Administrative
Report
L.2., File # 23-6529 Meeting Date: 8/15/2023
To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: GREG KAPOVICH, WATERFRONT & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR TITLE
PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF AN INITIAL STUDY - NEGATIVE
DECLARATION AND ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS PERTAINING TO PARKING
REGULATIONS THAT SERVE TO IMPLEMENT AND MAKE CONSISTENT THE ARTESIA &
AVIATION CORRIDORS AREA PLAN (AACAP) WITH THE CITY OF REDONDO BEACH ZONING
ORDINANCE
INTRODUCE BY TITLE ONLY ORDINANCE NO. 3261-23, AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REDONDO BEACH, CALIFORNIA, TO IMPLEMENT AND MAKE
CONSISTENT THE ARTESIA & AVIATION CORRIDORS AREA PLAN WITH THE CITY OF
REDONDO BEACH ZONING ORDINANCE CONCERNING PARKING REGULATIONS AND
ADOPTION OF THE ASSOCIATED REQUIRED CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA) ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT, NEGATIVE DECLARATION
PROCEDURES:
1. Open the public hearing, take testimony;
2. Close the public hearing; and
3. Introduction and first reading of Ordinance No. 3261-23
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On December 8, 2020, the City Council adopted the Artesia and Aviation Corridors Area Plan (AACAP). The Plan area is located in North Redondo Beach and includes segments of both Artesia and Aviation Boulevards, as well as the properties fronting each roadway. The surrounding area is primarily residential with approximately 15,000 residents living within a quarter-mile radius and 22,000 residents within a half-mile bike ride. A majority of the properties fronting either corridor is occupied by low intensity, commercial businesses that primarily serve customers passing through or arriving by vehicle. The decentralization of shopping and dining opportunities, in particular, makes the Corridors less conducive for pedestrian activity.
The AACAP was informed by citywide feasibility and market studies that concluded the shallow lot depths and high land values significantly limited near-term redevelopment unless development standards were adjusted to further encourage reinvestment in the properties. The market study in particular found that the large number of nearby residents could support a local serving corridor with higher demands for restaurant and office space. Additionally, a parking utilization study concluded that both the on-street and off-street parking within the AACAP was significantly underutilized.
To encourage redevelopment in the area and the implementation of a pedestrian-oriented plan, the
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To encourage redevelopment in the area and the implementation of a pedestrian-oriented plan, the AACAP included the following initial recommendations:
· increase the allowable floor area ratio,
· allow restaurants and office uses by right,
· encourage restaurants to incorporate outdoor dining by eliminating the conditional use permit requirement,
· allow for outdoor retail sales,
· increase pedestrian access points to better connect the corridor with the surrounding residential neighborhoods,
· implement an open space requirement to create gathering spaces, · allow pedestrian oriented A-frame signs, and
· Implement more flexible parking regulations.
The Planning Commission (June 1, 2023) and the City Council (July 11 and 18, 2023) have now acted on the above AACAP recommendations with the exception of the flexible parking regulations.
This next step in the AACAP implementation process is to amend the parking regulations in the City’s Zoning Ordinance. Specifically, the amendments reduce the parking requirements for restaurant and office uses to help reduce Blvd. vacancies and to encourage the expansion of these preferred uses along the corridors. Additionally, the proposed amendments create a process to seek creative solutions to meet minimum parking standards for all uses along the corridor. Creative solutions include valet parking, shared parking, use of mechanical lifts, tandem parking, and parking reductions to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis through the administrative use permit process.
This proposal represents the City’s first effort to implement parking recommendations identified by the AACAP that serve to encourage redevelopment in a pedestrian oriented manner and incentivize office and restaurant uses (“preferred uses”). The identified recommendations within the AACAP, inclusive of the parking recommendations, were supported by the General Plan Advisory Committee and the Planning Commission before adoption by the City Council in 2020.
Attached to this report is the Parking Implementation Plan (PIP) (July 2023). The PIP represents the culmination of a multi-year effort, that included multiple studies, analyses, GPAC, Planning Commission, and community input sessions, and City Council direction. The PIP presents the nearand long-term parking management options for implementation in the AACAP area. Each of the articulated strategies have been evaluated on the basis of type, implementation scale, cost, and best practices among other peer jurisdictions. The near-term strategies, as proposed with these Zoning Ordinance amendments, are expected to sufficiently accommodate the expected parking demand with the development anticipated in the AACAP area. The long-term strategies can be revisited in the future, if they are needed, and their potential effectiveness can be assessed in combination with other near-term strategies (e.g., parking lot acquisition in combination with a parking credit program).
