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Home My WebLink About10/5/2011 - STAFF REPORTS - 5.B.Date: To: From: Subject: CITY OF PALM SPRINGS DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING SERVICES MEMORANDUM October 5, 2011 City Council Craig A. Ewing, AICP, Director of Planning NEW BUSINESS Se� Item 5-B — In -lieu Parking Fee, Parking Calculation for 191 S. Palm Canyon Drive In response to a request from Michael Hanley, staff revisited its parking calculation for the redevelopment of the property at 191 S. Palm Canyon. Mr. Hanley's proposal is to redevelop the building with offices on the second floor and a restaurant on the ground floor and in the basement; the building had previously been occupied by an art gallery — a retail use according to the zoning code. Restaurants typically have a higher parking standard than retail or office uses. With no on -site parking at 191 S. Palm Canyon, the new plan requires the payment of in -lieu fees for the additional spaces required by the Zoning Code's restaurant parking standard. (The applicant is seeking Council direction to waive such fees.) The applicant also asked the Planning Department to re -check our parking calculations. In a review of the Zoning Code, staff considered the City's Downtown Parking Combining Zone, which takes account of the difficulties providing parking for more intense uses like restaurants in the downtown. The Combining Zone sets a parking standard of one vehicle space for each 4 seats, rather than the one space per 3 seats used elsewhere in the City. Using the lower standard of the Combining Zone is appropriate for the subject site, which reduces the net parking deficit from thirty-two (32) spaces to nineteen (19). Under the City's current in -lieu fee program, the applicant would pay the fee for nineteen spaces to allow a restaurant, as presented on the current concept plan. (Staff would reconfirm the parking requirement when a final plan is submitted for plan check.) Attachment: Revised parking calculation — 191 S. Palm Canyon Drive / /%OA04/ - City of Palm Springs 8/16/2011 Parking Analysis for 191 S. Palm Canyon Drive Grandfathered Parking Condition Section 93.06.D.7 - "Uses within the central business district (C-B-D) zone shall provide one (1) space for each three hundred (300) square feet of gross floor area where parking is to be provided on site at the time of development..." Second Floor 3951 First Floor 4219 Basement 1346 Floor Area TOTAL 9516 / 300 32 GRANDFATHERED TOTAL 32 New Proposal - 2nd Floor Office, 1st Floor / Basement Restaurant Downtown Parking Combining Zone Section 92.26.C.4 -"...one (1) space for every four (4) seats." Second Floor Office 3951 / 300 = 13 First Floor Restaurant 110 seats / 4 = 28 Basement Restaurant 42 seats / 3 = 10 PARKING TOTAL 51 Deficit 19 � tpn�Msw* iy w Q u a 411ro P CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT DATE: October 5, 2011 NEW BUSINESS SUBJECT: DISCUSSION REGARDING THE TEMPORARY REDUCTION OF IN - LIEU PARKING FEES IN THE CENTRAL BUSINESS ZONE AS A MEANS TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES FROM: David H. Ready, City Manager VIA: Craig A. Ewing, AICP, Director of Planning Services SUMMARY The City has received a letter (see attached) from Michael Hanley, representing John Hadley, the owner of property at 191 S. Palm Canyon Drive (NW comer S. Palm Canyon and Arenas). Mr. Hadley wants to redevelop the property which was previously an art gallery with a restaurant as the new primary use. The proposed new restaurant use would require the property to meet new parking requirements with on -site parking or the payment of the City's in -lieu parking fee, if on -site parking is not possible. The in -lieu parking fee in the Central Business District (C-B-D) zone is $12,867 per space. As proposed, this restaurant's use would require 32 new on -site parking spaces. As set forth in his letter, Mr. Hanley is requesting that the City Council consider waiving the in -lieu parking fees for the proposed new restaurant use at 191 S. Pam Canyon Drive. RECOMMENDATION: 1. Provide direction to staff regarding any change to the City's in -lieu parking fee schedule. If the Council chooses to change the in -lieu parking fees, staff would recommend doing so as an economic stimulus incentive for a prescribed period of time. Based on the Council's direction, a resolution amending the in -lieu parking fee would be returned to the Council for action at your next meeting. ANALYSIS: The Zoning Code establishes on -site parking standards for all uses in all zone districts. Tradition relief from these standards is available through the regular process of an ITEM NO. 6 A City Council Staff Report October 5, 2011 Request for Relief of In -lieu Parking Fee Page 2 of 2 Administrative Minor Modification (up to 10% reduction) or by a Zoning Variance (greater than 10% reduction). The City Council also recognized that properties in the City's Central Business District have unique difficulty meeting the parking requirements of the Zoning Code because the downtown