City Council Minutes 2000 09 19 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Louisville City Council Meeting September 19, 2000 Page 5. area. He suggested a tiered scale of fees assessed according to the size of the business. He felt that would encourage small businesses. Nancy Love, 841 Front Street, Louisville, CO stated that the downtown businesses want the parking fee ordinance. She stated that the freestanding restaurant exemption should apply to all restaurants. She agreed that the businesses with approved PUD's have already come before Council in good faith and should be exempted from the parking ordinance. She asked Council to work with the local downtown businesses and pass the ordinance. Eric Hartronft concurred with the comments made by other business owners. He stated that the DBA has made several suggestions, none of which were incorporated into any version of the ordinance. He agreed with the tiered scale system and the exemption for approved PUD's. He stated that a fee in-lieu of parking is needed and urged Council to pass the ordinance. Davidson closed the public hearing. COUNCIL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS Mayer reviewed the history of the Parking Ordinance and the issue of parking in the downtown area. He noted that in November of 1997, the cost of a fee in-lieu of parking spaces was $5,000. In terms of costs, he reviewed that the calculation of the fee was based on the City's actual cost to purchase land and build the parking lots. He noted that it is important to treat everyone fairly. With respect to approved PUD's, he stated that a time period needs to be set or the parking ordinance will go into effect. With respect to the tiered scale, he stated that those funds would have to be identified. Mayer hoped that the ordinance could be approved. Keany voiced his belief that the $10, 500 fee is too high and that there is a need to support the downtown area. He stated that the tiered system may have merit, but questioned how equitable and how well it would work. He did not believe in an exemption for restaurant use and stated he had a problem with applying the parking fees to approved PUD's. He agreed that a time limit should be placed on PUD's. Howard stated that he had a problem with the freestanding restaurant exemption clause. He noted that the cost of the parking fee did not include the cost of maintaining the parking spaces. He stated that with a compromise on some minor issues, he is willing to support the ordinance.