On July 20, 2023, the Planning Commission reviewed the proposed Zoning Ordinance amendments pertaining to parking regulations and unanimously recommends that the City Council adopt the amendments as proposed by staff, without any changes.
BACKGROUND
Adopted by Resolution No. CC-2010-074 on December 8, 2020, the AACAP provides a vision and actions for future growth and development in the approximately 82-acre Plan Area. The purpose of
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actions for future growth and development in the approximately 82-acre Plan Area. The purpose of the AACAP is to create a working document that identifies policy approaches and explicit actions that can be used by City staff, City Council, and property owners to activate, energize, and revitalize the Corridors in a coordinated and consistent manner.
At this time, the City is not advancing all of the objectives outlined within the AACAP. The Plan sets forth a vision for a more vibrant, walkable, and aesthetic corridor, but many of the measures would take place under a later process that would include future studies, public outreach, additional changes to the zoning ordinance, as well as subsequent environmental review.
To date, the City has initiated the first phase of the AACAP’s implementation with the City Council’s recent adoption of amendments to the City’s General Plan and Zoning Ordinance at their meeting on July 18, 2023, that served to make consistent all three (3) documents and activate the AACAP with a series of Zoning Ordinance amendments that implement the following:
· require future development to be consistent with the intent of the AACAP · increase the allowable floor area ratio from 0.5 to 0.6 · allow restaurants greater than 2,000 SF with the issuance of an Administrative Use Permit (AUP) instead of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP)
· encourage restaurants to incorporate outdoor dining by eliminating the CUP requirement for outdoor dining areas and requiring an AUP instead
· allow for outdoor retail sales
· increase pedestrian access points to better connect the corridor with the surrounding residential neighborhoods
· implement an open space requirement to create gathering spaces in new developments · allow pedestrian oriented A-frame signs
This next step of the AACAP’s implementation concerns the alignment of the parking options outlined within the AACAP based on the multiple parking studies conducted (emphasis on the PIP), the parking workshop and survey (April 28, 2022), and City Council direction at their meeting on July 12, 2022 with the City’s existing parking regulations within the Zoning Ordinance. The Planning Commission and staff propose reducing the parking requirements for restaurants and office uses and the creation of an administrative use permit process to consider (on a case-by-case basis) creative parking solutions to meet minimum parking requirements inclusive of any combination of shared parking, mechanical parking, valet parking, tandem parking, and/or reduction in parking. As a part of the review process, any necessary parking studies would be required to illustrate that there would be no on-site or off-site circulation issues or in the case of a parking reduction request that parking demand would be less than the existing City parking requirements.
Below is a subject summary list of the proposed changes which serve to implement the direction from City Council, the recommendations from the PIP, make consistent the two (2) documents (AACAP and Zoning Ordinance), and are intended to support and revitalize the corridors as a whole as well as incentivize the future development of office and restaurants with outdoor dining. · Amend the Zoning Ordinance General Parking provisions identifying additional flexible parking standards that are applicable to the AACAP area only.
· Add a section to the Zoning Ordinance Parking provisions (RBMC 10-2.1707), that presents the following parking regulations specific to the AACAP area only.
Ø Amend the number of parking spaces required for all Business Offices uses, Medical and
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Ø Amend the number of parking spaces required for all Business Offices uses, Medical and Dental Offices uses, and Restaurant uses to one (1) space per three hundred (300) square feet of gross floor area.
· Existing regulations require the following for each of the preferred uses noted above:
§ Business office: One (1) space per three hundred (300) square feet of gross floor area. § Medical and Dental office: One (1) space per one hundred and fifty (150) square feet of gross floor area.
§ Restaurant: The City has seven different restaurant use classifications with an average parking requirement of one (1) space per one hundred and fifty (150) square feet of gross floor area.
