HomeMy WebLinkAboutA002 - Memo dated November 16, 1995 from Planning to City Council � � 13
M E M O PLANNING & HOUSING DEPARTMENT
CITY OF AMES
TO: Mayor, City Council
FROM: Department of Planning & Housing
DATE: November 16, 1995
SUBJECT: Request from North Grand Mall to Initiate a Change in the Parking
Requirements for Theaters within Shopping Centers
Staff has been in discussion with the manager of North Grand Mall with regard to the
conversion of 15,000 square feet of space within the mall into additional theater space
with 1 ,000 seats. This area was formerly occupied by the Linda Glantz furniture store
and the Iowa Department of Transportation Driver License Examining Station. The
conversion of this existing space into theater space presents a parking dilemma since the
off-street parking requirement for a theater within a shopping center is determined
separately from the general shopping center parking requirement. Section 29.40 (12) of
the Zoning Ordinance states the following: "Parking for Shopping Centers
exclusive of Theaters, Office or Grocery Store Uses: There shall be a minimum of
5.5 parking spaces for each one thousand (1,000) square feet of gross leasable
floor area." And Section 29.40 (4) (b) states that the required parking for theaters,
auditoriums, sports arenas, stadiums, or gymnasiums is one (1) parking space for
every five (5) persons for which seating is provided. Because of the two separate
parking requirements, the proposed theater use cannot replace the existing uses without
additional parking being provided on the site. It is estimated that with credit given for the
existing parking that can be assigned for this 15,000 square foot portion of the shopping
center, and also with additional parking credit that can be given for shared parking with
existing banks at the mall, there would be a shortfall of 115 parking spaces for the
proposed theater use on the mall site. This situation has caused staff to look into
whether the current requirements may be excessive for shopping centers. The parking
requirements for shopping centers went into effect in 1983, and it has not been applied
in the theater situation until now.
As of November 1 , 1995 there were 2,184 parking spaces for the entire North Grand Mall
area, including the offices at 803 24th Street; the Kwik Shop, Pizza Hut, Mayfair
development; and the parking areas surrounding the north and south portions of North
Grand Mall.
Recently the developers of North Grand Mall have expanded theaters within existing
space in shopping centers in three other cities in Iowa (Marshalltown, Muscatine and
West Burlington), and in those instances additional parking was not required by these
cities. Staff has reviewed several other cities' zoning ordinances to determine whether
additional parking for a theater use in a shopping center is typically required, and found
that the requirement for additional parking appears to be unique to the Ames zoning
ordinance.
Experience has shown that except for a the peak shopping period before Christmas there
is a large amount of excess parking within the mall parking lot. Therefore to address this
problem the zoning ordinance could be amended to delete the exclusion of theaters from
the requirement of 5.5 parking spaces per 1 ,000 square feet of gross leasable in
shopping centers. It may be prudent to state that this change would apply to only
shopping centers over a certain size. It is suggested that it apply to shopping centers
over 200,000 square feet. Based on the 5.5 parking space per 1 ,000 square feet of
gross leasable area, these shopping centers of 200,000 square feet would have over
1 ,100 parking spaces on site. However, in smaller shopping areas with theaters there
may be a need for additional parking so that adequate parking would be available.
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