PC 120915 - Laserfiche WebLink

Chair Allen stated that she understood that the last parking study was done some ten years ago and has not been updated in quite a while. Ms. Seto confirmed that the study is more than ten years old. She noted that since then, there have been some CPI adjustments, but they did not reflect the actual property- acquisition costs and other construction - related costs. She added that a more current cost estimate to provide off -site parking could be obtained by looking at the appraised value of some sites; for example, how much the City really did spend to obtain the Alameda County Transportation Corridor and the various costs that went into that. Commissioner O'Connor stated that his problem is that he has been in town for about 13 years and he keeps saying that parking is not being developed fast enough and developers have not been required to provide parking anymore for a while now. He indicated that the City is running out of space and time; there is a parking problem, and it is not being addressed. He noted that a while back, he had made the statement that he wanted to start seeing parking provided on these properties as they are developed because there will come a time, regardless of what precedent there is, that there will be nothing left and the City will have to start requiring parking. He added that he does not think the in -lieu fees the City is collecting are going to pay for parking down the road. Commissioner Balch agreed. He stated that it has reached a point where it needs to be evaluated. He asked what the Commission thinks about giving a credit for three as opposed to staff's recommendation of seven. He computed that the use requires 14 spaces; the credit for three is for removing the prior structure to improve it and then putting four back. Commissioner O'Connor noted that the commercial building is 4,000 square feet and required about 13 or 14 spots; there is one apartment that needs one, and four more townhomes that need two spaces a piece for a total of nine, which, added to the required 14 for commercial would total 23. He indicated that he cannot understand why credit is being considered for building and tearing down as the building is being replaced and may use something more. He added that in this case, something under 1000 square feet that has enough parking is being torn down and is being replaced with a building that does not have enough parking, even with the tandem. He stated that he has a problem with the parking overall, and he has a problem with giving credits when such a massive building is being built. He noted that the City has not been requiring parking for a while, and everyone keeps saying there is a parking shortage. He reiterated that the parking problem needs to be fixed, and it will not be fixed unless each development is required to provide its full on -site parking requirement. He pointed out that here is essentially a vacant lot, and whatever is built on it should not be overbuilt such that there is no room left for parking. Chair Allen noted that there is a clear reference in the DTSP that any new development that builds a commercial building needs to provide the vast majority of the parking requirements on -site, as opposed to paying in -lieu fees. Commissioner Ritter stated that he struggles with the fact that this site has basically been semi - vacant or struggling along for 25 years. He indicated that the City has done PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, December 9, 2015 Page 25 of 40