Loading...
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