HomeMy WebLinkAboutA002 - Commission Action Form dated April 17, 2002 ITEM # VI
DATE 04/17/02
COMMISSION ACTION FORM
SUBJECT: MOTION TO APPROVE A TEXT AMENDMENT TO THE ZONING
ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH MINIMUM OFF-STREET PARKING REQUIREMENTS
FOR SIT-DOWN RESTAURANTS.
BACKGROUND:
CURRENT PARKING REGULATIONS.
When the current Zoning Ordinance was approved, one of the differences from the
previous ordinance was the manor in which parking was regulated. The parking
requirements of the previous ordinance for many uses were based on fluctuating criteria,
examples of which include, the number of employees, number of available seating, or
number of beds. For restaurants, the required parking was based on the legal occupancy
load and number of employees per maximum work shift. The previous parking regulations
for restaurants is as follows:
"Section 29.40(11) Parking for Restaurants, Night Clubs, Bars, and
Dance Halls: One (1) parking space for every four
(4) occupants, based on the legal occupancy load
as defined by the City Code, and one (1) parking
space for each two (2) employees per maximum
work shift."
As can be imagined, the administration of these parking regulations was difficult. First of
all, the legal occupancy load of each restaurant had to be determined. And secondly, the
number of employees needed to be provided to the City. Of course, the number of
employees can vary depending upon the popularity of the business or what time of year
it is. Therefore, the parking regulations were based on a number that could vary over time.
When the current Zoning Ordinance was approved, parking requirements for most uses,
including restaurants, were changed to be based on the size (square footage) of the use.
This method is much easier to administer because the size of each use does not change
often. When it does change, the size of a use is clearly identified on a site plan and
building plan. The current parking requirements for restaurants are included in Table
29.406(2) below:
Table 29.406(2) — Minimum Off-Street Parking Requirements
t c < �� .., u .,
. .xa selnper re, ..
Entertainment, Restaurant and Recreation
Trade 14 s aces/1,000 s . ft.
12 spaces/1,000 sq. ft. in dining or waiting
Fast Food Restaurant area, or 1 space/2 employees if no seating
As can be seen in the table above, sit-down restaurants are required to provide 14 parking
spaces/1,000 square feet of restaurant area. In reviewing several proposed sit-down
restaurants, staff has noted that the current requirement is very restrictive and has led staff
to conclude that a change to the standard may be justified. Staff has been contemplating
bringing forward a text amendment to change the parking requirement for sit-down
restaurants.
Recently, the owner of Minsky's Pizza in Nevada and Campustown purchased the former
Toyota Dealership site at 3605 Lincoln Way. He is proposing to renovate the building
(approximately the front half) into a Minsky's Pizza Restaurant and Lounge. However, the
site does not allow for 14 spaces/1 ,000 to be provided. As a result, the applicant has
requested that staff initiate the text amendment to the parking requirement that we have
been contemplating (see attached letter).
PROPOSED PARKING REGULATIONS FOR SIT-DOWN RESTAURANTS.
The following is the recommended text amendment to the parking requirements for
Sit-Down Restaurants (changes are in bold italics and ):
Table 29.406 2 — Minimum Off-Street ParlkN Requirements
P . use:. , . =ar.,�n a sire edit
Entertainment, Restaurant and
Recreation Trade 14 spaces/1,000 sq. ft.
Sit-Down Restaurant 9 s aces/1,000 sq. ft.
12 spaces/1,000 sq. ft. in dining or waiting
Fast Food Restaurant area, or 1 space/2 employees if no seating
and,
Section 29.201 Definitions
Sit-Down Restaurant means a use engaged in the preparation
and sale of food and beverages, which could include the sale of
alcoholic beverages when conducted as a secondary feature of
the use. The food and beverage is generally for the consumption
on-site, however, may include limited carry-out service.
