The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutA002 - Council Action Form dated Novemer 12, 1996 ITEM#: 37 DATE: 11/12/96 COUNCIL ACTION FORM SUBJECT: PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER AN AMENDMENT TO THE ZONING ORDINANCE TO CHANGE THE PARKING REQUIREMENTS FOR SHOPPING CENTERS. ACTION FORM SUMMARY: This is a request to change the parking requirement for shopping centers. The proposed change would reduce the amount of parking required from 5.5 spaces per 1 ,000 square feet of gross leasable area to 4.0 spaces per 1 ,000 square feet of gross floor area. JApproval of this request is recommended. BACKGROUND: The City Council has referred to staff a request from North Grand Mall to consider reducing the parking standard for shopping centers to a number that more accurately reflects the industry average. Currently the North Grand Mall development, including all of the freestanding buildings on the site, does not meet the Ordinance standard of 5.5 parking space per 1 ,000 square feet of gross leasable area. Staff has met with the North Grand Mall staff and collected information from comparable cities, regarding their parking requirements for shopping center developments; consulted the Institute of Transportation Engineers Parking_ Generation report; and obtained current information on shopping center parking ratios that are recommended by the Urban Land Institute. Based on these discussions and this information, staff determined there is a basis to reduce the amount of parking required for shopping centers in Ames. ANALYSIS: The current Ordinance requirement is as follows: Sec. 29.40(12) Parking for Shopping Centers over 200,000 square feet in gross floor area, exclusive of Office and 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. A survey of several cities in Iowa and one university city in Minnesota shows that most of these cities do not require 5.5 parking spaces per 1 ,000 square feet of gross leasable area. See the table below: CITY PARKING REQUIREMENTS COMMENTS Waterloo, Iowa 5.0 Spaces/1,000 s.f. G.F.A. West Des Moines, Iowa 1.0/200 s.f. G.F.A. Building Size 10,001 to 600,000 s.f. 1.0/200 s.f. G.L.A. Building Size 600,001 s.f. and above Iowa City, Iowa 5.0/1,000 s.f. G.L.A. Dubuque, Iowa 5.0/1,000 s.f. G.L.A. Planned Development District 5.5/1,000 s.f. G.L.A. C-3 Zoning District Cedar Rapids, Iowa 4.0/1,000 s.f. G.F.A. Building Size 18,001 s.f. and above Cedar Falls, Iowa 5.5/1,000 s.f. G.L.A. Sioux City, Iowa 5.0/1,000 s.f. G.F.A. Mankato, Minnesota 5.0/1,000 s.f. G.L.A. Note: G.F.A. is gross floor area; G.L.A. is gross leasable area. Using gross floor area versus gross leasable area results in a higher amount of parking on-site. The most recent Parking Generation report from the Institute of Transportation Engineers, completed in 1987, indicates the following peak parking occupancy for shopping centers: PEAK PARKING SPACES OCCUPIED VS: 1,000 GROSS SQUARE FEET OF LEASABLE AREA Average Rate Range of Rates Standard Deviation No. of Studies Weekday 3.23 1.02 - 6.17 1.20 141 Saturda 3.97 1.11 -6.06 1.13 178 In the 1970's the shopping center standards recommended 5.5 parking space per 1 ,000 square feet of gross leasable area. That standard has been lowered by the Urban Land Institute in light of changes in shopping patterns and practices due to "(1) a greater tendency by shoppers to avoid centers at peak hours, (2) intensified center competition, (3) an increase in car pooling and mass transit use, and (4) the fact that customers make fewer trips to centers than they previously did". The Urban Land Institute recommends the following standards which they believe "fulfill a reasonable level of demand". The standards are expressed as the number of parking spaces for every 1 ,000 square feet of gross leasable area (GLA). 4 spaces per 1 ,000 square feet of GLA for centers of 25,000 to 400,000 square feet. 2 4 to 4.5 spaces per 1 ,000 square feet of GLA for centers from 400,000 to 500,000 square feet. 4.5 to 5 spaces per 1 ,000 square feet of GLA for centers from 500,000 to 600,000 square feet. 5 spaces per 1 ,000 GLA for centers above 600,000 square feet. The total square footage at North Grand Mall is 453,688 square feet of floor area; this includes all the freestanding buildings, as well as, the mall structure itself. The amount of gross leasable area is estimated to be approximately 412,974 square feet or 91 percent of total floor area. The next largest retail type of development in Ames would be the K-Mart/Aldi's development, which is estimated to have a total of 189,780 square feet of retail space and more than 13,000 square feet of grocery store space. Under the current parking regulations in the Zoning Ordinance the parking for the K-Mart development would be one (1) parking space per 200 square feet of gross floor area for the retail uses and one (1) parking space per 150 square feet of gross floor area for the grocery