PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
title
Conduct the public hearing to consider a variance to reduce the amount of required off-street parking for the subject property located at 1899 High Grove Lane - PZC 20-1-031
body
DEPARTMENT: Transportation, Engineering and Development
SUBMITTED BY: Gabrielle Mattingly, Community Planner
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
Official notice for the public hearing for PZC 20-1-031 was published in the Daily Herald on June 1, 2020.
BACKGROUND:
The subject property is zoned I (Industrial District) and is located east of Route 59, south of the BNSF railway with a common address of 1899 High Grove Lane. The approximately 10.4-acre property is comprised of 4 parcels. The subject property is improved with an approximately 115,170 square foot building and an 88-space surface parking lot.
DISCUSSION:
The petitioner is requesting approval of a parking variance in order to remove 11 parking spaces, construct an 16,840-square foot addition and reconfigure the parking lot on the west side of the subject property facing Route 59. Currently, 88 off street parking spaces exist on site. In preparation of the addition and removal of 11 parking spaces, the petitioner has submitted engineering plans, which are currently under review by City staff, for construction of a new parking lot with 28 parking spaces on the east side of the building (total of 116 off-street parking spaces). However, because of the future building addition, parking spaces will be removed and the parking lot will be reconfigured resulting in a total of 105 off-street parking spaces.
The different building uses are identified in the chart below. A total of 253 parking spaces are required on the subject property per Section 6-9-3 (Schedule of Off-Street Parking Requirements) of the Municipal Code. There will be 105 parking spaces on the subject property, resulting in a deficit of 148 parking spaces.
|
Building Use |
Sq. Footage |
No. of Spaces Required Per Code |
Parking Required |
|
Warehouse |
65,000 |
1 |
65 |
|
Manufacture |
43,000 |
2.5 |
108 |
|
Existing Office |
7,170 |
3.3 |
24 |
|
Proposed Office |
16,840 |
3.3 |
56 |
|
Total Building Size |
132,010 |
Total Parking Required: |
253 |
|
|
|
Total Parking Provided: |
105 |
|
|
|
Deficit: |
148 |
The petitioner has submitted a parking study to support the requested parking variance. The study reviewed parking counts for employees over a 31-day period at the subject property. Per the parking study, peak weekday occupancy was 89 vehicles (85% of the future parking lot) and peak weekend occupancy was 11 vehicles (10% of the future parking lot). The study found the 105-space parking lot on the subject property was sufficient to support the current number of employees and provided an excess of 16 spaces during the peak occupancy. The petitioner indicates the proposed addition will not result in an increased number of employees, rather, the addition will be used by the existing number of employees.
In addition, the petitioner has provided a theoretical site population to account for the number of daily visitors over a 153-day period. The analysis found the maximum visitor count is 12, for a total of 101 people on site during the peak employee count leaving 4 available parking spaces. The petitioner noted the maximum visitor count of 12 occurs very infrequently with 90% of the days having less than 7 visitors.
If the City’s Zoning Administrator determines that the tenants parking needs cannot be accommodated within the parking on the subject property, the owner shall take adequate measures to meet the parking needs of said tenant, including but not limited to formally assigning/reserving parking spaces for each employee, constructing additional parking spaces, or establishing an overflow parking location off-site, as necessary, which shall be subject to the review and approval of the Zoning Administrator. Failure to timely take adequate measures to adequately accommodate tenant parking needs may result in the City’s revocation of the parking variance. This will be included as a condition of approval in the ordinance.
The future addition and parking lot reconfiguration will require submittal of permits subject to review by City staff. The petitioner’s responses to the Standards for Granting a Variance can be found in the attachments. Staff has reviewed the findings and recommends their adoption by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Key Takeaways
§ The petitioner requests a variance to reduce the amount of required off-street parking for the subject property located at 1899 High Grove Lane from 253 parking spaces to 105 parking spaces. Staff is in support of the proposed variance.