City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council consider a possible amendment of
Section 17.220.035, Commercial Downtown District Requirements, of the
Culver City Municipal Code (“CCMC”) to increase the parking requirements
for restaurants in downtown Culver City (“Downtown”).
BACKGROUND:
The Downtown revitalization has created more parking demand then is
supported by the current area parking supply. Over the last five years a
number of restaurants have been opened and many include significant
outdoor dining areas. Zoning Code Section 17.220.035, Commercial
Downtown (CD) District Requirements, specifies the number of parking
spaces required for restaurants.
The existing requirement for restaurants is the same as that for retail which
is one parking space for each 400 square feet of gross floor area. This
parking requirement does not include outdoor dining area. Staff believes
the new restaurants and related outdoor dining areas have increased the
demand for parking in downtown.
Most of the recent downtown revitalization has occurred through the
rehabilitation of existing buildings located on lots where it is infeasible to
provide additional on-site parking. The restaurant parking has been
permitted under the pooled parking program in Section 17.320.025.C_of the
Meeting Date: 10/27/08 Item Number: A-4
AGENDA ITEM: Authorize the Preparation of an Amendment to Zoning Code
Section 17.220.035, Commercial Downtown District Requirements, of the Culver
City Municipal Code to Increase the Quantitative Parking Requirement for
Restaurants in Downtown Culver City.
Contact Person/Dept.: Thomas Gorham
Todd Tipton
Phone Number: (310) 253-5727 and
5783.
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Public Notification: Master E-Mail Notification List (10/22/08); the Downtown Business
Association on (10/22/08); downtown Culver City property and business owners on
10/17/08; and, the Chamber of Commerce on (10/22/08).
Department Approval:
Sol Blumenfeld (10/22/08)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (10/22/08)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (by M. Noller) (10/22/08)
City Manager Approval:
Jerry B. Fulwood (10/22/08) City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
Zoning Code. The pooled parking program was created to spur downtown
reinvestment as part of the “Downtown Overlay Zone” adopted in the mid
1990’s and enabled new uses to rely on the public parking in the downtown
area to meet their code required parking.
In late 2005, these requirements were incorporated into the new
Commercial Downtown (CD) zoning district when Title 17 of the CCMC
underwent a comprehensive revision. Currently any new use (restaurant or
retail) taking over a tenant space can utilize the pooled parking so long as
the use is not increasing the square footage of the tenant space.
DISCUSSION:
Since 2005 there has been dramatic reinvestment in the downtown with a
corresponding increase in parking demand. The total number of parking
spaces in the downtown is approximately 1750.
In order to balance the supply and demand of downtown parking, staff
recommends that parking requirements be reevaluated. Some of the issues to
consider in potential changes to the parking requirements of the CD zone
include:
• Outdoor dining area is currently exempt from parking requirements,
although in some cases these areas exceed the indoor dining space.
• The downtown parking requirements are less restrictive then other areas of
the City.
• The downtown has parking demand that changes during the day and
evening hours, creating excessive parking demand in the evening when the
restaurants are most heavily used.
• Restaurants, with higher parking demand, generally “outbid” other uses
such as retail, creating a scarcity of retail in the downtown.
• Modification of the pooled parking program.
The City Council has authorized a study of downtown parking supply and
demand, however, completion of the study is not expected until June 2009.
The parking study, which will take several months to complete, will evaluate
parking operations, curb parking, public parking structures and the special
parking needs of the studios and downtown employers. Due to the rate at
which parking spaces availability appears to be decreasing, staff recommends
the potential changes identified above be considered now.
City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
This trend toward increased restaurant use also forecloses the opportunities
to attract alternative uses since most downtown parking must now be
provided under the pooled parking program with a limited downtown parking
supply. The City should evaluate whether creating a broader mix of
downtown uses is desired and whether more restrictive parking standards for
restaurants can help achieve this objective.
To address the above concerns, staff believes the parking requirement for
downtown restaurants should be the same as those in other areas of the
City. In other areas of the City restaurants that are equal to or less than
1,500 square feet require one parking space for each 350 square feet of
gross floor area and restaurants that are greater than 1,500 square feet
require one parking space for each 100 square feet of gross floor area.
Further, these standards should include all dining gross floor area whether it
is inside or outside of the building. In addition, modifications to the pooled
parking program should be considered to address restaurant parking issues.
