September 22, 2021
Mr. Robert Tersini
The Sobrato Organization
599 Castro Street, Suite 400
Mountain View, CA 94041
Re: Parking Study for Sobrato’s Office Building at Church Street and Castro Street in Mountain View, CA.
Dear Mr. Tersini:
We understand that Sobrato is proposing a new office building to replace the Wells Fargo bank at the corner of Church Street and Castro Street in Downtown Mountain View, California. In our recent conversations we also understand that Sobrato would like to “right size” the parking so there would be no unused spaces in the garage but at the same time ensure there would be no spillover parking into the nearby residential neighborhoods.
Recent trends in many cities along the Peninsula, including Mountain View, are moving toward reduced parking requirements, both to support switches to alternative modes of transportation and to acknowledge the role of shared ride companies. Hexagon believes the trend toward reduced parking demand will continue as more alternative transportation options continue to become available. Mountain View’s recent adoption of the North Bayshore Precise Plan and the East Whisman Precise Plan fit within this trend, having no minimum parking requirement and a maximum of 2.7 and 2.9 spaces per 1,000 square feet of office space, respectively. These ratios are less than the City of Mountain View Zoning Code requirement of 1 space per 300 s.f. of office space. The North Bayshore and East Whisman plans are located in areas where transit facilities are not as common as in the Downtown area, where the Sobrato office would be located. Thus, reduced ratios within the Downtown area would be appropriate as transit facilities are abundant, and the area provides a greater mix of land uses, which allows the office’s employees to walk or use alternative modes of transportation to get to another destination.
We understand that Mountain View is currently undertaking a comprehensive study of downtown parking. One of the initial recommendations on the study is to consider reduced parking ratios downtown in recognition of the many commute alternatives that are available and in support of the City’s investments in pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure.
Office Parking Studies
Hexagon has completed a handful of prior parking studies for office buildings located in downtown and/or transit-oriented settings very similar to the subject project (within one-half mile of rail transit) over the last few years. Please note that these studies were completed before the pandemic, and we have been unable to conduct new studies since shelter in place orders.
Parking rates for the offices were determined based on an average of parking spaces per 1,000 square feet. Table 1 below shows that the transit-oriented locations were found to have an average ratio of 2.03 parked cars per 1,000 s.f. The transit-oriented locations within Downtown areas had an average ratio of 1.82 parked cars per 1,000 s.f. The overall ratio of all transit- oriented office developments was found to be 1.97 parked cars per 1,000 s.f.
Attachment 4
Mr. Robert Tersini
September 22, 2021
In order to allow motorists to find available spaces, it is typical to provide about 10% more spaces than the maximum parking demand. Therefore, based on Sobrato’s proposed project, Hexagon recommends a parking ratio of 2.2 spaces per 1,000 s.f. for office space in downtown Mountain View.
Table 1
Parking Demands at Offices
We appreciate the opportunity to conduct this parking study. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call.
Sincerely,
HEXAGON TRANSPORTATION CONSULTANTS, INC.
Gary K. Black
President
Building Address City TOD features
Parking Count
Date1
Building Floor
Area (s.f.)2
Peak Parking
Demand 1
Parking Ratio
(spaces/ksf)
TOD Office Buildings
3050 S. Delaware St
(Station 4)
San Mateo Next to Hillsdale Caltrain Station February 2018 216,428 456 2.11 Franklin Templeton
Campus
San Mateo 0.6 mile to Hillsdale Caltrain
Station and shuttles between
station and campus
November 2016 380,843 862 2.26
200 & 250 S. Mathilda Ave
(Nokia & Apple)3
Sunnyvale 1,800 feet to Sunnyvale Caltrain
Station
February 2018 291,145 482 1.66
39300 Civic Center Dr &
2201 Walnut Ave
Fremont Next to Fremont BART Station February 2018 190,638 510 2.68 Average of above TOD Office buildings 2.03
TOD and Downtown Office Buildings
101 S. Ellsworth Ave San Mateo In downtown and next to San Mateo Caltrain Station
October 2016 98,300 181 1.84
181 2nd Ave San Mateo In downtown and 1,100 feet to
San Mateo Caltrain Station
October 2016 76,300 174 2.28
400 S. El Camino Real San Mateo In downtown and 0.6 mile to San Mateo Caltrain Station
October 2016 141,400 221 1.56
Average of above TOD and Downtown Office buildings 1.82 Average of all buildings 1.97
Notes:
1 2
3 Only employee parking, excludes visitor parking. All other counts include visitor parking.
Parking survey for each site was conducted on regular weekdays between 10 AM and 2 PM, when office parking demand peaks.
Building floor area for buildings in Sunnyvale and Fremont and at 181 2nd Avenue in San Mateo was estimated based on Google Earth. Building area for Franklin Templeton was estimated based on 67% occupancy of total existing 568,423 s.f. The parking count was conducted for the Franklin Templeton Campus Expansion TIA, when the existing Franklin Templeton buildings were 67% occupied.