City Council Agenda and Packet 1998 12 01

Home Browse Search

ORDINANCE No. 1287, SERIES 1998 - AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A PARKING IMPROVEMENT FEE TO ASSIST IN MEETING PARKING NEEDS IN DOWNTOWN LOUISVILLE, AND AMENDING CHAPTER 17.20 OF THE LOUISVILLE MUNICIP AL CODE AND THE LOUISVILLE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT DESIGN STANDARDS Al'rD GUIDELINES TO REQUIRE THAT ALL DEVELOPMENT WITHIN DO\VNTOWN LOUISVILLE MEET SPECIFIC OFF- STREET PARKING REQUIREMlENTS OR, IN LIEU THEREOF, PAY A PARKING IMPROVEMENT FEE -1st READING - SET PUBLIC HEARING 11/17/98 Davidson called for City Attorney introduction. Sam Light, City Attorney, read by title only Ordinance No. 1287, Series 1998 - An Ordinance Establishing a Parking Improvement Fee to Assist in Meeting Parking Needs in Downtown Louisville, and Amending Chapter 17.20 of the Louisville Municipal Code and the Louisville Commercial Devdopment Design Standards and Guidelines to Require that all Development within Downtown Louisville Meet Specific Off-Street Parking Requirements or, in Lieu Ther~of, Pay a Parking Improvement Fee. Light stated that page three of the Council Communication contains a blank where a dollar amount determined by Council is to be filled in. Davidson called for public comments. Sam Light, City Attorney, explained that this is the first reading of Ordinance No. 1287 and suggested that those wishing to have their comments included for the record should attend the public hearing and sign up to speak. o Davidson stated that he would allow comments tonight due to the importance of the issue. Erik Hartronft, 841 Front Street, Louisville, Colorado, thanked Council for the opportunity to speak and stated that he was pleased to see the City addressing downtown parking. He felt that there are a few issues to discuss. He asked for clarification that storage areas, elevator shafts, stairwells, and hallways are excluded from the gross square footage calculations. He suggested that land owners who are charged the full cost of providing a parking space have those spaces reserved for them. He questioned whether the City should charge a land owner to build a parking space and also charge for a permit to use that space. Paul Wood replied that the current zoning definition of floor area would only exclude vent shafts, courts and uninhabitable areas below ground level. The parking code definition would only apply to developments that are not subject to the Commercial Development Guidelines, such as CTe and other industrial developments. Hartronft stated that there are buildings which contain a significant amount of 'public space' within them and the owners would be responsible for paying a parking impact fee for that open space. He suggested that the definition be amended to exclude those areas from parking calculations. He 14