HomeMy WebLinkAboutA003 - Commission Action Form dated July 6, 2022 ITEM #: 7
DATE: 07-06-22
COMMISSION ACTION FORM
REQUEST: ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT TO REDUCE MEDICAL OFFICE PARKING
RATES FOR BUILDINGS LESS THAN 50,000 SQUARE FEET
July 6, 2022
BACKGROUND:
On April 26, 2022, the City Council referred a letter to staff from Mary Greeley Medical
Center (MGMC) regarding a requested change in the required parking for Medical Office
uses. The request focused on having the parking rate for smaller medical office facilities
match the parking rate for larger medical office facilities with a requested parking rate of
5 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of floor area. City Council reviewed the request
and at its June 14t' meeting approved initiating a zoning text amendment to reduce the
medical parking rate for all types to 4 parking spaces per 1 ,000 square feet of floor area.
The requested text amendment letter from the applicant is included as Attachment A.
Medical Office uses currently have a base requirement to provide parking at a rate of 1
space per 143 square feet (equivalent to 7 spaces per 1 ,000 square feet). Facilities
greater than 50,000 square feet in area or have a shared parking agreement have a
reduced rate of 5 spaces per 1,000 square feet. Medical Offices include the Zoning
Ordinance definition of a "Clinic" and the description of medical office in Article V, this
includes uses such as dental clinics, chiropractors, medical laboratories, general practice
doctors and surgery centers that do not permit overnight stays.
The medical parking rate for larger facilities at 5 spaces per 1,000 square feet is already
greater than the standard office parking rates (3.3 spaces per 1,000 square feet) to
account for high levels of employment and turnover of patients. The higher parking rate
for smaller facilities (<50,000 sq. ft.) at 7 spaces per 1 ,000 square feet assumes there is
high level of base demand that begins to dissipate with larger facilities.
Two outside technical resources, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the International
Traffic Engineers (ITE), recommend minimum parking for medical uses at a rate of 4 to
4.6 per 1,000 square feet. City Council identified that lowering the rate to a lower level
of 4 spaces per 1,000 square meet is consistent with these resources.
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Parking Rate Comparisons �uivalent
Sq. Ft. Spaces per
per 1,000 Sq. Ft.
S ace
Current Standard — Medical Use <50,000 s . ft. 143 7
Current Standard — Medical Use >50,000 s . ft. 200 5
Current Standard — Medical Use /shared parking 200 5
Current Standard-Downtown Gateway Zonin DGC * 166 6
General Office Use Parking Rate 303 3.3
ULI/ITE Recommendations 217 - 250 4 —4.6
*Options to reduce parking and share parking are also part of DGC zoning.
Staff reviewed a sample of existing medical office building locations and
determined that the only existing facility exceeding 50,000 square feet is the main
McFarland Clinic. Two other McFarland facilities (West and South) are less than 50,000
square feet, but benefitted from the 5 spaces per 1,000 square feet parking rate due to
shared parking. Staff also reviewed the prior Zoning Ordinance standards from the
1990s, which indicated that the medical parking rate was uniformly 5 spaces per 1,000
square feet. There is no discussion recorded about the change in parking rates for
medical office uses as part of the zoning ordinance rewrite in 2000. The Hospital Medical
Special Purpose Zoning District follow standards medical parking rates.
From staff's assessment of parking conditions, it appears that the higher level of
required parking at 7 spaces per 1,000 square feet is not utilized for buildings under
50,000 square feet. The only facility that operates similar to a medical office that appears
to frequently use most of the parking is the Childserve facility on Philadelphia Street.
However, that site is parked at a rate of 4 spaces per 1 ,000 square feet, which is less
than the medical parking rate.
OPTIONS:
The applicant is requesting that the City approve a Text Amendment to change the
Medical/Dental Office parking rate for medical clinics under 50,000 square feet from the
current 7 spaces per 1,000 square feet to 4 spaces per 1,000 square feet consistent with
the City Council's direction.
Other options discussed by staff with City Council included lowering the building size
threshold from 50,000 square feet to 5,000 square feet for the 7 spaces per 1,000 square
feet or to have a uniform 5 spaces per 1,000 square feet regardless of building size.
Staff has outlined three options below for the Commission to review in relation to reducing
medical parking rates.
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OPTION 1: a. Reduce the rate for all Medical Office Uses to 4 spaces per 1,000 square
feet for all buildings. (Request of Applicant)
b. Update and modify the Medical Office use and "Clinic" definition to clarify
applicability to physical therapy, chiropractors, and other uses commonly
associated with medical care. (Recommended by Staff)
OPTION 2: a. Reduce the rate for all Medical Office Uses to 5 spaces per 1 ,000 square
feet for all buildings.
b. Update and modify the Medical Office use and "Clinic" definition to clarify
applicability to physical therapy, chiropractors, and other uses commonly
associated with medical care.
