5. Downtown Parking OrdinanceCity of Kalispell
Post office Box 199 - Kalispell, Montana 599 - 99 - T ei p ne (406) 75 8-7000 Fax - 71 5 8-775
REPORT TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
ROM: PJ Sorensen', Zoning Admffiistrator
Jim Patrick, City Manager
SUBJECT: Downtown Parking ordinance
MEETING ATE: Not Set Yet
IBACKGROLTND: The general rule under the zoning ordinance regarding parking is that a
�..r r um .umber o parking spaces must e supplied in eon u et*on new eonst�et on or
change of use with an existing building. In the core downtown area, the use of a building can
change e without adding additional pang, but new construction (including new additions) must
provide one parking space for eery 400 square feet of new .floor area. Due to a lack of land, the
practical effect is a significant limitation o . the a ' sty construct enlarge u d�r� ,s
`
downtown. While amending the downtown parking provisions of the ordinance will help open
the door for new development,building/fire code issues, particularly relating to water supply,
will also need to be addressed.
There are generally three methods employed in the region for handling downtown
parking: 1 exempt downtown businesses from minimum parking requirements, 2
payment-
-lieu for parking spaces not provided on -site: and annual assessments. Below is a sunimar
offpractices for selected communities in the area.
CITY
METHOD
F-B-111ings
Exempt
Bozeman
ayr, ent-in- . eu
Butte
Payment -In -lieu
Coeur d'e.e. ID
PLyment-in-liteu
Great Fails
Payment -in -lieu E
Helena
a'' �e t- -lieu
Missoula
Exempt
Baled, OR
Huai assessment
Whitefish
Eerrlpt
Generally, these altemat.l e methods have involved a Special Improvement District. The
SID may be used to initiate the process of developing parking downtown. The payment -In -lieu
programs. in Butte and B o erna ., for example, grew out of S ID d* stricts established ire the 19 70s
and 1980s. Cash received as an In -lieu payment has seared to supplement the funds raised
through the SID assessments. others, such as Great Falls, have are assessment program in
addition to the pavment-in-lieu in order to fand their parking garage.
If a payment- in-fieprogram is pursued, the dollar amounts should be tied to the cost of
developing a parking space in the downtown area. Cities have development var'o s methods o
establishing that figure. Some provide for a case -by -case analysis, but most fix a certain dollar
amount by Resolution and then update the amount every few years. Some examples of the
payment per space are: Bozeman, $ ,000/space; 2 Great Falls, $1/square foot/year; and (31)
Helena., $2,000/space. In Kalispell, construction of parking spaces has run the City about l Soo
per ace In addition to land costs, hick can vary greatly dependl g po location and whether
there is a wldl g on the property. If a parking structure is built, we would likely be looking at
anywhere from oo - $16,000 per space based on estimates developed In Bozeman.
t should be noted that several officials In other cities have expressed some frustration
with tracking and collecting payments. Given that we do not have business licenses, tracking
would be even more difficult, We may want to consider utilizing a single parking ratio, as we do
now, for new constructionwith actual collectiono the payment when a building perm'1
t is
issued.
There are two general approaches the Council may choose if an amendment is In order.
First, the Council may simply exempt the downtown core area from minimum parking space
requirements exlsti boundaries o o .r present ruled��� eve ve o �eve fast
req g
from Center to 5 1h St). This approach can be implemented fairly quickly, and is far less complex
a� r t r e or assessments. �o ve ern the perceived lack o downtown parking will
only be worsened if demand is increased without providing parking in some manner.
Alternately, a program utilizing payment -ire -lieu or assessments is more complex, but it
does not ignore the practical need for parking, if Council wishes to pursue this option It may
direct staff to develop a comprehensive programs, In addition to amending the zom g ordinance,
such a program may identify sites, the potential for a parking structure, and the best method o
fan.ding .
RECOMMENDATION: The Council direct staff to develop a zoning text amendment based
upon one of the two general approaches described above.
ALTERNATIVES: As suggested by the Council.
Respectfully submitted,
PJ Sorensen Jim Patrick
Zorng Administrator City Manager
Report compiled March " , 2004