recently at the March 16 City Council meeting, to allow the Planning Commission to review the ordinance and make a final recommendation. The Planning Commission reviewed the Ordinance on March 18 and their recommendation is forwarded to City Council. The ordinance has been amended since the first reading, and the proposed second reading amendments have been properly published. The current draft includes the following: It would establish a parking requirement of 2.5 spaces per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area. That is stated in the ordinance as one space per 400 square feet of gross floor area. The 2.5 spaces requirement is based on data from the Staff parking survey, which determined existing parking demand to range from 1.8 to 2.6 spaces per 1,000 square feet. That survey used gross square footage in its analysis. The 2.5 space standard is an increase from the 2.0 spaces per 1,000 square feet that was originally proposed. Existing building area is exempted from the parking requirement, only additions and new construction have to meet the parking requirement. Existing private parking in excess of the requirement could be used to meet all or part of the parking demand for an expansion. Existing private parking cannot be removed unless it exceeds the 2.5 spaces per 1,000 requirement. 3. The parking requirement would apply to the CC zoned district on both sides of the RR tracks and the CB district on the west side of the tracks. 4. All commercial land uses are treated the same, there are no exemptions for retail and restaurant uses, as was once proposed. o The proposed parking improvement fee has been removed. Parking is allowed to be located off-site. However, it must be within 700 feet, with the distance measured as reasonable, safe and a legal pedestrian route. The 700 feet is an increase in distance from the standard zoning code distance of 300 feet, measured in a straight line distance. That was done in an effort to provide more flexibility in finding appropriate locations for parking. The 700 feet distance is recommended in the Downtown Framework Plan. 10