Fremont City Council Meeting: 05/09/23 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: Police Department
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Code Adoptions & Amendments
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 4872) DOC ID: 4872
Updated: 5/5/2023 8:06 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 1
INTRODUCE AN ORDINANCE TO CONTINUE THE MISSION PEAK
NEIGHBORHOOD PERMIT PARKING PROGRAM - Public Hearing (Published Notice) to Introduce an Ordinance to Amend FMC Section 10.05.970 to Continue the Permit Parking Program for the Mission Peak Neighborhood with Restricted Parking Times on Weekends and on National Holidays
Contact Persons:
Name: Ariel Quimson Sean Washington
Title: Lieutenant Police Chief
Div/Dept: Police Department Police Department
Phone: (510) 790-6779 510-790-6969
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: On May 17, 2016, the City Council created the Mission Peak Permit Parking Program ("Program"), which was set to expire on July 7, 2020. On May 19, 2020, the City Council extended the Program by an additional three years to expire on July 7, 2023. The Chief of Police recommends that Council extend the Mission Peak Neighborhood Permit Parking Program for ten years. Public Hearing notices were sent to all residences in the Mission Peak permit parking area and residences within 300 feet of the permit parking area.
BACKGROUND: On January 5, 2016, the City Council adopted an ordinance allowing the Mission Peak neighborhood to petition for the formation of a temporary permit parking program. Residents expressed concerns about traffic, noise, and lack of available parking for their visitors, claiming that on weekends and holidays, it was challenging to hold family functions or celebrations due to the lack of available parking on City streets.
On May 17, 2016, the City Council created the Program in response to the neighborhood petition. On May 19, 2020, the City Council extended the Program for an additional three years, which is set to expire on July 7, 2023.
The Program requires vehicles parking on the street in the permitted parking area on weekends (Saturday at 12:01 a.m. - Sunday at 11:59 p.m.) and on national holidays (including dates of observance) to display a valid parking permit. Permits are only issued to residents of the permit parking area, which generally bounded by Mission Blvd. to the west, Antelope Dr. to the north, Vineyard Ave. to the east, Stanford Ave. to the south, and the area surrounding Cougar Cir., Boar Cir. and Lynx Dr. The permit parking area includes 586 parcels within the Mission Peak neighborhood. Approximately 150 on-street parking spaces along Vineyard Ave. and Antelope Dr. are excluded from the permit parking program restrictions, allowing for public parking at all times. Combined with the parking available at the existing staging area at the park entrance, there are approximately 200 spaces available for public use. A site map of the Mission Peak Parking Permit Area is included as Exhibit A.
Parking a vehicle during restricted parking hours without a valid parking permit in the permit parking area is a violation of FMC Section 10.05.950. The fine for that violation is $82, which is consistent with all other municipal code parking violations within the City of Fremont. The permit parking program has helped to alleviate the issues and concerns of the neighborhood.
Council Staff Report (ID # 4872) Meeting of May 9, 2023 Updated: 5/5/2023 8:06 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 2
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: The Police Department supports the extension of this Program and believes its overall goal to reduce noise, traffic, and trash, as well as alleviate parking issues for residents on weekends and holidays, has been successful. Since the program began, the overall number of parking violation complaints and general neighborhood concerns have decreased, and the public still has access to the popular destination via the 200 available spaces at the Stanford Staging Area and the several hundred spaces available at Ohlone College.
Enforcement of the Mission Peak Neighborhood permit parking program was handled jointly between the Fremont Police and East Bay Regional Parks District Police (EBRPD) when the Program first began. Since the fall of 2020, Fremont Police has solely conducted all enforcement activities. In January 2021, the Fremont Police Department created the Parking Compliance Unit, which is staffed by three parking compliance officers. The Parking Compliance Officers patrol and enforce parking restrictions throughout the City, including the Mission Peak Permit Parking area. Between July 1, 2020, and March 8, 2023, more than 2700 permit parking citations were issued to motorists by Fremont Police Parking Compliance Officer and Community Service Officers in the Mission Peak Permit Parking area.
