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Ms. Hardy stated that there has been a long dialogue about parking and, for <br />background purposes and not to point fingers, she indicated that when they got the <br />project approved, staff at that time was very adamant that there only be .5 parking <br />spaces per unit, the thinking being that seniors are not going to drive. She noted that, <br />as they expected, the people who moved in were not only a slightly younger population, <br />a culture that has gotten older as the project has matured, but also presented a <br />challenge that seniors were not willing to give up their cars and that second car. She <br />pointed out that a car may be sitting out in the church parking lot that has not been <br />moved in some time because "Mom" is not psychologically ready to give up the keys. <br />She stated that this comes back to a management challenge that they have been really <br />working on. She added that they did work with the church to get a formal agreement to <br />allow some parking on its site. <br />Ms. Hardy stated that they are actually putting aside 16 parking spaces for the seniors: <br />13 spaces in the lot and three more on the street, which they feel is going to be <br />sufficient for the seniors. She reiterated that it is a constant management effort <br />because there are residents with two cars that they are not willing to give up. She noted <br />that there are also caregivers who will sometimes be there. She added that there were <br />some spaces in the pool area, with the Homeowners Association (HOA) management <br />restrictions that they can be used only during the day and not during summer, and with <br />no overnight parking. She indicated that it is a tough situation, a lifestyle of its own that <br />is more than just giving up the keys, but she thinks it is getting better. <br />Commissioner O'Connor questioned if the two -car garage and two spaces in the <br />driveway in this 27 -unit neighborhood is sufficient, noting that from what he has seen in <br />town, a lot of people have no room in the garage for a car because they are using it for <br />storage. He expressed concern that the project has not supplied enough parking, <br />noting that some areas do not allow street parking, assuming a turn - around for fire <br />services. <br />Ms. Hardy replied that the two -car garages and the two additional spaces allowed in <br />tandem on the driveway are pretty typical, and there are 27 street parking spaces that <br />are available to the residents, which meets the informal guideline established by the <br />Commission of one guest parking space per home. She added that there are six lots at <br />the northeast corner that will have their six spaces in the green in Lot G, not on that <br />street but immediately accessible to the houses. <br />Ms. Hardy stated that it is always a tricky situation because they want to provide enough <br />parking but they are also trying to minimize pavement because of things like <br />clean -water requirements and global- warming. She indicated that they always like to go <br />with a reduced street standard and that they always insist on parking on -site only. She <br />added that they want to make sure there are adequate circulation, drop- off /pickup, and <br />parking for the preschool because they do not want to have overflow parking for the <br />residents. She understood that the residents at the Gardens are looking out for their <br />interests, in the same way that they are looking out for the interests of the prospective <br />residents as well as their own. <br />PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, August 12, 2015 Page 11 of 34 <br />