In order to support the regulations proposed above, staff has conducted research
regarding parking requirements for sit-down restaurants. Staff has reviewed the Parking
Generation Manual compiled by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), researched
other communities parking requirements, and evaluated parking for existing sit-down
restaurants within the City of Ames. The highlights of that research are outlined below.
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ITE PARKING GENERATION STUDY.
The Institute of Transportation Engineers has written a Parking Generation Manual to help
planners, engineers and decision makers, understand the demand for parking for various
land uses. The manual is a survey of parking demand for many different types of land
uses throughout the country. The following table is a summary of the surveys conclusions
regarding parking for sit-down restaurants.
x e .. ntT e Q n�f gip ,.
Quality Restaurant 14 s aces/1,000 s . ft. of restaurant area
Family Restaurant 9 s aces/1,000 s . ft. of restaurant area
The ITE Manual separates sit-down restaurants into two categories: Quality Restaurants
and Family Restaurants. The Manual defines each of those restaurants as follows:
"Quality Restaurant — This type of restaurant comprises eating
establishments of high quality and with turnover rates generally of at
least one hour or longer."
"Family Restaurant— This category of restaurants comprises sit-down
eating places with turnover rates of generally less than one hour.
Restaurants in this group are usually moderately priced and frequently
belong to chains such as Denny's, Pizza Hut, Shakeys, and Big Boy,
etc."
The number of parking spaces illustrated in the-survey are an average of the peak parking
spaces demanded by each of the two types of sit-down restaurants. When the current
Zoning Ordinance was approved, the City adopted a standard of 14 spaces/1,000 square
feet of gross restaurant area, which is consistent with the ITE survey for parking demanded
by Quality Restaurants. In reviewing the definitions for the two types of sit-down
restaurants in the ITE survey, staff believes that the types of restaurants generally located
within the City of Ames more closely fit the definition of Family Restaurant than Quality
Restaurant. That belief is not based on the "quality" of the restaurants in Ames, but rather
on the average turnover rate. Staff believes that the majority of the restaurants in Ames
have an average turnover rate of one hour or less.
Furthermore, the ITE Manual cautions that the number of Quality Restaurants surveyed
was low and that the rates identified for the Quality Restaurants should "...be used with
caution. Many Zoning Ordinances throughout the United States utilize a rate of 10
parking spaces per 1,000 square feet. The average weekday and Saturday rates
(identified in the survey) are higher than this."
Staff believes that the survey results identified in the ITE Manual for the parking demand
of Family Restaurants supports the recommended change to 9 spaces/1,000 square feet
of gross restaurant area for sit-down restaurants in Ames.
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r
OTHER MUNICIPALITIES PARKING REQUIREMENTS.
Staff also examined parking requirements for sit-down restaurants of other municipalities.
As mentioned earlier, the ITE Manual indicates that many Zoning Ordinances throughout
the United States utilize a rate of 10 spaces/1,000 square feet of restaurant area. The
results of staffs research are provided in the table below.
ar, irc alp -J Burlington 1 space/1 00 s uare feet 10 s aces/1,000 s . ft.
1 space/150 square feet (approximately 6.67 spaces/1,000 sq. ft.),
Cedar Falls plus one parking space for every two employees, with a minimum of
five parking spaces for employee parking
Cedar Rapids 10 s aces/1,000 square feet
Council Bluffs 1 space/1 50 square feet (approximately 6.67 s aces/1,000 sq. ft.
Davenport 1 space/1 00 square feet 10 s aces/1,000
Des Moines 1 space/1 50 square feet (approximately 6.67 s aces/1,000 sq. ft.
Iowa City 1 space/1 50 square feet (approximately 6.67 s aces/1,000 sq. ft.
1 space/100 square feet (10 spaces/1,000 sq. ft.)for indoor patron
Waterloo use, plus 1 space/200 square feet (5 spaces/1,000 sq. ft.) for outdoor
patron use
West Des Moines 1 space/1 00 square feet 10 s aces/1,000 sq. ft.
