HomeMy WebLinkAboutA004 - Council Action Form dated May 28, 1996 ITEM # 4
DATE May 28, 1996
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
SUBJECT: REQUEST FROM HUBBELL REALTY COMPANY TO CHANGE
PARKING REGULATIONS AT THE MAIN STREET STATION
PARKING LOT
BACKGROUND:
The City has received a request from Hubbell Realty Company to "change the parking
regulations to permit 12-hour maximum parking, 24-hours-a-day, in the west parking lot
only at the Main Street Station (west of the Garden Cafe restaurant)."
The City's agreement with the developer of the Depot property requires the owner of the
property to maintain at least 199 parking spaces on the site and to make them available
to any visitor to the Downtown area.
During our negotiations, representatives from Hubbell Realty Company were insistent that
the parking in this public lot on the Depot property should be free and void of any parking
meters. However, Hubbell officials wanted to ensure that turnover in the spaces was
accomplished through the marking of tires by the City. It was, therefore, agreed that a
three-hour parking prohibition would be established similar to the regulations in the other
Central Business District parking lots.
The City and Developer anticipated that at some time in the future it might be necessary
to alter these initial regulations, with the acknowledgment in the document that "the
Developer may, from time to time, request a change in the regulations established by the
City for the Parking Area, but any change requested by the Developer shall be consistent
with the use of the Parking Area for the parking of motor vehicles by the general public."
Since the opening of Main Street Station, the City has received complaints from the two
largest tenants on the property (Drug Town and Garden Cafe) regarding the lack of
available parking spaces for their customers and employees on site. Although it was
clearly stated in our Developers Agreement that the 199 spaces are available to everyone,
these tenants are angry that other employees in the Downtown area are utilizing the
spaces in the Main Street Station. Therefore, it is somewhat ironic that these tenants are
now in support of a regulation that would drastically reduce the turnover on this lot.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. The City Council could approve the request from Hubbell Realty Company to alter the
current parking regulations at the Main Street Station lot to allow for 12-hour parking in the
area west of Garden Cafe. However, given the extreme duration of this 12-hour limit, it is
not practical and it is, therefore, unlikely that the Police Department would be able to
enforce this regulation.
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2. The Council could approve the basic concept reflected in the request from the Hubbell
Realty Company and change the current regulations to allow for free parking in the portion
of the lot west of the Garden Cafe. However, in order to ensure that vehicles are riot
stored in this lot and the Police will easily be able to enforce these regulations, a parking
prohibition could be established from 2:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. on this western part of the lot.
This is a similar prohibition that is in effect in the other lots in the Central Business District.
3. The Council could choose to deny the request from the Hubbell Realty Company for
changes to the parking regulations at the Main Street Station parking lot and retain the
current three-hour parking limit.
MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
It is interesting to note that the request for a change in the parking regulations at Main
Street Station is similar to the parking situation which existed prior to the Hubbell
development. You will recall that previously the gravel portion in the west lot was free, and
the paved portion to the east was paid parking administered through a TikFak machine.
It was at the urging of the Hubbell representatives who wanted to ensure turnover that the
three-hour limit was extended to all parts of the new public parking lot.
Our experience with the tenants at Main Street Station tells us that it would be
extremely difficult to satisfy the parking needs of all the tenants in this development.
Perhaps by designating the area to the west of the Garden Cafe as free, long-term
parking, we will be able to direct employees from throughout Downtown to this
location and free-up the areas east of the Garden Cafe for customer use.
The success of this new proposed regulation is predicated on the acceptance by the
owners of the Garden Cafe who assume that spaces will be available throughout the day
for their employees. Unfortunately, this may not be the case since this portion of the
lot may be filled immediately with employees or patrons from other businesses in
the Downtown area.
Assuming that the owners of Garden Cafe and the other tenants in the Main Street Station
support this change in regulation, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the
City Council adopt Alternative #2, and refer this matter to the City Attorney to draft an
ordinance that would allow free parking in the lot west of the Garden Cafe every day
except from 2:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m.
The tenants of the Main Street Station, however, must understand that this change
in regulation will make available these long-term parking spaces not only to their
employees, but also to any employee or patron of a Downtown business. Therefore,
the City Council should not be surprised if this alteration in parking regulations results in
a future request to return to the current regulation.
COUNCIL ACTION: