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STAFF REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
DATE: Regular meeting of June 27, 2023
TO: Members of the City Council
VIA: Dante Hall, City Manager
SUBMITTED BY: Tim Rood, Community Development Director
Christie Crowl, Assistant City Attorney
SUBJECT: Parking Operations Agreement for Bayfront Project Area RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
Receive a report from City staff on the Parking Operations Agreement for the Bayfront Project area, Ask any clarifying questions of staff,
Take comments from the public; and
Approve a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute the agreement BACKGROUND:
Approved and adopted in 2012, the Implementing Development Agreement for the Bayfront Project (the “IDA”) governs development of the approximately 103-acre Project. The IDA describes the City’s and the developer’s rights and obligations concerning development of the Project, including construction of the City’s planned intermodal transit center, now known as the Hercules Hub.
The IDA envisions that a type of public parking program or district will be established in order to maximize public parking in the initial Hub development phases and to coordinate with the developer’s private parking. The IDA does not define the exact type of program or district, but the IDA does contain requirements to assist the City and developer in determining the parking needs (e.g., parking studies).
In an effort to coordinate the shared parking contemplated by the IDA and to avoid delaying construction prior to the establishment of a parking program, in March 2020 the City and developer entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (see Attachment 1), to express the parties’ intentions and address parking requirements in the IDA and the Waterfront District Master Plan. The MOU envisioned a parking district or entity that involved representatives from both the developer and the City/the public that would oversee shared parking. The developer would generally recoup parking fees from its spaces, and the City would generally recoup fees from its spaces. The MOU also provided additional guidance on how much of the developer’s future parking obligations would be shared (i.e., 10%) as well as wayfinding, signage, etc. Ultimately, the MOU recognized that the many details of the IDA’s shared parking requirements would be addressed in a later parking implementation agreement.
ANALYSIS:
Since the last update to the Council on this topic on July 13, 2021, the City and the developer have been working in good faith to negotiate a final agreement, including resolving the issue of when the establishment of a permanent district or entity would occur.
The attached Parking Operations Agreement (Attachment 2) is intended to provide a process for the City and the developer to fulfill their respective shared parking obligations consistent with the IDA. By removing uncertainty associated with the shared parking obligations for existing and future phases of the Bayfront, execution of the agreement would support the City’s goal of facilitating continued development of the project in accordance with the approved entitlements.
The agreement incorporates the terms of the 2020 MOU, including the following:
Developer will make 10% of its private parking spaces available, on a block-by-block basis, for public use once rail services begin at the Hub Project (parking demand anticipated to be 176 spaces per the demand analysis performed in 2019). The developer will provide 40 additional shared spaces upon full operation of rail and ferry service at the Hub. All shared spaces will be identified on an exhibit to the Agreement which will be updated as phases of the Project are built.
The rules and regulations governing shared parking will be established by the City and the owner or the future parking entity upon commencement of the shared private parking obligations and may include, but are not limited to, hours of operation, time limits, use of residential permits, and demand-based pricing.
Shared Private Parking shall be available to the public Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) from 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM and at no other time.
Provisions governing the potential sales/transfers of developer’s property and ensure continued compliance with the Agreement.
Provisions governing the term of the Agreement and events that may trigger the establishment of a parking district or other program or entity.
In addition, the Agreement acknowledges the existing condition of approval for Block N (The Exchange) requiring 25 spaces in the building garage to be available to retail customers and employees and visitors of residents, prior to the formation of a Public Parking District.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The Parking Operations Agreement has been determined to be consistent with the Hercules Bayfront Project approvals and determinations under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”):
1. In October 2011, the City of Hercules certified the Hercules Bayfront Project Final EIR (State Clearinghouse No. 2009112058) (the “2011 Certified EIR”) pursuant to CEQA.
2. The Parking Operations Agreement is within the scope of the project that was evaluated in the 2011 Certified EIR and will not have any environmental effects that were not evaluated and addressed in the 2011 Certified EIR.
3. A mitigation monitoring and reporting plan (“MMRP”) was adopted with the 2011 Certified EIR, and all applicable mitigation measures in the MMRP will be carried forward and implemented with this project.
5. Findings were made pursuant to Section 15091 of the CEQA Guidelines.
6. A Statement of Overriding Considerations was adopted for the Hercules Bayfront Project.
FISCAL IMPACT OF RECOMMENDATION:
There is no fiscal impact to approving a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute the Parking Operations Agreement for Bayfront Project Area Agreement.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1: Bayfront Parking Operating Memorandum (March 2, 2020) Attachment 2: Bayfront Parking Operations Agreement
Attachment 3: Resolution Approving Parking Operations Agreement