To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Bill Detweiler, Director of Development Services
Julie Kirkpatrick, PLA, ASLA, Long Range Project Manager
Title
Discussion/Direction: Downtown Overlay District Residential Parking
Body
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Executive Summary
Town code was amended in 2012 to create the Downtown Overlay District (DOD) to provide criteria that encouraged quality design while continuing to support economic development opportunities within our downtown area. The DOD currently has no parking requirements. As part of the Town’s recent Downtown Parking Study and after hearing public concerns over parking in the downtown area and new apartment projects, staff explored requiring parking for newly constructed multi-family residential uses within the downtown.
Discussion
Town Code
Chapter 17.42 of the Town Code regulates the Downtown Overlay District. Specifically, Chapter 14.42.080.B.7.a states that there are, “No parking space requirements,” within the DOD.
The Off-Street Parking requirements in Chapter 17.54, such as design and layout, only apply within the DOD when an applicant proposes parking. However, the chapter does define parking ratio requirements for specific uses outside of the DOD. Those residential dwelling parking ratios generate the needed parking for a suburban environment where a car is necessary and there is little to no walkability from home, work, and other activities. Downtown areas require less parking since many different uses are within a smaller, more easily accessed area.
Other Municipality Downtown Parking Codes
Staff researched downtown parking standards for other municipalities within Colorado. Most require less parking in their downtowns than within their suburban developments. Of the municipalities that had a separate downtown parking requirement, the parking space ratio varies from no parking requirement to 0.75 spaces per dwelling unit (regardless of bedroom size) to as many as 2 spaces per unit (based on more bedrooms per unit). Most had a downtown parking requirement of 1 parking space per unit. The majority also include a mechanism to reduce the parking requirements further within their downtown, historic, TOD (transit oriented development), or infill areas.
Professional Downtown Parking Recommendations
As part of the Downtown Parking Study, the consultant included parking standards recommended by national parking references sources. For multi-family residential uses, the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) recommends providing 1.5 parking spaces per dwelling unit, regardless of amount of bedrooms provided per unit. The Urban Land Institute (ULI) recommends 0.5 spaces per unit while the Parking Consultants Council (PCC) recommends 1.85 space.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends drafting parking requirements for newly constructed multi-family residential uses within the Downtown Overlay District for consideration by Council.
Proposed Motion
I move to direct staff to prepare any necessary amendments to the Town’s Code related to parking requirements for newly constructed multi-family residential uses within the Downtown Overlay District for consideration by Council.