Ø Amend the number of parking spaces required for outdoor seating for restaurant uses (outdoor dining) to “No additional parking is required for the first sixteen (16) outdoor seats or 30 percent of the number of indoor seats, whichever is greater.” · Existing regulations require “No additional parking for the first twelve (12) outdoor seats or 25% of the number of indoor seats, whichever is greater.” Ø Add provisions that allow businesses within the AACAP to pursue parking space reductions or alternative parking lot designs administratively that include the following (see the actual proposed ordinance language for the specific conditions under which the options can be approved):
· Parking Space Reductions
§ Parking surveys must demonstrate the reductions are warranted. · On-Site or Off-Site Overlap (Shared) Parking
§ The peak hour parking demand from all uses does not coincide, § The total parking provided for the uses sharing parking shall not be less than fifty (50%) percent of the parking requirement for the same uses with no shared parking or less than the parking requirement applicable to any single use, § The adjacent or nearby properties will not be adversely affected relative to parking and traffic circulation,
§ The off-site parking is within a reasonable distance of the premises upon which the building or use is located,
§ In reaching a decision, the Community Development Director (or assigned) shall consider survey data submitted by an applicant or collected at the applicant's request and expense, and
§ As a condition of such Administrative Design Review approval for overlap parking (offsite), the Community Development Director (or assigned) shall require a written agreement between landowner(s) and the City, in a form satisfactory to the City Attorney.
· Valet Parking, Tandem Parking, and Mechanical Lifts
§ The location for valet services, tandem parking, and mechanical lifts does not severely impede on-site or off-site traffic or pedestrian circulation, and § The adjacent or nearby properties will not be adversely affected by noise associated with the mechanical lifts and/or valet parking services and Mechanical lifts shall be operated by an employee and shall be screened from view from the adjacent public right-of-way.
Ø Add provisions that require the Planning Commission review proposed flexible parking options when another element of the project requires discretionary approval by the Planning Commission, i.e. Conditional Use Permit or Planning Commission Design Review.
Ø Add performance standards that allow the Community Development Director to add conditions
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Ø Add performance standards that allow the Community Development Director to add conditions to address any impacts resulting in the following:
· Significant congestion on adjacent streets or intersections, · Any other significant impediment to City intersections, streets or adjacent off-street parking areas, or
· Significant interference with the self-park operations elsewhere on site.
As the AACAP provides the inspiration/foundation for the proposed parking amendments outlined above, a summary of the specific applicable AACAP provisions is presented below illustrating support for the proposed changes.
AACAP - Section 2.3.2 Parking Study
· A parking study was conducted (February 28, 2019) that identified a total of 2,877 parking spaces, of which 688 are on-street and 2,189 are private, off-street spaces. Further analysis revealed that both on- and off-street parking spaces are generally underutilized, suggesting that the current supply can accommodate higher demand. Attached is a copy of the “Parking Utilization Study” conducted to inform the AACAP.
o An efficiently parked area maintains an 85 percent utilization rate, but current onstreet and off-street parking rarely exceeds 68 percent and 50 percent utilization, respectively.
AACAP - Section 2.3.3 Market Analysis and Development Feasibility Study · In addition to the parking study, the AACAP was informed by a development feasibility study.
The feasibility study concluded the following concerning parking. o Allow for Flexible Parking Standards for Desired Uses. Flexibility with local parking standards can have a tremendous impact on a project’s financial feasibility. As the community desires the area to be more walkable, there may be an opportunity to reduce the number of parking spaces required for a project (which also may encourage people to walk vs. drive to a business along the corridor). As demonstrated later in this report, land use mixes and concepts that allow for lowered parking ratios and the ability to park vehicles offsite (such as on-street), substantially improve financial feasibility, pushing some otherwise infeasible projects to “marginally” feasible.
AACAP - Section 2.5.1 Constraints
· The analysis of existing land uses, parking, and development feasibility revealed a number of constraints that limit redevelopment potential and prevent other revitalization efforts from gaining traction in the AACAP area.
o Lot depths and configurations limit what can be developed. § The neighborhoods were laid out shortly after the turn of the twentieth century, when a very different commercial model prevailed, and minimum parking requirements would not be conceived for more than half a century. The existing parking requirements were created after much of the corridor was physically developed.
o Inefficiently utilized parking results in excess parking spaces in some areas and a
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shortage in others.
§ Most of the parcels along both Corridors are too shallow to attract development of significant scale, and this challenge is complicated by the existing parking standards, which require a certain number of dedicated parking spaces on-site and restrict the size of buildings that can be developed proportional to the lot size.
§ Real estate brokers have affirmed these challenges and expressed that desirable businesses looking to locate in the AACAP area are often unable to do so.
§ Establishing the correct balance of building size and parking relative to lot sizes and anticipated visitors is critical to a quality corridor. § Off-street parking requirements are particularly problematic for development on narrow, midblock properties because there are no alleys to provide rear access.
