HomeMy WebLinkAboutA004 - Letter from Chris Theisen dated June 22, 2012 June 22, 2012
Honorable Mayor&City Council
City of Ames
515 Clark Avenue
Ames, Iowa 50010
RE: Hearing on Zoning Ordinance to Adapt New Parking Requirements
Honorable Mayor& City Council:
Theisen's Home—Farm-Auto is in the process of adding 37,500 square feet to our current 51,130 square
foot store for a total store size of 88,630 square feet. The original store had a parking requirement of
4.5 spaces per thousand square feet for a total requirement of 230 parking spaces (and 237 actual
spaces were constructed).The 4.5 per thousand is a requirement for"Retail and Shopping Centers"over
50,000 square feet in size. Based on the 4.5 requirement Theisen's would have to add 169 parking
spaces for the proposed 37,500 square foot expansion.
We originally requested 2.5 spaces per thousand square feet for a new Farm/Home store category.
Ultimately city staff decided this new Farm/Home store category would be hard to enforce. Staff has
done their homework and stated based on their research they could lower the required parking ratio to
2.6 and meet the higher use. Note,this is not far off from my original proposal of 2.5. Ultimately the
city's recommendation is one space per 300 sf retail area or 3.33 per thousand square feet to allow for
seasonal demand fluctuation.
I would like to thank the city council for referring my request on March 27tn for a review of the current
parking standard to city staff. I would like to thank the city staff for taking swift action in reviewing the
parking standards and coming up with a new recommendation. I would like to thank P&Z for passing
this unanimously on June 61n
We are in support of the city's revised parking requirements and urge you to support it also. This new
parking standard will allow for increased tax revenues within the city as larger parking lots can now be
split into out lots creating additional sales. You will continue to be good stewards of the land by not
requiring oversized parking lots to be built with increased water runoff. If a retailer truly feels they
need more parking spaces to meet their needs then they can still continue to put them in. It should be
a win-win situation for everyone.
I appreciate your attention to this matter and hope you vote to adopt the new standards. If you have
any questions or concerns, please feel free to call me at 563-556-4738 X212 or email me at
chris@theisens.com.
Sincerely,
Chris Theisen
Owner/Vice President Operations
Theisen's Home-Farm-Auto
♦ � M
Subject Parking Ordinance Change
From: "Chris Theisen"
To: bobanncamp,tom,j1arson101, matthew, dvoss,jeremyndavis, pforazem, sawyerkbaker,vszopinski
Date: 06/22/2012 04:52 PM
m
I would appreciate it if you spent a minute before the June 26 city council meeting and read my
attached letter in support of the change.
Thank you and have a great weekend,
66z& 74a6ma
VP Operations
Theisen Supply, Inc.
6201 Chavenelle Road
Dubuque,IA 52002-9692
563/556-4738 X212
chris@theisens.com
visit us at www.theisens.com
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Parking letter to City Council 6-22-12.doc