PC 11/09/83 - Laserfiche WebLink

Mr. Harris presented the s,_.~f report. He urged that if the Com...~ssion recommended approval of the general plan amendment proposal, they stipulatethat it is their intention to have the property zoned "O" (Office) District rather than "Commercial" or "Commercial Service." Commissioner Wilson asked about the parking situation in the shopping center itself. Mr. Harris stated that they have calculated the parking in conjunction with the current uses and they have used 909'0 of the parking provided in the center for Pxisting uses and there is about 50% of the center still unoccupied. The previous owner had commissioned a parking study to demonstrate that because there were no major tenants in the center, the parking is adequate. It covered the existing uses and considered that there would be no more bars, restaurants, etc. and determined there would be sufficient parking for the remaining retail and office spaces (non-medical) and that parking is satisfactory. Staff has suggested that Capital Conveyance look at PUD zoning so that parking could be addressed taking into consideration the characteristics of the shopping center. Previously there was a bad parking problem when La Comida opened and construction was going on in the center, but didn't feel there seemed to be a real problem at this time, but there is another 50% of the shopping center to be occupied. The 1.6 acre site should be looked at to provide additional parking to accommodate some of the parking needs of the shopping center. Commissioner Wilson asked if the 1.6 acre site is a legal parcel. Mr. Harris stated that it is. Commissioner Wilson asked what would happen if the 1.6 acre parcel was sold off -- there would be no where to go to look for more parking. He asked if the City would require that the 25,000 sq. ft. top floor remain vacant. Mr. Harris said that is certainly an alternative. Commissioner Wilson asked if anyone has ever heard of a City successfully doing that. Mr. Harris said not to his knowledge. Commissioner Wilson would hate to see the subject property changed to "Office" and then have the shopping center owners sell it. Mr. Harris explained that if all of the uses in the center were retail as planned, the shopping center would meet code requirements. Commissioner Wilson said that the developers of this shopping center have been warned about the parking requirements everytime they have had a public hearing. Commissioner Getty asked how many tenants there are at the current time in the shopping center. Mr. Harris thought there were about 12-15. Commissioner Getty felt that 45 spaces are in use now just for employees. Commissioner Lindsey asked if the 1.6 acre parcel goes Office if there would be a through traffic flow for the parking lot. Mr. Harris stated the parking areas could be integrated. He further stated that he was not sure how much square footage the applicants would be proposing for office use. He indicated the applicants would have to go further and convince staff that the City's parking requirements are not accurate. He said the parking study attempted to do this and it show ed that the City's parking requirements are twice what is actually needed. Mr. Harris did not believe that the City's code requirements are that far off. He conceded that perhaps there is a difference between a shopping center who has a major tenant and one which doesn't with regard to parking requirements but didn't believe the City's figures for parking are 1009'0 off. Commissioner Doherty said this property has been before the Commission so many times with parking problems since day one (partly because of construction). He asked if the developer had conferred with the neighbors of the area. Mr. Harris indicated the developers had recently held a meeting with at least some of the neighbors. The public hearing was opened -3- .._ _. . _..__ . _ .. _... .t..,._ _.._ _ , _._.,-___ .. __ .. _ . _ __ .,.__ .. _.. _ _. _ . _ . ..