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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPPC Minutes - 7.12.16 MINUTES July 12, 2016 CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO PARKING PLACE COMMISSION 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 5:04 p.m. by Chairperson James 2. ROLL CALL Present: Shirley James, Chairperson Jolene Malfatti, Vice Chairperson Sam Shihadeh, Commissioner City Staff: Justin Lovell, Commission Secretary Marissa Garren, Commission Clerk Tony Rozzi, Senior Planner Public: Maria Martinucci, SSF Chamber of Commerce Jason Cardoso, Armstrong Brewery 3. AGENDA REVIEW NO CHANGES 4. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS / PUBLIC COMMENT NONE 5. APPROVAL OF REGULAR MEETING MINUTES: May 10, 2016 Motion—Commissioner Shihadeh/Second—Vice Chairperson Malfatti to approve the minutes as submitted. Approved by unanimous voice vote. 6. PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS NONE 7. ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS a. Parking study guiding principles Secretary Lovell introduced Tony Rozzi, Senior Planner of the Economic and Community Development Department who has been working with consultant CDM Smith for the downtown parking study. Mr. Rozzi updated the commission that the study is underway and funded by a grant with the County of San Mateo. The City was responsible for providing the consultant with guiding principles based on what is important to the City from a policy standpoint and its parking priorities. These principles are based on accessibility and management and are open for discussion and feedback from the Commission before being provided to CDM Smith. Vice Chairperson Malfatti asked if the principles take into account the proposed loss of the 22 parking spaces on Grand Avenue with the new parallel parking that is planned for the downtown. Mr. Rozzi replied that it does take this into consideration and that CDM has prepared an “existing conditions” memorandum and an engineering model that has predicted the parking demand with the new commercial and residential developments in the downtown area. Commissioner Shihadeh commented that he still remains concerned about the parking demands with all new developments such as those currently taking place on Airport Boulevard and on Grand Avenue. When factoring in the elements of the barricaded parking spaces for the construction sites, it will be more than 22 spaces lost. Secretary Lovell responded that the permitting process for the contractors may not affect the parking spaces. If any spaces are lost during construction on Airport Boulevard, these parking spaces aren’t used as frequently as those on Grand Avenue and the parking demand impact shouldn’t be as high. Commissioner Shihadeh replied that with the additional parking lots also removed, this will play even a higher impact. He would like to see this addressed in the parking study and what recommendations the consultant has for the City. Mr. Rozzi replied that the consultant requested these principles which the City can adhere to see what was important to the City to successfully maintain the parking district. Chairperson James commented that the she doesn’t see the downtown gaining additional parking and asked if the City has any plan to gain back any of the lost spaces. Mr. Rozzi replied that with the annual parking district capacity report, parking capacity is regularly at 30%. The guidance that staff is currently receiving on a policy level from the City Manager and the City Council for certain parking lots, is that they would like to have certain lots developed for higher and better use. This will only be able to happen if staff has a clear mechanism in place to evaluate whether it makes sense for the developments. Unless there would be an additional parking structure added, it is difficult to determine where any additional parking lots would be added in the downtown area. Secretary Lovell added that during the peak periods of 12:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. and during the evening hours on weekdays, parking is at high capacity on Grand Avenue, however additional parking still remains available on nearby streets close to the downtown. Any proposed recommendations provided by CDM will be presented to the City and the Parking Place Commission after these guiding principles are taken into consideration. 8. ITEMS FROM STAFF a. Information on parking reductions in downtown parking district Secretary Lovell provided follow up information to commissioner Shihadeh’s request from the May 10, 2016 Parking Place Commission meeting regarding the parking reductions. He added that as of October 2014, the City Council approved an ordinance change including the removal of the responsibility of granting parking reductions from the Parking Place Commission to the Planning Commission to help streamline the permitting process for new businesses within the downtown area, at the same time the operations and management were transferred from the Economic and Community Development Department to the Public Works Department. Over the last two years, there have been five projects which met the parking requirements based on the current zoning codes without having to get any additional required parking. Sufficient onsite parking has been provided for nearby residents and visitors for some of the new housing developments such as those located on Cypress Avenue, Linden Avenue, and Rotary Plaza. The one business that was required to purchase parking permits is for the “The Coop” on 303 Linden Avenue. As part of their permit approval, they were required to purchase two parking permits for use by their employees. Maria Martinucci, CEO of the South San Francisco Chamber of Commerce commented that she is excited for the current and future developments taking place in the downtown area with the opportunities it will provide. She has realized that many of the surface parking is being eliminated and asked if there was any study to show what surface parking is being lost and what the Miller Parking Garage can accommodate for the lost spaces. Secretary Lovell responded that the Miller Garage can currently accommodate additional parking to the spaces lost in the surface lots. In the short term, there is space available and some modifications can be made in the Miller Avenue Parking Garage to accommodate. Tony Rozzi added that a second memorandum will be provided by the consultant that plays out the development scenarios in the downtown area. Vice Chairperson Malfatti asked if there was any discussion with the Planning Commission if underground parking was a possibility for the residential developments. Secretary Lovell replied that each development will have its own onsite parking. Some may be underground where others may have staggered parking which will conform with zoning requirements. Mr. Rozzi added that 1-2 spaces will be available per unit. Through enforcement in the downtown and possible neighborhood parking districts, parking spillover will be worked towards preventing. b. Parking sponsorship discussion (Armstrong Brewery) Secretary Lovell added that the owner of Armstrong Brewery is interested in sponsoring a day of free parking for the public. This would be an opportunity to work out an agreement with any business in the downtown area to help the business advertise. Jason Cardoso, owner of Armstrong Brewery, commented that parking is limited during 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the downtown area and would like to sponsor the parking structure for 1 to 2 days bringing more attention to the Miller Avenue Parking Garage and advertise Armstrong Brewery. Secretary Lovell added that the Commission have the authority to limit the amount of times per year this sponsorship can take place with downtown businesses. Vice Chairperson Malfatti agreed with the idea as long as there is no cost to the City. She added that it is a great way to get the public familiarized with the Miller Avenue Parking Garage and to welcome new businesses in the downtown, while parameters are being met. Commissioner Shihadeh requested that staff research if other cities are participating in sponsorships such as this. Secretary Lovell added that no motion is needed for this item, but it can be further discussed in a future meeting. c. Downtown construction contractor parking Secretary Lovell presented that four parking spaces had been requested for the contractor of the construction taking place at 211 Airport Boulevard (on the Cypress Avenue side) for 8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. for 18 months. The parking spaces would be paid for and no revenue would be lost by the City. The bigger developments will most likely have similar requests, therefore it is a parking consideration to be discussed by the Commission. 9. ITEMS FROM THE COMMISSION NONE Chairperson James adjourned the meeting at 6:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ______________________________ _____________________________ Justin Lovell Shirley James Parking Place Commission Secretary Chairperson