City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Police
Meeting Date: February 12, 2024
Report #:2311-2300
TITLE
Adoption of Resolution to Authorize Stanford University to Enforce Unauthorized Parking in Several of Its Parking Facilities under Vehicle Code § 21107.8; CEQA Status – Not a Project
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached resolution to authorize Stanford University to enforce parking regulations in several of its privately-owned parking facilities in the jurisdiction of the City of Palo Alto.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Palo Alto (City), having jurisdictional California Vehicle Code (CVC) and Palo Alto Municipal Code (PAMC) authority over parking enforcement of Stanford University's (Stanford) parking lots within the City, considers granting Stanford expanded license to conduct parking enforcement on designated parking facilities under Stanford control including all Stanford medical facilities and some residences. Stanford can conduct private parking enforcement on privately owned off-street parking areas in the City of Palo Alto if the City authorizes such activity by resolution in accordance with CVC 21107.8. This action will expand Stanford’s parking program in Palo Alto beyond the current limited scope of Hoover Pavilion and Stanford Cancer Center to include all properties operating under the brand “Stanford Health Care” as well as certain multi- unit residences along Sand Hill Road, commonly referred to as Stanford West Apartments and Oak Creek Apartments. This action would “catch-up” or “catch-all” most additional health properties constructed and controlled by Stanford and some multi-unit residence complexes that have not already been authorized for enforcement by Stanford. The City will maintain traditional police response for calls for service at these locations.
BACKGROUND
In 2018, after a similar request from Stanford, the City Council passed resolution 9738 (see staff report 87751), which authorized Stanford to conduct permit enforcement in parking lots in and around the Hoover Pavilion and the Stanford Cancer Center. As a result, since that time, Stanford has managed permit parking in these areas, with Palo Alto Police Department (PAPD) personnel conducting enforcement of CVC violations (e.g. disabled parking violations, fire lane violations, loading zone violations, etc.) on a complaint basis only. This arrangement has worked well.
ANALYSIS
Stanford Transportation staff approached City staff to discuss changes to parking enforcement services in their privately-owned parking facilities in the City. Stanford Transportation procured a permit management system that utilized virtual permits which would expand capacity in Stanford’s private civil parking permits programs. Subsequent discussions with Stanford Transportation resulted in a mutual agreement to expand Stanford's ability to conduct civil parking enforcement in the specified locations.
Stanford Health Care and Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford have begun charging for parking in the parking structures and lots on the medical campus between Quarry Road and Sand Hill Road. Virtual and physical permits as well as gate arms are used to regulate parking.
Historically, the City of Palo Alto has provided, at City expense, CVC parking enforcement at Stanford property within the City of Palo Alto. These costs are a small portion of the overall PAPD parking enforcement budget which includes patrol vehicles, parking citation hardware and software, and staff. The City also pays for the cost of processing parking citations and citation collection efforts. In return, the City of Palo Alto retained the modest revenue received from parking citation payments but received no other cost recovery. Revenue is estimated at less than $5,000 a year while the estimated annual cost to conduct patrol in this area is approximately $28,000.
With this resolution, Stanford will be responsible for processing any parking citations issued and collection of parking fees and must follow all requirements of CVC 40215, regarding due process of parking violation notices. Stanford will retain all revenue collected from a parking program.
Stanford will continue to summon PAPD to enforce CVC parking violations.
Palo Alto Police staff will continue to have the authority to issue CVC parking violations as warranted, as the locations listed remain under the jurisdiction of the City of Palo Alto. Public 1 City Council, February 5, 2018, Item 3, SR# 8775
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Public/CompiledDocument?meetingTemplateId=2551&compileOutputType= 1 calls for service related to permit parking issues in the subject area will be routed to Stanford Transportation while police calls for service will continue to be serviced by PAPD.
TIMELINE
Parking enforcement will be relinquished shortly after the approval of the attached resolution on a date mutually agreeable to both Stanford and the City of Palo Alto but no later than 90 days.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
There are no material changes to the costs and operations of the City’s parking program services by the Police Department, related to this Stanford enforcement. This analysis and reporting were prepared using existing City staff. No additional staff or operating budget resources are necessary to accept the resolution.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Stanford University, Stanford Health Care, and Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The California Public Resources Code § 21065 includes a definition of a “project” as subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) if it is an activity directly undertaken by a public agency which may cause either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. This project is exempt from the provisions of the CEQA, pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines, because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity will have a significant effect on the environment.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Resolution Authorizing Stanford University to Enforce Unauthorized Parking in Several of Its Parking Facilities
APPROVED BY:
Andrew Binder, Police Chief