SEC. 16-651. ADMINISTRATIVE RELIEF FROM PARKING PROVISIONS.
(A) An application for administrative relief from the parking provisions of this article shall be filed and processed in the same manner as the application for the permit or approval for the project, activity or business as to which administrative relief is sought. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, when an application for administrative relief is filed in connection with an application for an adult business permit, within ten days after the application is filed city staff shall accept the application as complete or reject the application as incomplete and mail the applicant notice of acceptance or rejection, and the commission shall decide the application within 30 days after the application is accepted as complete. If city staff or the approval body should fail to act within such time limits on an application for administrative relief filed in connection with an application for an adult business permit, the application shall be deemed accepted as complete or deemed granted, respectively.
(B) Administrative relief from the parking provisions of this article shall be granted by the commission for the proposed use under the following circumstances.
(1) Shared parking - Parking spaces may be used jointly by uses with different hours of operation or different peak hours of operation. Requests for shared parking shall meet the following requirements:
(a) The applicant shall submit a parking study prepared by a professional traffic engineer registered by the State, demonstrating that the parking demands for the uses for which shared parking is requested will not conflict. The parking study shall be prepared in accordance with the parking study guidelines, on file with the development services department.
(b) The parking study shall address the following items:
(i) Size and type of uses;
(ii) Composition of tenants, patrons, clients, employees and visitors of uses;
(iii) Rate of turnover of proposed shared spaces; and
(iv) Traffic and parking loads for uses, including peak hours.
(c) The number of parking spaces that may be credited against the requirements for the uses or structures involved shall not exceed the number of spaces reasonably anticipated to be available during the different hours of operation of each joint use.
(d) Shared parking spaces shall not be located farther away from any use served than 500 feet.
(e) A written agreement in the form on file with the city clerk shall be executed by all landowners and tenants affected by the agreement. The agreement shall specify that the city is a third- party beneficiary to the agreement and shall state that the user agrees to vacate the use within 12 months if a landowner or tenant should amend or terminate the agreement so that the user no longer has sufficient parking to satisfy the parking requirements in effect at the time the agreement was accepted by the city.
(2) Off-site parking - Except for high turnover retail uses, parking may be located off-site. Requests for off-site parking shall meet the following requirements:
(a) Off-site parking shall not be located farther away from the use served than 500 feet.
(b) Use of off-site parking shall not expose pedestrians to hazardous traffic safety conditions.
(c) A written agreement in the form on file with the city clerk shall be executed by all landowners affected by the agreement. The agreement shall specify that the city is a third-party beneficiary to the agreement and shall state that the user agrees to vacate the use within 12 months if a landowner should amend or terminate the agreement so that the user no longer has sufficient parking to satisfy the parking requirements in effect at the time the agreement was accepted by the city.
(3) Compact parking spaces - An applicant may request administrative relief in the form of providing compact parking spaces in lieu of some of the full-size parking spaces required for a proposed use, or in the form of converting some full-size parking spaces existing on the site of a proposed use to compact parking spaces; provided, however, that no more than 25 percent of required full-size parking spaces shall be replaced by compact parking spaces. The applicant shall accompany the request for administrative relief with a landscaping plan and a parking plan as required by this article and a parking study prepared by a professional traffic engineer registered by the State, demonstrating that a certain amount of compact parking is appropriate for the site and the proposed use. The proposed compact parking spaces, parking bays and parking aisles shall be designed in accordance with standards adopted by the director. The commission may deny all or part of the requested administrative relief on the ground that compact parking spaces create inconvenience to drivers, impair safety or traffic circulation on the site, or do not meet the parking needs anticipated for the proposed use.
(4) Decrease in required parking spaces - Required parking may be decreased when the requirement is shown to be excessive. A request for a decrease in required parking spaces shall meet the following requirements:
(a) The applicant shall submit a parking study prepared by a professional traffic engineer registered by the State, demonstrating that the required parking is excessive and showing the amount of parking that should be required for the use. The parking study shall be prepared in accordance with the parking study guidelines, on file with the development services department.
(b) The parking study shall address the following items:
(i) Size and type of use;
(ii) Composition of tenants, patrons, clients, employees and visitors of use;
(iii) Rate of turnover of parking spaces;
(iv) Peak traffic and parking loads for use; and
(v) Availability of public transportation, including carpools or employer-provided transportation.
(5) Waiver of requirement that parking spaces be in garages - When the parking provisions of this article require that parking spaces for apartments or multi-family residential projects be provided in garages, some parking spaces may be provided uncovered or in carports, as determined by the commission on the basis of findings that uncovered parking spaces or carports will improve the appearance of the project by reducing the number of garages and creating more open vistas or landscaped or recreational areas within the project; provided, however, that despite such waiver at least one parking space shall be provided in a garage for each residential unit; and further provided that the commission may deny all or part of the requested administrative relief on the ground that the benefits of providing some or all required parking spaces in garages are more important than an improvement in the appearance of the project or an increase in open vistas or landscaped or recreational areas in the project. If administrative relief is granted to allow some parking spaces to be provided in carports, the carports shall be open on all sides, and the design and construction of the carports shall be subject to the approval of the director.
(`64 Code, Sec. 36-7.1.31) (Ord. No. 2021, 2327, 2513, 2718)
