EAST PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
DATE: September 5, 2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Melvin E. Gaines, City Manager
BY: Humza Javed, Public Works Director
SUBJECT: Parking Around City Parks and Facilities
Recommendation
1. Accept staff report on parking regulations and enforcement on public streets in and around City Parks and other City facilities;
2. Provide direction to staff regarding the elements raised in the staff report;
3. Direct staff to return to the City Council with proposed modifications to the City’s parking and enforcement policies on public streets in and around City Parks and other City facilities Alignment with City Council Strategic Plan
This recommendation is primarily aligned with:
Promote Health and Public Safety
Enhance Community Services and Parks
Background
The City owns and maintains the following parks: Bell Street Park, Jack Farrell Park, Joel Davis Park, and Martin Luther King Junior Park. In addition, the City has other facilities including the Tate Street Office, Cooley Landing, and the Senior Center where at times, members of the community park their motor vehicles.
Parking restrictions vary at the parks and facilities. A detailed description of each park is included below:
Bell Street Park
Bell Street Park does not have a dedicated parking lot. Park users park their motor vehicles at the YMCA parking lot to access this park. This parking lot is owned and maintained by YMCA.
Jack Farrell Park
Jack Farrell park does not have a dedicated parking lot. Park users utilize the angled and perpendicular on-street parking on Fordham St. This parking area is maintained by the City of East Palo Alto. Parking in this area has posted signs restricting parking from sunset to sunrise. Parking enforcement is performed by the Police Department.
Joel Davis Park
Joel Davis park does not have a dedicated parking lot. This park is within a residential community and park users utilize on street parking around the park perimeter. The streets are public and are maintained by the City of East Palo Alto. Parking is restricted with posted signs prohibiting overnight parking. These signs are not standard signs and there is no record of an Ordinance or Resolution authorizing these signs. In order for the City to enforce overnight parking, a City Council Resolution would be needed along with signage meeting the standards of the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Devices (CA MUTCD).
Martin Luther King Junior Park
Martin Luther King Junior Park is the only public parks with a dedicated parking lot. The gate remains open during the day starting at sunrise and is closed by staff at sunset. However, there are no other parking restrictions at this parking lot. There is also a public pedestrian gate which is always open for public use.
Cooley Landing, Senior Center, 1960 Tate Street, and 141 Demeter The City facilities at Cooley Landing, Senior Center, the 1960 Tate Street (CEDD & PW offices) and 141 Demeter (Police Station) have parking lots that have “unofficial” parking restrictions.
City Authority
The City has broad powers regulating the parking of vehicles on public streets. This authority comes from the California Vehicle Code sections 22500 et seq.
In particular, section 22507 (a) provides that local authorities may, by ordinance or resolution, prohibit or restrict stopping, parking or standing of vehicles on certain streets or highways or portions of those during all or certain hours of the day. The ordinance or resolution may include a designation of certain streets upon which preferential parking privileges are given to residents and merchants adjacent to the streets for their use and the use of their guests under which the residents and merchants may be issued a permit or permits that exempt them from the prohibition or restriction of the ordinance or resolution.
Section 10.04.030 of the East Palo Alto Municipal Code authorizes designation of restricted parking zones by resolution of the City Council. Whenever this is done, restrictions become effective upon installation by the director of Public Works of appropriate street signs and/or markings giving notice of the restriction.
Ordinance No. 142 adopted in 1992 authorizes the City Council to establish restricted parking zones by resolution. Restrictions are not applicable until signs or markings giving adequate notice have been placed.
There is no adopted resolution regarding the parking restriction around the public streets adjacent to Joel Davis Park. There are also no restrictions in the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions of University Square (CC&Rs) regarding overnight parking.
Analysis
Parking around City parks and facilities was previously discussed by the City Council on 12/15/22. The City Council directed staff to notify the public and discuss the item at a Public Works and Transportation Commission (PWTC) meeting.
Staff brought the item to the PWTC at the 12/21/22 and 3/15/23 meetings. A summary of the meetings is as follows:
12/21/22 PWTC Meeting
Staff presented the item to the PWTC. There were four public speakers, all who were all in support of the overnight parking restrictions around Joel Davis Park. The theme of comments included consideration of restricting parking at all parks; further review of the uniqueness and parking need at each park and facility; and availability of enforcement resources if restrictions are created.
The PWTC recommended that staff perform additional outreach and return with recommendations for the PWTC review at a subsequent meeting. 3/15/23 PWTC Meeting
Prior to the meeting, City staff reached out to the neighboring homeowners association and mailed 130 notices to residents around Joel Davis Park in advance of the meeting.
Four residents provided feedback at the meeting which included the following comments:
parking restrictions are needed at the parks at night; parking should be restricted from 8 P.M. to 6 A.M. or 12 A.M. to 6 A.M. at the parks; enforcement is needed along with the placement of signage, etc.
Upon discussion, the PWTC recommended the following parking restrictions.
