City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: September 26, 2023
Agenda Item: 14.A
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Anuj Gupta, Interim Director of Transportation, Mobility (DOT) Subject: Adoption of a Resolution Amending Preferential Parking Zones QQ and YY Recommended Action
Staff recommends that City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of no possibility of significant effect pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) and a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15301 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines.
2. Amend Preferential Parking Zone QQ for the following block:
Harvard Street between Washington Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard by changing the regulations from 2-hour parking 9AM-6PM Monday-Friday, except by permit to 2-hour parking 9AM-10PM daily, except by permit.
3. Amend Preferential Parking Zone YY for the following three blocks:
Princeton, Harvard, and Yale streets between Arizona Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard by changing the regulations from 2-hour parking 9AM-10PM daily, except by permit to 2-hour parking 9AM-6PM, No parking 6PM-9AM daily, except by permit.
4. Approve the Resolution amending Preferential Parking Regulations (Attachment A).
Executive Summary
In response to citywide restructuring, at the July 28, 2020, City Council meeting, Council adopted a moratorium on the designation of new or amended preferential parking zones for a period of four years, from September 24, 2020, through September 24, 2024. Staff was directed to continue to implement pre-approved zones as residents submit petitions and issue and renew permits in existing zones. Petitions to amend existing regulations from blocks in the vicinity of Harvard Street and Wilshire Boulevard, including but not limited to: Harvard Street between Washington and Arizona avenues and Princeton 2 of 10
Street between Wilshire Boulevard and Arizona Avenue were excluded from the moratorium as those petitions were already in process. Residents of the 1000-1100 blocks of Harvard Street and the 1200 blocks of Harvard and Princeton Streets have submitted qualifying petitions to amend the existing preferential parking regulations. A petition was also submitted by the 1200 block of Yale Street in September 2019, but the petition has not yet qualified as it represented less than 67% of the households on that block.
Residents contend that non-resident parking regularly interferes with their ability to find parking near their homes. Parking data indicates that these streets regularly experience an average parking occupancy of 77% and an 89% peak parking occupancy on both an average Wednesday and average Saturday. To ensure a balance between the parking demands of all users and a broader consistency with the preferential parking regulations already in place on neighboring streets, staff recommends approving amended preferential parking regulations for the 1000-1100 blocks of Harvard Street located in Preferential Parking Zone QQ and the 1200 blocks of Harvard and Princeton streets located in Preferential Parking Zone YY. Additionally, staff recommends pre-approving amended regulations for the 1200 block of Yale Street in Zone YY, to enable residents to petition for the same regulations in the future.
Background
Preferential parking is a tool the City uses to manage non-resident parking on residential streets, as authorized by Santa Monica Municipal Code (SMMC) 3.08 Preferential Parking Zones and the California Vehicle Code. Only residents who live on a block with preferential parking regulations are eligible to purchase a permit for each vehicle registered to the address. Up to two additional visitor permits may be purchased. Permits may be used within the assigned district, up to two blocks away from the permit holder’s address.
Residents in an existing preferential parking zone may request to amend regulations via a petition representing at least two-thirds of the residential units and at least half the 3 of 10
residential frontage on the block. Upon receipt of a petition representing two-thirds of the residential units on a block, a parking occupancy study of the neighborhood is conducted, and a community meeting is held. In evaluating the petitions, staff typically evaluates the larger neighborhood, rather than an individual block due to the potential for parking displacement when regulations are established or changed. As a result, staff typically recommends that the Council pre-approve preferential parking regulations for more than one block to streamline and expedite the process for adjacent blocks should some displacement occur.
Once Council approves preferential parking regulations, they are implemented on the block or blocks that have submitted qualifying petitions. Preferential parking regulations are not implemented on blocks that have been pre-approved by the Council until the time that the residents of those blocks submit qualifying petitions representing two-thirds of the residential units on the block. If Council amends preferential parking regulations, they are implemented within approximately 12 weeks. The preferential parking work effort was interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and citywide restructuring, as discussed at the July 28, 2020, City Council meeting.
Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
7/28/2020 (Attachment B) Council adopted a modification to SMMC Chapter 3.08— Preferential Parking Zones: suspend designation of new or amended preferential parking zones for a period of 4 years; continue to implement pre-approved zones and issue and
renew permits in existing zones
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Discussion
To balance the competing needs for curb space and private vehicle parking along the 1000-1100 blocks of Harvard Street and 1200 blocks of Princeton, Harvard, and Yale streets, staff recommends the following amendments to preferential parking zones QQ and YY:
1. On Harvard Street between Washington Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard (Zone QQ), change the regulations from 2-hour parking 9AM-6PM Monday-Friday, except by permit to 2-hour parking 9AM-10PM daily, except by permit. This aligns with the neighborhood preferential parking regulations implemented on the following adjacent streets: 1100 blocks of Princeton, 26th, and 25th Streets, and Chelsea Ave.
2. On Princeton, Harvard, and Yale Streets between Arizona Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard (Zone YY), change the regulations from 2-hour parking 9AM-10PM daily, except by permit to 2-hour parking 9AM-6PM, No parking 6PM-9AM daily, except by permit. This aligns with the neighborhood preferential parking regulations implemented on the following adjacent streets:1200-1300 blocks of Stanford, Berkeley, and Franklin Streets.
In 2018-2019, petitions with signatures representing at least 67% of households on the 1000-1100 blocks of Harvard Street and the 1200 blocks of Harvard and Princeton Streets were submitted to the City to amend the existing preferential parking regulations. Additionally, a petition was submitted from the 1200 block of Yale Street, though that petition did not qualify as it represented less than 67% of the households.
In September 2019, staff conducted community outreach and held a community meeting with area residents, businesses, and property owners to discuss parking concerns and identify solutions. Those in attendance expressed the need for remedies to address the difficulties they encounter finding parking near their destination.
Residents stated that employees and patrons of Wilshire Boulevard businesses park on residential streets which negatively impacts their ability to find available parking.
Additional comments from the public meeting included an increase in negative parking 5 of 10
behaviors such as people parking vehicles that block driveways and double parking, and increased congestion with the influx of delivery and customer vehicles. At the community meeting, many of the comments were related to concerns with the operation of the then-new business at 2800 Wilshire Boulevard, Erewhon Market. Staff spent the months following the community meeting working with representatives of Erewhon to mitigate impacts and organize traffic flow by implementing the following interventions:
1. Right-turn only out of Erewhon’s driveway onto Harvard Street
2. Right-turn only from Harvard Street onto Wilshire Boulevard
3. On-street loading space on Wilshire Boulevard to reduce the impacts to Harvard Street
Additionally, staff worked with Erewhon to have obstructions removed from their parking lot that blocked parking spaces and the on-site loading space. Erewhon Market offers valet parking in their parking lot and complies with SMMC 9.53, the City’s Transportation Demand Management (TDM) ordinance.
In November 2022, staff commissioned a parking study, to collect parking utilization data during a 14-hour period on two days when both Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District schools and Santa Monica College were in session: Wednesday November 16, and Saturday, November 19.
A parking occupancy of 85% per block is considered ideal as it means that the spaces are being well-utilized while still maintaining some availability on each block which prevents the need to circulate searching for parking. Based on the parking data, peak occupancy (utilization of 85% or more) on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, occurred during the lunch hour on the 1000-1100 blocks of Harvard; early morning, mid-day, and early evening on the 1200 block of Harvard; late morning on the 1200 block of Princeton and early afternoon on 1200 Yale. The 2700 block of Arizona had peak occupancy during mid-morning and late evening hours and the 2700 block of Wilshire had peak occupancy during mid-morning.
