City Council Minutes 1999 05 04 - Laserfiche WebLink

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role in coordinating downtown parking or alternatively, that approval and adoption of Ordinance 1287, Series 1998 be postponed until the City can develop and adopt appropriate, stronger design requirements for parking facilities and demolition regulations to manage the impact of new parking facilities on the urban environment." That recommendation generally summarizes the concerns of the Commission. The Commission felt that the City should continue to have an active role in the development and oversight of off-street parking in the Downtown area. They were concerned with unintended negative impacts from multiple private off-street parking lots. From an urban design perspective, there was concern that these parking lots could lead to building demolition and could disrupt the urban form that currently exists. There was also concern that private parking lots would generally be less efficient, in two ways. First, because they are private, there is less of an ability to utilize a shared parking concept where different uses have different peak parking demands. Secondly, smaller lots could have a less efficient design and therefore use up more land per space than larger lots, which can be designed more efficiently. The Planning Commission also discussed whether the parking requirement should be applied on both sides of the RR tracks. Because they are recommending disapproval, they did not specifically provide a recommendation on that issue. However, the consensus was, to be consistent with the adopted Framework Plan, all new downtown regulations should be applied equally to both sides of the RR tracks. They did acknowledge that the Highway 42 corridor, including the Pine Street corridor east of the tracks would be worthy of additional study. Davidson opened the public hearing. Erik Hartronft, 801 Main Street, Louisville, Colorado, stated that the Ordinance proposed tonight is the same Ordinance that Council considered at the last Council meeting. He explained that the business community hoped that the City would take the advice of the Planning Commission and assume a leadership role in the provision for parking downtown. He did not feel that the provision for Council to waive requirements in this Ordinance does anything that isn't already in the PUD Ordinance. He requested that Council consider using the net square footage in determining parking requirements, as is done in other areas of the City. He suggested that the requirement that private parking cannot be removed be changed to include the phrase 'unless it is replaced.' He explained that he would be unable to attend the remaineder of the meeting, therefore, he requested to comment on the Historical Preservation Task Force agenda item. He commended Council for moving forward with a task force, and expressed interest to serve as a member of the task force. Cheri Ruskus, 801 Main Street, Louisville, Colorado, commended the City for the time they have committed to evaluate the downtown parking situation. She explained that, without an economic plan, it is difficult to predict what parking needs would be. She presented a proposal from the Progressive Urban Management Association to assist in that effort. She suggested including a provision that this Ordinance is reviewed in six months, as downtown plans evolve. 6