Location Type Time Restriction
Jack Farell Park Street 10 P.M. to 6 A.M. No Parking
Joel Davis Park Street 10 P.M. to 6 A.M. No Parking
MLK Park Parking Lot 10 P.M. to 6 A.M. No Parking
Senior Center Parking Lot 10 P.M. to 6 A.M. No Parking
1960 Tate St Parking Lot 6 P.M. to 6 A.M. City vehicles only Considerations related PWTC Recommendations and Public Comments The Council may desire to have different parking restrictions at different locations based on factors specific to each location. Parking could be restricted based on its intended function, i.e., where parking is being provided and the parking needs thereof. For example, parking at City parks may be restricted in order to discourage park usage and loitering when parks are closed. Additionally, parking at City offices could be restricted to ensure that people do not park vehicles at City offices that would reduce the availability of parking for employees and visitors to those facilities. As mentioned earlier in this report, the City must have the ability to enforce any restrictions it establishes.
Generally, there are three parking environments at City parks and facilities in East Palo Alto:
1. Parking lots at City facilities,
2. Parking lots at City parks, and
3. On-street parking at City parks.
City controlled facilities with parking lots include Cooley Landing, 1960 Tate Street (Public Works and Community and Economic Development departments), 141 Demeter Street and 219 Demeter Street (Police Department), and 150 Tara Street (Public Works Corp Yard). Staff believes that parking at City facilities should be restricted to ensure parking for employees and visitors to have access to the facility. Often, when people park at these facilities during nonbusiness hours, they fail to move their vehicles prior to business hours causing less parking availability for employees and visitors.
Staff recommends that parking at City offices be limited to employees and visitors Mondays at 12 AM through Fridays at 11:59 PM. In the case of Cooley Landing, the City does not have routine office hours; however, parking is currently restricted when the park is closed.
City controlled parks with parking lots include Martin Luther King Junior Park, Bell Street Park (the Senior Center lot is accessible to park users when the Senior Center is closed), and Cooley Landing (discussed above). While Bell Street Park and MLK Jr. Park are in/near residential neighborhoods, the parking lots are intended to be used by persons attending the parks and/or, in the case of Bell Street Park, the facility. According to Section 12.04.110(P) of the East Palo Alto Municipal Code, East Palo Alto Parks are closed from sunset to sunrise.
Considering this closure of parks, staff recommends that the parking lots for parks be closed during hours the parks are closed.
City parks with on-street parking only include Jack Farrell and Joel Davis parks. In the case of Joel Davis Park, the parking lot at 1960 Tate is for City offices, not the park. As mentioned above, the City currently signs posted that prohibit parking in the spaces adjacent to Jack Farrell Park from sunset to sunrise. These are official City signs, and no parking may be enforced. At Joel Davis Park, there are unofficial signs posted that prohibit parking which cannot be enforced. The City may want to prohibit parking at these locations from sunset to sunrise because the parking spaces serve the parks. One reason the Council may not want to limit parking at parks overnight is the need for parking spaces in the residential neighborhoods which most East Palo Alto parks are located. The parking around Joel Davis Park, in particular, is likely used by residents who live in the Peninsula Park Apartments located at 1977 Tate Street across from the park.
To summarize, the City Council has the following locations that it could consider restrictions:
Locations Type
Bell St Park Street/limited parking lot access
Jack Farell Park Street
Joel Davis Park Street
MLK Park Parking Lot
Cooley Landing Parking Lot
Senior Center Parking Lot
1960 Tate St Parking Lot
141 Demeter St Parking Lot
Further, for each location the Council has the following options to consider for those locations:
· Time-Limited Parking: Introduce time-limited parking zones, where vehicles are allowed to park for a maximum duration (e.g., 2 hours) during certain times. This can encourage turnover of parking spaces and discourage long-term parking in high-demand areas. · Pay-and-Display: Implement pay-and-display parking meters, where drivers pay for a parking space and display a receipt on their dashboard. This can help manage parking demand and generate revenue for the city.
· Restricted Hours for Non-Residents: Consider restricting parking during specific hours to only allow vehicles with resident permits or licenses registered within the city. · Restricted Hours for Non-City Marked: Consider restricting parking during specific hours to only allow City vehicles.
· Fully Restricted Hours: Consider restricting parking during specific hours to not allow any parking.
By providing this information to City Council, staff would like to engage in a discussion about current parking regulations and enforcement practices around these parks and City facilities.
Upon direction from City Council, staff intends to return to City Council with a recommendation and draft Resolution for parking restrictions to be implemented at City facilities and parks.
Fiscal Impact
No fiscal impact with the current action.
Public Notice
The public was provided notice of this agenda item by posting the City Council agenda on the City’s official bulletin board outside City Hall and making the agenda and report available at the City’s website and at the San Mateo Co. Library located at 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto.
Environmental
The proposed action does not constitute a “project” with the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines sections 15378(b)(4) and (5) in that it is a governmental fiscal, organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.