Loading...
3. Establishing a Cash-in-Lieu Fee for Downtown ParkingCity of Kalispell Planning Department 17 - 2"d Strcet East, Suite 211, Kalispell, Montana 59941 Telephone: (406) 751-1850 Fax: (406) 751-1858 Website: kalispellplanning.com REPORT TO: Kalispell Mayor and city council FROM: Tom Jentz, Planning Director James H. Patrick, City Manager SUBJECT: Set the cash -in -lieu of parking payment fee for downtown parking and develop a policy for collecting the fee MEETING DATE: September 24, 2007 Council Work Session ESTABLISHING A CASH -IN -LIEU FEE: The Kalispell city council approved an amendment to the Kalispell zoning ordinance in August, 2006 allowing required parking in the downtown parking district to be met by a cash -in -lieu payment. Prior to this, the only option available for downtown owners was the actual construction of parking spaces. The cash payment or value of a parking space was to be added latter based on staff research or actual costs. Staff is now recommending that the cash -in lieu payment be set at $8,200 f space. The downtown parking district where the cash -in -lieu of parking fee is available as an option is bounded on the east by Third Avenue East, the south by Fifth Street, the wrest by Third Avenue West and the north by Center Street. The Kalispell center Mall was also included in the district. Within this area, existing developed space is grandfathered for parking purposes while any new construction must provide parking at a reduced rate of one space for each 400 square feet of new construction. The council in amending the zoning ordinance understood the limitation that available parking has on future development in the downtown area. For all practical purposes, there are no available parking spaces that can readily be leased and there is no available land for additional parking without first taking down an existing building to accommodate new construction. Therefore, the cash in lieu of parking option made sense for downtown property owners. Last August, at the zoning amendment hearing, staff projected that the payment in lieu of parking would be between $5,000 - $10,000 based on other community programs in the state. In developing the suggested fee for Kalispell, staff used recent appraisals for determining land costs and then the actual construction costs in Kalispell for developing a parking lot space. For land costs, staff used the average of two current (2007) appraisals. One appraisal was for a piece of property on Main Streets the other appraisal was for land on First Avenue wrest one block off of Main. For construction costs staff contacted the Kalispell Public Works Department. The $8,200/space fee would be collected by the building department and transferred to the parking commission. Initially the parking commission would use the money to assist in developing and implementing their downtown parking strategy including planning for a parking structure. Staff recommends the council adopt this figure for implementation of the cash -in - lieu -of parking fee. Downtown Parking September 19, 2007 Page 2 Setting a policy for assessment of fractional parking spaces: The zoning ordinance currently requires that all fractional portions of a parking space are to rounded up to the next whole number. For example, if someone were adding 500 square feet of new construction @a one parking space per 400 square feet of construction in the downtown, he would be required to provide 1 'A parking spaces which is rounded up to 2 spaces. The logic here is that you can not effectively split a parking space. However, it is possible to split a cash in lieu payment. Staff is looking for policy direction on how to address fractional parking spaces when cash -in - lieu is proposed.. As a real life example of the issue, Mr. Earl Holbeck is re -modeling a business on Second Street west. He proposed adding 95 square feet to a building to bring the front of his building out 5 feet to create an even front facade line with the buildings on either side of him. The 95 square foot addition would require 1/4 of a parking space. our zoning ordinance requires the fraction be rounded upward to the nearest whole number, in this case one space would be required. Mr. Holbeck has nowhere to get another parking space so he is looking at the cash *n lieu of parking payment for parking. However, he raised the question, why should he pay the full $8,200 when he is proposing a small incidental project that only requires 1/4 of a parking space. Staff concurs that this is a valid concern and is looking for council direction. Three possible options are laid out for council consideration: 1. Assess the cash -in -lieu of parking payment the same as is provided for in the zoning ordinance, round up each fractional amount to the next nearest whole number, in this case Mr. Holbeck would pay the full assessment for one space, if the council approves $8,200, then his fee would be $8,200. 2. Round off all fractions of parking space such that .5 or above is rounded up to the next whole number and .49 and below is rounded down. In this case, Mr. Holbeck would not pay anything as he only requ ire s .24 spaces and would round down to zero. 3. Pay a proportionate share for all spaces and portions of spaces required. Because Mr. Holbeck's addition requires only .24 parking spaces, he would pay .24 of the cash -in - lieu fee. If set at $8,200/space his fee would be $1,947. Respectfully Submitted, Q Tom Jentz Report compiled: September 19, 2007 c: Theresa white, Kalispell city clerk James H. Patric