A 130-foot by 50-foot lot along Artesia Corridor must dedicate nearly 40 percent (18 feet) of the available frontage to provide a two-way drive with access to rear parking. This requirement limits design flexibility, disrupts the rhythm of storefronts, and requires each property to maintain at least one curb cut, which requires clear access and reduces on-street parking potential, eliminates this area from being able to accommodate outdoor dining, and disrupts the overall pedestrian experience.
AACAP - Section 2.5.2 Opportunities
· Encourage Reinvestment. Relax parking requirements to incentivize development of preferred uses.
· Establish More Efficient Parking Solutions. The City should adopt site design guidelines and changes to the municipal code and zoning standards that encourage and facilitate shared offstreet parking on private property.
AACAP - Section 3.2.1 Creating a Destination and Section 3.2.2 Encourage Reinvestment · Incentives. Identify and provide incentives that mitigate development obstacles and encourage preferred uses to locate within the corridor, such as:
o Reduce parking requirements for preferred uses.
AACAP - Section 3.3.1 Connectivity (Getting to the Corridors) · Revise Municipal Code. Revise current parking requirements to allow and encourage shared parking between adjacent and nearby parcels within the AACAP area.
AACAP - Section 3.3.2 The Corridor Experience
· Incentivize Outdoor Dining. Provide incentives to attract uses that include outdoor dining:
o For preferred uses, reduce the amount of parking required for outdoor dining by requiring no additional parking for the first 16 seats outdoors or 30 percent of the interior seats, whichever is greater.
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AACAP - Section 4.4 AACAP Mobility Objectives
· Improving Space Efficiency. As the parking study of existing conditions found, there are many underutilized off-street and on-street parking areas within the AACAP area, even during peak demand periods.
o A good first step for the Corridors is to leverage the opportunities that already exist.
This may be in the form of reducing parking requirements and facilitating shared parking solutions. These tactics help create more room for livable and walkable spaces within the corridor.
AACAP - Section 4.5.1 The Driving and Parking Experience · Shared Off-Street Parking/Reducing Minimum Parking Requirements. Conduct a comprehensive parking study to identify opportunities for shared parking and adjust parking requirements including provisions for establishing shared parking and reduced on-site parking standards.
AACAP - Table 6.1 Implementation Table
· PM.11 - Revise Municipal Code to exempt additional outdoor dining (require no additional parking for the first 16 seats outdoors or 30% of the interior seats, whichever is greater). · MO.1 - Revise Municipal Code to reduce parking requirements including, o Use the findings of the parking study to determine and validate the appropriate reduction as outlined in Section 4.5.1.
· MO.2 - Conduct a detailed parking study to identify opportunities for and develop a strategy to develop public and private shared off-street parking.
· MO.3 - Establish and implement an entitlement process requiring private development projects study and utilize shared parking and/or shared drives when feasible.
As illustrated above, the AACAP clearly serves to initiate the pallet of parking strategies, options, and recommendations for “right sizing” parking within the corridors and removing parking as an impediment to revitalization on balance with avoiding negative impacts within and adjacent to the corridors. Many of the parking recommendations within the AACAP call for further study of the various proposed strategies. This is accomplished with the development of the Parking Implementation Plan (July 2023). The following section summarizes that document.
Parking Implementation Plan (July 2023)
In addition to the AACAP provisions indicating support for additional parking flexibility, a Parking Implementation Plan (PIP) was prepared by traffic consultants Fehr & Peers, which serves as the cumulative source document for the analysis, community input, and City Council direction regarding parking.
Since parking is and will remain a key factor in supporting the existing uses and planning future development in the AACAP area, the Parking Implementation Plan (PIP) provides specific short-term and long-term recommendations for the City to manage its parking resources such that it can
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and long-term recommendations for the City to manage its parking resources such that it can maintain optimum parking supply while removing existing and future barriers to development, placemaking, and connectivity. The PIP is driven by the goals and recommendations of the AACAP and has been further refined based on input received from community members, City staff, and the City Council.
First, Fehr & Peers performed a parking study that evaluated the potential need for an increased parking supply based on anticipated land use changes envisioned in the AACAP including:
· Redevelopment preferred around identified “activity nodes”. · Proposed floor area ratio (FAR) increase from 0.5 to 0.6 within the AACAP. · Office (50%) and dining (50%) as preferred land uses for redevelopment.
Then, they evaluated the future AACAP land use vision with the assumption noted above under three potential parking models designed to analyze future parking needs within the Corridors. Under all three models it was determined that no additional area parking is needed to accommodate the land use changes.