OPTION 3: a. Reduce the rate for all Medical Office Uses to 4 spaces per 1,000 square
feet for all buildings outside of the Hospital Medical Special Purpose Zoning
District (Area adjacent to the Hospital and McFarland Clinic generally Kellogg
to Carroll and 13th to 9th)
b. Apply a 5 spaces per 1,000 square feet standard to the Hospital Medical
and Downtown Gateway Commercial Zoning Districts.
c. Update and modify the Medical Office use and "Clinic" definition to clarify
applicability to physical therapy, chiropractors, and other uses commonly
associated with medical care.
STAFF COMMENTS:
The City's medical office rate applies to a very diverse set of medical related uses that do
not all have a high demand for parking. A cursory review of comparable parking rates
indicates that cities have a wide range of requirements with some cities having less
required medical parking and some having similar standards to Ames' 7 spaces per 1,000
standard. It does not appear in Ames that full utilization of parking occurs at sites reviewed
by staff where the 7 spaces per 1,000 square feet standard applies. The proposed
reduction to 4 spaces per 1,000 is at the low end of the range and would satisfactorily
address average demands, but may not address higher intensity uses or peak demands.
Staff is supportive of reducing the parking rate with any of the Options described
above and ensuring definitions match current terminology. If the Commission is
concerned about potential spill over parking into neighborhoods, Option 2 or
Option 3 would reduce overall parking rates, but lessen the potential for such an
impact. Option 1 is the best choice to reduce parking overall to match average
needs. Any of the three options presented in the report would be the needs of the
applicant, with their preference as Option 1.
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ALTERNATIVES:
1. Recommend that City Council reduce all medical parking to 4 spaces per 1,000 square
feet, and update definitions.
2. Recommend that City Council reduce all medical parking to 5 spaces per 1,000 square
feet, and update definitions.
3. Recommend that City Council reduce medical parking to 4 spaces per 1,000 square feet
Medical Area and establish a parking rate of 5 spaces
for areas outside of the Hospital Med p g
per 1,000 square feet for the Hospital Medical Area, and update definitions
4. Recommend that City Council take no action to modify parking standards.
DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATION:
Staff finds that the 7 spaces per 1,000 square feet exceeds typical parking demands.
Construction of excess parking is an inefficient development standard for utilization of a site and
adds potentially unnecessary impervious coverage to a site. Staff's research and observations
support lowering the standard. Staff believes that across the City a lower standard is justified,
but finds that the Hospital Medical Area is uniquely situated with its concentration of medical uses
to have a rate of 5 spaces per 1,000 to match its historical parking rates.
Therefore, the Planning and Housing Department recommends Alternative 3.
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Attachment A- Applicant Request Letter
June 17,2022
City of Ames City Council
In c/o:Kelly Diekmann
515 Clark Ave
Ames, IA 50010
RE: Request for Zoning Text Amendment on Medical Parking Requirement
Dear Ames City Council:
On behalf of MGMC and McFarland Clinic we are requesting a zoning text amendment be considered to
reduce the current requirement of 1 space/143 SF or 7 stalls/1,000 SF of medical office as stated in City
Code Chapter 29,Article 4-17 to 1 space/250 SF or 4 stalls/1,000 SF. As we explore a potential
medical clinic project in Ames and have applied the current ratio to a site layout the parking is
unnecessarily large and a burden to the overall budget. We have researched that in area communities
like West Des Moines and Waukee the medical office requirement is 3 or 5 spaces/1,000 SF of medical
office/clinic use. For example, 7 stallsl1,000 SF would equate to 238 parking stalls for a 34,000 SF
clinic space that would average 50 staff and 34 patients maximum. The parking that is currently being
required is almost triple of what is needed from a building use.
As we navigate uncertain times with increasing construction pricing and low availability of materials the
challenge to meet a project budget and still meet project goals are monumental. Considering the cost
burden of this parking requirement impacts many areas like soils,granular base material,concrete,
storm sewer and landscape screening are all impacting the bottom line. Wherever possible
concentrating budget dollars to medical equipment that assists in improving the quality of life for our
community members is top priority vs. potentially unused parking spaces.
We request that you amend the current zoning requirement of 7 stalls/1,000 SF of medical office to 4
stalls/1,000 SF. We appreciate your consideration of this request for upcoming and future development.
Sincerely,
MGMC in partnership with McFarland Clinic
ary ine
MGMC Vice President&Chief Financial Officer
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