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CC - (1) Continued Discussion of the Existing Permit Parking Restrictions on the 10700 Block of Farragut Drive and Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church’s (4427 Overland Avenue) Related Request to Change Such Restrictions; (2) Consideration of Parking Study Prepared by KOA Corporation and its Findings and Recommendations for Two-Hour Time-Limited Parking Restrictions for the 10700 Block of Farragut Drive; (3) If Desired, Adoption of a Resolution Adopting the Findings of the Parking Study, Removing the Pre-Existing Permit-Only Parking Restrictions, and Authorizing the Implementation of the Two-Hour Time-Limited Parking Restrictions and Installation and Maintenance of Applicable Signage; and (4) Direction to the City Manager as Deemed Appropriate.
Date: September 12, 2016
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Contact Person/Dept: Gabe Garcia
Phone Number: (310) 253-5633
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: Yes [X] No []
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date:
Commission Name:
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (09/07/16); (Mail) Residents of the 10700 block of Farragut Drive (08/29/16); (Mail) Mr. Ilbert Phillips and Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church (08/29/16)
Department Approval: Charles D. Herbertson, Director of Public Works/City Engineer (08/30/16)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council (1) continue discussion of the existing permit parking restrictions on the 10700 Block of Farragut Drive (Farragut Parking Restrictions) and Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church’s related request to change such restrictions; (2) consider the parking study by KOA Corporation (KOA) and its findings and recommendations for two-hour time-limited parking restrictions for the 10700 block of Farragut Drive; (3) if desired, adopt a resolution removing the pre-existing permit-only parking restrictions, authorizing the implementation of the two-hour time-limited parking restrictions and installation and maintenance of applicable signage; and (4) provide other direction to the City Manager as deemed appropriate.
BACKGROUND
On June 8, 2014, Grace Lutheran Evangelical Church (Grace Church) made a written request to the City Council to modify the Farragut Parking Restrictions to unrestricted two-hour parking Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Such modification would have the effect of allowing anyone to park for a maximum period of two hours between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., while allowing residents and their guests, with parking permits, to exceed the two-hour restriction, and no restrictions on weekends. The basis for Grace Church’s request was that the existing Farragut Parking Restrictions directly impacted Grace Church’s operations, as well as adjacent schools and commercial businesses; were not uniform or consistent with parking restrictions contiguous to the immediate surrounding areas; and allowed for approximately 30 parking spaces to sit empty, for the most part, all day and well into the night.
Residents of the 10700 block of Farragut Drive have requested the City Council to maintain the permit-only parking restrictions, and further, have submitted a qualifying petition asking to have the permit-only parking restrictions extended to include Saturday and Sunday, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
At its meeting of September 8, 2014, the City Council discussed the existing Farragut Parking Restrictions, and received comments from the public, including representatives of Grace Church and residents of the 10700 block of Farragut Drive. Grace Church also submitted a letter dated September 8, 2014, which modified their June 8, 2014 request, stating that its first choice would be for the City Council to change the Farragut Parking Restrictions to two-hour parking, Monday through Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., without a permit, and no restrictions outside of those hours and on Sundays. The City Council discussed a possible parking study to determine the existing parking intrusion impacts on the 10700 block of Farragut Drive (as well as on the immediately adjacent residential blocks), to determine if the present parking occupancy and parking intrusion criteria are met to warrant the existing permit-only parking restrictions. City Council directed staff to return at a future meeting with additional information in order to continue the discussion of the Farragut Parking Restrictions and the possibility of a parking study.
On March 14, 2016, the City Council discussed the Farragut Parking Restrictions (permit-only parking, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Friday), and received input from the public, including representatives of Grace Church and residents of the 10700 block of Farragut Drive (Farragut Residents). After discussing the matter and considering written comment and public testimony, the City Council directed that (1) a parking study be conducted by KOA (Farragut Parking Study); (2) an analysis of the data be performed, based on the City’s adopted criteria for permit-only parking restrictions, contained in the Procedures and Regulations for Residential Permit Parking Districts (Procedures and Regulations), adopted by Resolution 2013-R071 on November 12, 2013; and (3) a determination be made on the following issues:
a. The parking occupancy on the 10700 block of Farragut Drive (as well as on the immediately adjacent blocks);
b. The non-residential parking intrusion impacts on the 10700 block of Farragut Drive;
c. Performance of a parking needs assessment of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church; and
d. Exploration of the feasibility of shared parking between Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church and an entity with an underutilized or unutilized parking resource in the vicinity.