area is characterized by lot subdivisions and development which pre -date the advent of automobile travel. Many of the lots are too small to provide any on -site parking, and others can only provide a minimum amount. To provide an option for new development, including re -using existing buildings for more intense uses, the City Council created the "in -lieu parking fee". The in -lieu parking fee option is provided in various sections of the Zoning Code and any change to the general program itself would require the initiation of a Zone Text Amendment, followed by Planning Commission, and then City Council public hearings. A more direct and simple change to the program may be made by the City Council by the amendment of the fee amount in the City Fee Resolution. Currently, the in -lieu parking fee program is available to properties in the C-B-D zone, which generally covers Palm and Indian Canyon Drives, from Ramon to Alejo Roads and side streets. The 2011-12 Fee Resolution sets the in -lieu parking fees at: $12,867 per space between Ramon and Tahquitz $ 2,145 per space between Tahquitz and Alejo The Council has discretion in determining the in -lieu parking fee amount, and may wish to consider one of the following options in response to Mr. Hanley's request: 1. Leave the fee unchanged. 2. Revise the Fee Resolution to any in -lieu fee deemed acceptable by the Council. 3. Revise the Fee Resolution for a limited period of time as an incentive. FISCAL IMPACT: None. 'r Cr ig A. Ewing, AICP, Director of Planning Services David H. Ready, City Manager Thomas J. Wil6dri, Assistant City Manager, Dev't Svcs Attachments: 1. Palm Springs Zoning Code Section 93.06.00xx 2. 201 f-12 Fee Resolution (Excerpt) 02 CODY'S BAR & EATERY 191 S. PALM CANYON DRIVE PALM SPRINGS, CA 92262 August29,2011 Mayor and City Council of Palm Springs California Mayor Steve Pougnet Mayor Pro Tern Lee Weigel Councilmember Ginny Foat Councilmember Chris Mills Councilmember Rick Hutcheson Dear Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council: I am writing to you today on behalf of myself and my two business partners regarding our goal of opening a new exciting restaurant on the northwest corner of Arenas and Palm Canyon at 191 S Palm Canyon Drive. All three of us are happy homeowners in this fine city and one, John Hadley, is also the owner of the building in question. When John purchased the then vacant and boarded -up building last winter, he envisioned renovating the upper floor for offices to be used by his own company. This has been accomplished. He was also very taken with the unique architecture of this William F Cody designed building and wished to keep all of its original character intact One way to accomplish this goal was to create a 150 seat restaurant in the main floor and basement space that would make use of the expansive use of window and rock face fundamental to the building's design. We also chose to name the enterprise as Cody's Bar & Eatery in homage to the building's architect Over the past few months we have worked extensively on our construction and design plans to meet all the health, safety, ADA and other requirements of such a venture. In mid -August we met with city planning officials to get the ball rolling on the land -use and building permit processes. Following this meeting we were advised that we would be subject to an "in lieu of parking fee" in the amount of $384,000. Apparently, we require the capacity of 64 parking stalls (32 of which are grandfathered) and happen to be in a business district where the set fee is $12,000 per stall, To give you some perspective, this fee is the equivalent of our entire construction budget and has effectively put a complete stop to our project 03 We believe, like you, in a vibrant downtown for Palm Springs and seriously want to actively participate in making that happen. However any additional costs such as these absolutely hinder such development and force existing buildings to stay embedded in their grandfathered land -use for fear of generating permit complexity and fees. These policies contribute to the current propensity of vacant spaces in our downtown core. We'd very much like to move forward with our restaurant plans but desperately need your assistance to proceed. We understand that unlike others who have recently received public funds to open restaurants in the downtown core that there are no longer development assistance programs available. There is however the possibility of reviewing and waiving these "in lieu of parking' fees so that our project can continue as planned. We respectfully ask for and thank you for your earliest consideration of this important matter. I am available to assist in any way. 1,WxJ-t,, Michael Hanley General Manager Cody's Bar & Eatery Email: pmhanley@rpeers.com Cell: 760.413-8330 cc: David Ready, City Manager Tom Wilson, Assistant City Manager Cathy Van Horn, Economic Development Administrator Tim Ellis, President, Pahn Springs Chamber of Commerce John Hadley, Partner in Cody's LLC Scott Timberlake, Partner in Cody's LLC 04