Peak Occupancy of 85% or more – Wednesday, November 16, 2022 6 of 10
The peak occupancy during Saturday, November 19, 2022, was more evenly distributed, with the peak time of 85% or greater utilization occurring during the 9AM hour along the 1000-1100 block of Harvard Street and mid-day lunch period along the 1200 blocks of Harvard and Princeton Streets. The peak occupancy on the 1200 block of Yale was during the late afternoon and early evening, whereas the 2700 block of Arizona saw peak occupancy during the early morning hours and the 2700 block of Wilshire saw peak occupancy during the lunch hour and late evening hours.
Peak Occupancy of 85% or more – Saturday, November 19, 2022 In Spring 2023, staff mailed a survey to all 315 residential addresses on the subject blocks to gauge the level of difficulty in finding parking and identify potential preferential parking solutions. The following areas were surveyed:
• Harvard Street between Washington Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard (Zone QQ) • Princeton, Harvard, and Yale Streets between Wilshire Boulevard and Arizona Avenue (Zone YY)
The survey results focused on the easiest and most difficult times to find parking, number of private vehicles, access to private driveways and garages and resident suggestions for preferential parking solutions. For parking solutions, respondents were permitted to select multiple options. Based on the responses, every block surveyed selected the most restrictive regulation, No Parking 9AM-10PM Daily, except by permit.
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In light of these results and considering the broader neighborhood context and balancing the needs of various users of parking in the area (see Attachment B) without creating additional parking challenges on neighboring streets, staff recommends changing the regulations on the 1000-1100 blocks of Harvard to 2-hour parking 9AM10PM daily, except by permit. The majority of the households on Harvard Street between Washington Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard are single family homes with garages. This recommendation aligns with the neighborhood preferential parking regulations implemented on the adjacent streets including: 1100 blocks of Princeton, 26th and 25th Streets, and Chelsea Ave.
Households on the 1200 blocks of Harvard, Princeton, and Yale Streets are primarily multi-family homes with more limited access to off-street parking and therefore have an increased reliance on street parking. Staff recommends amending the preferential parking regulations to 2-hour parking 9AM-6PM, No parking 6PM-9AM daily, except by permit. This aligns with the neighborhood preferential parking regulations implemented on the adjacent streets including:1200-1300 blocks of Stanford, Berkeley, and Franklin Streets.
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Current parking regulations:
Alternatives
City Council could maintain the existing regulations or adopt different hours and types of regulations than the staff recommendation.
Next Steps
If Council approves the recommended action, regulations would be implemented on Harvard Street between Washington Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard and Harvard and Princeton Streets between Wilshire Boulevard and Arizona Avenue within 12 weeks.
This time period allows for signs to be ordered, manufactured, and installed, as well as a grace period between the installation of signs and enforcement of the amended preferential parking regulations.
Regulations on Yale Street between Wilshire Boulevard and Arizona Avenue would be pre-approved until such time that the residents submit a qualifying petition to change the existing regulations.
Environmental Review
The preferential parking modifications are categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) “where it can be seen with certainty that there is 9 of 10
no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.” The proposed changes to the preferential parking of Zones QQ and YY consists of programmatic changes and would not result in a physical environmental effect on the environment.
In addition, Section 15302 exempts Class 1 projects from CEQA, which include the “operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures [or] facilities, including streets, sidewalks, bicycle and pedestrian trails, and similar facilities.” The project consists of transitioning from a one set of preferential parking regulations to another. The transition is a programmatic change and would not necessitate the construction of new vehicle travel lanes for operation. Therefore, the preferential parking changes in Zones QQ and YY qualify as a Class 1 exemption.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
The amendment of Zones QQ and YY would not generate any additional revenue as residents on the blocks are already eligible to purchase preferential parking permits.
The costs to purchase and install new signage for the amended zones is nominal and would be covered within the Department of Transportation’s FY 2023-24 budget.
Prepared By: Barbara Jacobson, Transportation Planning Associate Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Draft Reso Zones QQ & YY
B. July 28, 2020 Staff Report
C. Neigbhorhood Context Current Preferential Parking Regulations Map D. Proposed Preferential Parking Regulations Map
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E. Written Comments