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Title:
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Discussion of Survey Results and Recommended Standards for an Updated Parkway Ordinance.
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City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Meeting Date: 08/25/14 Item Number: A-3
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM: Discussion of Survey Results and Recommended
Standards for an Updated Parkway Ordinance.
Contact Person/Dept.:
Rudolph R. Galindo/PW
Phone Number:
(310) 253-5618
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: []
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date: _______________
Public Notification: (E-mail) Agenda and Meetings – City Council (08/19/2014);
Department Approval:
Charles D. Herbertson 08/18/14
City Attorney Approval:
Carol A. Schwab (by H. Baker ) (08/18/14)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (by M. Noller) (08/19/14)
City Manager Approval:
John M. Nachbar (08/19/14)
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council discuss and provide direction to staff for
updating the Parkway Ordinance.
BACKGROUND:
On March 28, 2013 a proposed ordinance was presented to the City Council with
language to allow modifications to residential parkways and to alter the City’s
policies regarding parkway tree removals. The City Council decided to approve
modifications to the tree removal polices but directed staff to seek additional
input on the proposed ordinance with respect to parkway planting requirements.
In response to the City Council’s direction, the Public Works Department
developed an outreach strategy in order to obtain input from various groups
throughout the City as well as educate the community about the importance of
sustainability and how an updated ordinance can be used to advance the City’s
sustainability goals.
An online survey was created for the community to both learn about and provide
feedback on the proposed parkway ordinance. The survey generated 135
responses over a two week period and was promoted through the City’s website,
e-mail lists, cable access channel, and outreach at the City Council Meeting and
community meetings.
The link to the survey was sent out through the Culver City E-mail Notification
List for sustainability, posted on the City’s website, and printed on the handout
that was distributed at each community meeting.
City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Community Meetings
? City Council Meeting Survey (3/10/2014)
? Downtown Neighborhood Association Meeting (3/16/2014)
? Community Meeting at City Hall (3/20/2014)
? Tellefson Park Neighborhood Association (5/13/2014)
? Linblade and Sepulveda Mural Unveiling (5/31/2014)
Survey Results and Comments
Familiarity and support for parkway ordinance changes:
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
Familiar with Current
Code
Importance of
Sustainability
Supportive of
Standard Design
Average Response
Support for additional changes to parkways:
60%
65%
70%
75%
80%
Benches Edible Plants
Yes
General Notes and Areas of Concern:
1) Positive feedback for residents’ ability to modify parkways with a new design
2) Interest in having a model home/neighborhood in the community
3) Interest for guidance in sustainable practices
4) Concerns with having to obtain and pay for a permit
5) Concerns of liability and homeless activity with benches
6) Health and safety concerns with edible plants (such as accessibility in the
public right-of-way, exposure to vehicle emissions, and liability for food-
related sickness)
7) Concerns with plants blocking passengers from exiting vehicles City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
8) Interest in establishing block assessment districts to pay for a neighborhood
conversion of parkways.
DISCUSSION:
Staff is seeking direction from the City Council in crafting the final draft of the
proposed ordinance in the following areas:
? Benches – Should benches be allowed in the parkways? The surveys
indicate substantial support for benches in the parkways. While
benches provide an additional public amenity, there are also several
issues that should be considered before allowing privately owned
benches to be placed in the public right-of-way. A major area of
concern is liability. Should benches not be properly maintained or
become damaged by neglect or vandalism or not be properly installed,
the City could be subjected to additional liability. This liability could
possibly be reduced but not eliminated by developing standards for
benches and providing inspection during the installation process.
However, it would potentially be very labor intensive and expensive to
maintain an on-going inspection program for private benches in the
parkway to ensure that they stay in a state of good repair.
? Edible Plants – Should edible plants be allowed in the parkways?
Again the surveys indicated substantial support for allowing edible
plants to be placed within the public parkway. Concerns include
liability for the City if someone were to get sick from eating an edible
plant grown in the public right-of-way or if a plant somehow causes an
injury to pedestrians as they attempt to traverse the parkway. An
additional concern is increased water use required to maintain an
edible plant garden. One of the purposes of the revisions to the
parkway ordinance is to promote drought tolerant and climate
appropriate alternatives to grass in public parkways.
? Turf – Should turf (grass) be allowed in new parkway installations?
The proposed ordinance will allow alternatives to turf to be planted in
parkways. As currently envisioned, existing turf in parkways will
continue to be allowed. Should the new ordinance allow for new
construction to include turf in parkways? If new turf is prohibited,
should this also apply to remodeling projects and/or re-landscaping
projects that include the parkway?
? Permit Process and Fee – Should the City charge a permit fee to
residents that wish to convert their parkways from turf to drought
tolerant plantings? Should private planting/benches be allowed, City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
homeowners wishing to make changes to their parkway will need to
submit an application and plan for approval to the Public Works
Department prior to beginning work. The Public Works Department
anticipates developing standard plans and parkway guidelines to assist
residents in this process. One approach could be to charge a nominal
fee for parkway modifications that follow the City’s standard plans and
a larger fee for more extensive non-standard modifications to the
parkway that require substantial time for plan checking and inspection.
Upon receiving direction from the City Council, the Public Works Department will
draft and present an updated ordinance to the City Council at a future meeting.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
There is no fiscal impact associated with the discussion of these subjects.
However, depending on the direction provided by the City Council, additional
staff resources may prove to be necessary if a substantial record keeping and
inspection program is required.
MOTIONS:
That the City Council
Provide direction to staff for updating the Parkway Ordinance.