Should the Council authorize the preparation of an amendment to Section
17.220.035, Commercial Downtown District Requirements, of the Culver
City Municipal Code to increase the quantitative parking requirements for
restaurants in downtown Culver City, such Ordinance will first be presented
to the Planning Commission for recommendation to the City Council.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
If the quantitative parking requirement for restaurants is increased and the
pooled parking provisions are modified to address restaurant parking
issues, the number of restaurants will be limited as few existing buildings
have sufficient parking to satisfy the proposed quantitative requirement.
Because few new restaurants would open, staff proposes to maintain
existing revenues by pursuing high quality, unique retail businesses. Staff
believes the addition of unique, high quality retail businesses will diversify
Downtown economically, maximize revenues, increase dwell time and
create a complete experience for patrons.
For your information, staff has attached a matrix from the HDL Companies
that depicts the amount of sales tax generated by various retail businesses.
City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
ATTACHMENT:
1. 2007 Retail store taxable sales estimates from HDL Companies.
MOTION:
That the Culver City Council:
Direct staff to prepare an amendment to Section 17.220.035,
Commercial Downtown District Requirements, of the Culver City
Municipal Code to increase the quantitative parking requirements for
restaurants in downtown Culver City.
MEETING DATE: 10/27/08
AGENDA ITEM: Authorize the Preparation of an Amendment to Zoning
Code Section 17.220.035, Commercial Downtown
District Requirements, of the Culver City Municipal Code
to Increase the Quantitative Parking Requirement for
Restaurants in Downtown Culver City.
ATTACHMENTS
Pages|109| Hdl Companies 1-22007 Retail Store Taxable Sales Estimates
Sales per gross square foot are derived from a variety of similar stores. Individual store results will vary based on
store size, location and market area characteristics.
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Women's Apparel Stores
Boutique 1.5-3 Chicos, Hot Topic, Cache, B J Vines $10-25 $400-700
Small Fashion 3-4.5 Ann Taylor, Bebe, BCBG, Pacific Sunwear 10-30 300-750
Mid-Fashion 4-6.5 Coldwater Creek, Avenue, Limited, J Jill, Sizes Unlimited 15-30 250-550
Large Fashion 5-10 Lerner New York, Dress Barn, Fashion Bus, Charlotte Russe 15-25 150-500
Men's Apparel Stores
Casual 2-7 Casual Male, Patrick James, Rochester Bi. & Tall 5-12 150-350 -
Business Attire 6-10 Men's Wearhouse, Jos A Bank, 3 Day Suit Brokers 5-25 200-300
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Famil Apparel
Children 2-4.5 Childrens Place, Carters, Gymboree, Naartjie Custom Kids
6-35 Gap, Old Navy, Hollister, Abercrombie & Fitch
0-30
25-75
300-650
250-4-25 —.- Casual
Discount 25-35 Ross, T. J. Mem Marsh ails, Nordstrom Rack, H & M 75-225 250-500
'Stores Shoe
Small 1.2-2.5 J. Stephens, Jarman, Naturalizer, Aldo Shoes, Skechers 3-12 250-475
Mid-Sized 3-5,5 Payless, Footlocker, Famous Footwear, Cole Haan, Shoe Inn 6-20 150-325
Large 6+ DSW, Nike, Warehouse Shoe Sale, Shoe Pavillion 40-90 150-325
Department Stores/General Merchandise
Closeout/Dollar Stores 12-30 Big Lots, 99 Cents Only, Dollar Tree
120-140 Target, Wal Mart
10-40
300-550
100-150 -
300-450
Discount Department
Membership Warehouse 120-150 Costco, Sam's Club 275-1,000 27-775 —
Mid-Sized Department 85-110 Mery s, Gottschalks, Kohls, Burlington Coat Factory
125-190 Sears, J C Penney, Dillards, Macys
115-185
230-450
110-175- --
' 150-300 - Li e
Department
Upscale Department 120-180 Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus 425-975 425-825
Food Stores
Convenience 2-3 7 Eleven, Circle K, Fastrip, Shop N Go
10-30 Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Henrys Marketplace
40-65 Ralphs, Albertsons, Safeway, Raleys, Stater Bros.
10-20
25-40 30-60
..._ _._
325-650
100-350
110-150
Specialty Food
Chain Supermarket
High End Supermarket 20-25 Bristol Farms, Gelsoris 30-60 175-250
Warehouse Grocery 45-60 Pak N Save, Food 4 Less, Superior Warehouse, Food Maxx 40-60 90-140
Ethnic Market 25-50 99 Ranch, Gigante, Superior Warehouse 10-30 40-115
' Drug Stores
15-22 Lone s, Rite Aid, Walereens, CVS 20-35 125-215THE
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2007 Retail Store Taxable Sales Estimates
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