store use. As stated above, the parking requirement for shopping centers that have over 200,000 square feet of gross leasable area is 5.5 parking spaces per 1 ,000 square feet of the gross leasable area, exclusive of offices and grocery stores. Staff believes that the amount of parking required for shopping centers with over 200,000 square feet of gross floor area can be reduced to as low as four (4) parking spaces for each 1 ,000 square feet of gross floor area. This is based on the actual parking experience from shopping centers throughout the country as studied in the Parking Generation report from I.T.E. and on the recommendation from the Urban Land Institute for shopping center parking. Observations at North Grand Mall have also revealed that except during the peak shopping period before Christmas, there is a large amount of excess parking within the mall parking lots. Therefore, the following ordinance change is recommended by staff: Proposed: Section 29.40(12) Parking for Shopping Centers over 200,00 square feet of gross floor area, exclusive of Office or Grocery Store Uses: There shall be provided a minimum of [Delete: 5.5] [Add: 4.0] parking spaces for each one thousand (1,000) square feet of gross [Delete: leasable] floor area. Essentially this proposal will require a minimum of one parking space for each 250 square feet of floor area for any buildings in a shopping center complex that is larger than 200,000 square feet in area, exclusive of grocery stores and office uses. Staff has chosen to base the parking on gross floor area instead of gross leasable area, since it is easier to calculate and verify, and because it actually results in a nine (9) percent greater number of parking spaces than if 4.0 parking spaces per 1 ,000 square feet of gross leasable area had be used. 4.0 parking spaces per 1 ,000 square feet of gross floor area is equivalent to 4.36 parking spaces per 1 ,000 square feet of gross leasable 3 area. Note that the Urban Land Institute information above indicates that there should be 4.0 to 4.5 parking spaces per 1 ,000 square feet of gross leasable area for shopping centers that range in size from 400,000 to 500,000 square feet of gross leasable area. Therefore, this proposed ordinance change, as it applies to North Grand Mall, which has a total of 453,688 square feet of gross floor area, is consistent and appropriate. North Grand Mall currently has 2,184 parking spaces. The following table shows the gross floor area at the mall, including all free-standing buildings; how much parking would be required, using four different parking ratios per 1 ,000 square feet of gross floor area; the amount of parking deficit or surplus there would be, using the various ratios; and the amount of additional square footage that could be constructed on the site, using existing parking. REQUIRED NUMBER OF PARKING SPACES 1,000 SQUARE FOOTAGE OF GROSS FLOOR SQUARE FOOTAGE OF MALL AND ALL AREA FREESTANDING BUILDINGS 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0 453,688 Square Feet of Gross Floor Area 2,495 2,268 2,042 1,814 Parking Surplus -311 -84 142 370 Possible Increase in Mall Square Footage 0 0 31,555 92,500 STAFF COMMENTS: Staff believes this change to the parking requirements for shopping centers over 200,000 square feet of gross floor area is consistent with current industry standards and the experience shown in the studies that were evaluated by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, as well as parking vacancy observations at the mall. This proposed change in the parking requirements will enable an increase in the square footage at the mall, and at the same time provide a rational basis for determining the amount of parking that is needed to support these commercial uses. RECOMMENDATION OF THE PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION: The Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed this request at their meeting of October 16, 1996 and recommended that it be approved. ALTERNATIVES: 1 . The City Council can approve an amendment to Chapter 29, Section 29.23(12) of the Municipal Code, as stated above. 2. The City Council can deny this request to approve an amendment to Chapter 29, Section 29.23(12) of the Municipal Code to reduce the amount of parking required for shopping centers. 4 3. The City Council can modify this proposed amendment to Chapter 29, Section 29.23(12) of the Municipal Code, as stated above, and approve it as modified. 4. Action on this request can be postponed and referred back to City staff and/or the Commission for additional information. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Adopt Alternative #1 , which is an action to approve an amendment to the off-street parking requirements for shopping centers over 200,000 square feet in gross area to allow 4.0 parking space per 1 ,000 square feet of gross floor area, exclusive of offices and grocery stores. h\bpo\caf\ngm.o16 5