Fort Collins, Colorado 10 s aces/1,000 square feet
Champaign, Illinois 1 s ace/125 square feet 8 s aces/1,000 sq. ft.
Lawrence, Kansas 1 s ace/200 square feet 5 s ace/1,000 sq. ft.
St. Paul, Minnesota 1 s ace/125 square feet 8 s aces/1,000 sq. ft.
Columbia, Missouri 1 space/1 00 square feet 10 s aces/1,000 sq. ft.
The cities surveyed represent various Iowa cities, as well as several Midwestern college
towns. The parking requirements for sit-down restaurants in these cities range from 5
spaces/1,000 square feet to 10 spaces/1,000 square feet. Staff believes that this survey
of other municipality's parking regulations supports the proposed amendment to the
parking requirements for sit-down restaurants, changing the required parking from 14
spaces/1,000 square feet to 9 spaces/1,000 square feet.
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PARKING FOR EXISTING SIT-DOWN RESTAURANTS.
Staff wanted to identify how the proposed regulations would affect (if at all) existing
sit-down restaurants in Ames. Therefore, staff examined the parking provided and required
for several existing sit-down restaurants in Ames. The results of that research are outlined
in the table below.
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Ct1' et1t• 'r
,PFevious � �
�
Size �:park�n
Restaurant
eq ment
`Provided Ruire a,Z
ac
.� aC,eS
Country
Kitchen 6,500 119 63 91 59
A lebee'sf,4,998 104 66 70 45
HickoryPark 7,883 246 134 251 161
Dublin Bay 5,149 69 69 81 52
Red Lobster 4,077 118 59 58 37
Happy
Joe's 4,000 52 52 56 36
Perkins 6,090 112 75 86 55
The restaurants identified in staffs survey represent a variety of sit-down restaurant types.
They range in size from 4,000 to 17,883 square feet. All of these restaurant buildings were
actually constructed prior to the approval of the current parking requirement of 14
spaces/1,000 square feet. Two of the restaurants presently provide less parking than the
current requirement. None of the restaurants will become non-conforming as a result of the
recommended text amendment. Generally speaking, staff believes that the proposed
regulations of 9 spaces/1,000 square feet is adequate for the majority of sit-down
restaurants in Ames.
SUMMARY,
In summary, staff believes that the current parking requirement for sit-down restaurants,
14 spaces/1,000 square feet, is too great. Staff believes that the proposed standard of 9
spaces/1,000 square feet is more appropriate. Staff believes that the data supplied in the
ITE Parking Generation Manual, as well as the survey of other municipalities regulations
support the proposed amendment. Furthermore, the proposed parking regulations should
not have a detrimental affect on existing sit-down restaurants in our community. Staff
believes that implementation of the proposed parking regulations outlined in this Action
Form would provide an adequate amount of parking spaces for sit-down restaurants while
not "over-parking" these restaurants in our community.
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ALTERNATIVES:
1. The Planning and Zoning Commission can recommend that the City Council approve
the recommended text amendments to the Zoning Ordinance regarding parking
regulations for sit-down restaurants.
2. The Planning and Zoning Commission can recommend that the City Council deny the
recommended text amendments to the Zoning Ordinance regarding parking regulations
for sit-down restaurants.
3. The Planning and Zoning Commission can recommend that the City Council approve
the recommended text amendments to the Zoning Ordinance regarding parking
regulations for sit-down restaurants, with modifications.
4. The Planning and Zoning Commission can refer the recommended text amendments
to the Zoning Ordinance regarding parking regulations for sit-down restaurants back to
staff for further review and comment.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
It is recommended that Alternative #1 be adopted. Alternative #1 recommends that the
text amendments to the Zoning Ordinance regarding parking regulations for sit-down
restaurants be approved.
Attachment
s:\P&Z\commission Action Forms\Text Amendments\Sit-Down Restaurant Pkg Reg Text Amendment 04-17-02.doc
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