The initial administrative costs associated with contracting with a third-party vendor to manage the distribution of parking permits were funded by EBRPD. The current cost for new permits ranges from $3 - $4 and will remain unchanged unless there is a corresponding increase to the third-party vendor contract, which expires in July of 2026. The initial funding from EBRPD allowed the cost of new permits to remain low for residents, and there is no cost to print temporary 72-hour guest permits.
The Police Department has observed that the ordinance, when properly enforced, effectively reduces the impact of nonresident vehicles parking within the permit parking ar ea and other associated concerns. As a result, City staff recommends the continuation of the Mission Peak Permit Parking Program for an additional ten years. Pursuant to the FMC Section 10.05.870, in order to continue the Program, the City Council must find that continuation of the permit parking program for an additional ten years would be in the interest of the health, safety, or general welfare of the residents in, and adjacent to, the permit parking area. The continuation of the Mission Peak Permit Parking Program would benefit the residents living within the existing permit parking area, considering the size of the permit parking area, the restricted parking times, and the excessive number of non-resident vehicles parking within the neighborhood. The continuation of the permit parking program, under present conditions, has not been and will not be detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of the residents in or adjacent to the permit parking area. Residents and visitors to the area may freely park in the approximate 200 spaces not included in the permit parking program, as well as utilize the 900-space parking lot controlled by Ohlone Community College to access the Mission Peak Regional Preserve.
Notification: A total of 1035 notices of the public hearing were mailed to residents in the permit parking area and to residents of properties within 300 feet of the perimeter of the permit parking area. The notices were mailed on Thursday, April 27, 2023. A Public Hearing Notice was published in the Tri-City Voice on April 27, 2023. A notice was also posted at both main entrances of Mission Peak to announce the hearing on April 27, 2023.
Council Staff Report (ID # 4872) Meeting of May 9, 2023 Updated: 5/5/2023 8:06 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 3 On April 27, 2023, Mission Peak Liaison Committee held an in-person meeting at the Fremont Downtown Event Center. The City provided an update on the Mission Peak Regional Preserve’s Parking Permit Program.
FISCAL IMPACT: Parking citation and permit revenue cover the costs of the Parking Compliance Unit, which performs parking enforcement throughout the City of Fremont, including the Mission Peak permit area, and the costs of the third-party contractor who processes the citations and permits for the City of Fremont. FY 2021/22 parking citation/permit revenue and Parking Compliance Unit expenditures were as follows:
Parking Citation/Permit Revenue $530,744
Parking Citation/Permit Expense (Third-Party Contractor) -44,483 Parking Compliance Unit Expense (Salary, Benefits, Operating Costs & One-Time start-up costs)
-401,592
Total Net Revenue $84,669
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: The continuation of permit parking on weekends and holidays for certain streets in the Mission Peak Neighborhood is exempt from and not subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because, without limitation, it is not a “project” as defined in CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(2) and/or 15378(b)(5) and as it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity may have a significant effect on the environment per CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), each as a separate and independent basis for CEQA compliance. The permit parking program restricts parking time frames for existing on-street parking and therefore would not result in any physical changes to the environment. The program would reduce potential traffic and parking impacts to the Mission Peak Neighborhood by limiting the number of excessive non-resident vehicles parking in the area, and any impact from this parking shift would be less than significant. Therefore, the permit parking program is exempt fro m further environmental review.
ATTACHMENTS:
• Draft Ordinance-Continue the Mission Peak Neighborhood Parking Permit Program • Mission Peak Parking Permi
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Find that continuing the permit parking program for the Mission Peak neighborhood is exempt from and not subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because, without limitation, it is not a “project” as defined in CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(2) and/or 15378(b)(5) and as it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity may have a significant effect on the environment per CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), each as a separate and independent basis for CEQA compliance
2. Introduce an ordinance amending FMC section 10.05.970 to continue the permit parking program for the Mission Peak neighborhood for 10 years with restricted parking times on weekends (Saturday from 12:01 a.m. - Sunday at 11:59 p.m.) and on national holidays (including dates of observance), and find that continuatio n of the Program would be beneficial to the parking needs of residents within the permit parking area, and that continuation of the permit parking program would not be Council Staff Report (ID # 4872) Meeting of May 9, 2023 Updated: 5/5/2023 8:06 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 4 detrimental to the health, safety or welfare of the residents in, or adjacent to, the permit parking area.