In addition to the presentation of the three parking models, a number of polling topics were presented that included parking-related measures proposed by the AACAP, along with parking management best practices from other jurisdictions. Topic areas fell into four general categories. Below are the four categories with results/feedback from the workshop and survey summarized below each category:
Option 1: On- & Off-Street Supply (garages & converting on-street parking) · The most popular measure was investment in public parking garages if on street parking is converted to other uses.
· There was also support for converting on-street parking for other mobility investments, particularly for bike and mobility device parking.
Option 2: Parking Benefit Districts (meters & local reinvestment) · Results varied with the most support for parking meters if their funds were reinvested in the corridors.
· There was also support for an in-lieu parking fee (option to pay into a municipal parking fund instead of building parking).
Option 3: Dynamic Monitoring (data collection)
· Dynamic monitoring received majority support
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Option 4: Parking Flexibility (adjusting requirements & providing innovative options) · Adjustments for parking flexibility was the most supported category with flexibility in parking requirements using shared parking and/or reduced parking requirements also getting support. · A copy of the presentation is attached to this Administrative Report.
On April 28, 2022, City Staff and Fehr & Peers conducted a virtual parking study workshop and invited the community join the City to hear an update on the parking studies conducted for the AACAP to date and the next steps for implementing the parking strategies as laid out within the AACAP. The public was also invited to share their thoughts and participate in a survey to help guide the implementation of the AACAP as it relates to parking.
City Council Direction
At their meeting on July 12, 2022 the City Council held a discussion to consider the work completed to date along with the community input from the April 28, 2022 workshop and the public surveys on the four options. Attached to this report is a copy of the July 12, 2022 Administrative Report.
Additionally, the minutes from that meeting are also attached.
Following the City Council’s discussion City Staff and the consultant were directed to pursue “Option 4: Parking Flexibility (adjusting requirements & providing innovative options). It is important to note there was considerable discussion and interest by the City Council in investing in future and regular parking monitoring within the AACAP to avoid potential unintended consequences to the adjacent neighborhoods as a result of these amendments. If City Council adopts the proposed zoning amendments, staff would return in the future with a budgetary item to enter into a contract with a traffic consultant to perform said monitoring.
Results of the Environmental Review and Proposed Negative Declaration The project proposes amendments to the parking regulations within the City’s Zoning Ordinance that serve to align and become consistent with the AACAP. This proposal represents the City’s first effort to implement parking recommendations identified by the AACAP that serve to encourage redevelopment in a pedestrian oriented manner and incentivize office and restaurant uses (“preferred uses”). The proposed amendments include a reduced parking requirement to encourage desired land uses (restaurants and office) and promote economic development. Additionally, the proposed amendment includes allowances for off-site, valet, tandem, mechanical lifts, and parking reductions to help prioritize options for increasing parking supply and managing the existing parking supply with greater efficiency and flexibility. The environmental review related to the proposed parking adjustments needed to trail the previously approved land use activation amendments to accommodate the changes to development standards that directly affect the buildable area on properties within the AACAP area. The changes to the Zoning Ordinance do not directly result in a specific development project. Specific future projects developed after adoption of these proposed changes would require project level CEQA environmental review on a case-by-case basis.
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After a thorough and comprehensive CEQA review, as well as an inclusive public comment period, the completed initial study found no potential environmental impacts. As a result, no mitigation measures are necessary. The CEQA Initial Study/Negative Declaration has been completed pursuant to State law requirements, reviewed by appropriate Native American Tribes, publicly noticed, made available for public comment and is now ready for formal adoption. As such, staff and the Planning Commission recommend City Council adopt the Negative Declaration.
COORDINATION
The preparation of the proposed Zoning text amendments was coordinated by the Community Development Department, the City Attorney’s Office, and the Waterfront & Economic Development Department. The amendments were reviewed by, and are supported by, the Planning Commission.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funding for the preparation of the proposed amendments is available in the participating Departments’ annual operating budgets.
APPROVED BY:
Mike Witzansky, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
· Draft Ordinance Zoning Amendments
· CEQA Environmental Review ISND
· Artesia & Aviation Corridors Area Plan
· Parking Utilization Study, February 28, 2019
· Community Parking Workshop Presentation April 28, 2022 · City Council Administrative Report July 12, 2022
· City Council Meeting Minutes July 12, 2022
· Parking Implementation Plan July 2023