This staff report presents the findings of the Farragut Parking Study by KOA and seeks City Council’s direction related thereto.
DISCUSSION
Selection of KOA Corporation
For the past two decades, KOA has provided the City with professional engineering services. On June 22, 2015, the City awarded KOA a contract and retained KOA as one of the City’s on-call firms to provide as-needed professional engineering services for the period of July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2018. Based on KOA’s traffic engineering expertise and the high quality work KOA has performed for the City, City staff recommended to the City Council approval of an agreement with KOA to conduct the Farragut Parking Study.
Basis for and Scope of the Parking Study
Under California Vehicle Code section 22507 and Municipal Code section 7.03.300, the City Council has the legislative authority to establish and revise the policies by which parking districts are created, as well as the parking districts themselves. The City Council also has the legislative authority to modify or eliminate parking districts in its discretion. The Farragut Parking Study was directed to provide the City Council the information it needs in order to make a determination regarding the appropriate parking restrictions for Farragut Drive.
The Farragut Parking Study includes findings relating to the parking occupancy on the 10700 block of Farragut Drive and the immediately adjacent blocks; non-residential parking intrusion on the 10700 block of Farragut Drive; findings as to whether the Farragut Residents’ petition for extended permit-only parking restrictions on weekends meets the City Council’s adopted criteria; survey results from Grace Church attendees regarding Grace Church’s parking needs; and the feasibility of Grace Church utilizing shared parking with the neighboring Julian Dixon Library and/or the Adult School.
Parking Study Criteria to be Met
Under Section 7.3.1.C of the Procedures and Regulations, a street qualifies for permit-only parking restrictions if the following minimum criteria are met on at least six occasions during a three-week period:
A. More than 75% of the legal on-street parking spaces are occupied by the combined total of resident and non-resident motor vehicles;
and
B. More than 50% of the legal on-street parking spaces are occupied by non-resident motor vehicles.
Failure to meet the two criteria concurrently, for each qualifying study hour, disqualifies the street from qualifying for permit-only parking. That is, during any study hour, the 50% non-resident parking intrusion criteria shall be met for the same study hour that the 75% occupancy criteria was met, and this shall occur a minimum of six times during the study hours, in order for the block to be considered for permit-only parking restrictions.
Study Period
The Farragut Parking Study was conducted during a typical period when school was in session, during the weeks of May 9th, 16th, and 23rd. Confirmation regarding regular school operation during the study period was provided by Culver City Unified School District (CCUSD) officials (Superintendent, District Head of Security, and Office of Child Development Director).
The City Council defined the study period as between March 29th, and June 10th, 2016. The study data was collected during this period. KOA’s post-processing, data analysis, and report-writing occurred after the study period.
A representative of the Farragut Residents requested, and was granted, a delay in scheduling the City Council’s consideration of this report, in order to allow them at least two weeks to review the Farragut Parking Study prior to the City Council meeting date.
Parking Study Findings
The Farragut Parking Study is included with this report as Attachment No. 1. The following is a summary of the Farragut Parking Study findings relative to (1) the 10700 block of Farragut Drive and the two criteria required to be met in order for a residential block to qualify for permit-only parking; (2) the survey results regarding Grace Church’s parking needs; and (3) the feasibility of Grace Church utilizing shared-parking with a nearby facility.
10700 block of Farragut Drive
A. Occupancy Criteria. The 10700 block of Farragut Drive did not meet the occupancy criteria, which requires that more than 75% of the legal on-street parking spaces be occupied by a combination of resident and non-resident motor vehicles during six study hours.
The total on-street parking supply for the study block is 39 parking spaces. On average, during the study period, 14 vehicles (approximately 40%) were parked on this block.
The highest parking occupancy was observed and recorded on only two weekdays during the entire study period (twice out of the 20 study hours). KOA made both of these observations during the 2 p.m. study hour, when parking occupancy increased to about 65%. This occupancy level appears to reflect short-term, school-related parking demand. Occupancy at all other study hours ranged from 10% to 50%.
B. Non-resident Parking Intrusion Criteria. The 10700 block of Farragut Drive did not meet the non-resident parking intrusion criteria, which requires that more than 50% of the legal on-street parking spaces be occupied by non-resident motor vehicles during the same six study hours when the occupancy criteria is met.
On average, during the study period, eight vehicles (approximately 20%) were non-resident vehicles on Farragut Drive.
KOA observed and recorded the highest non-resident parking occupancy on only one weekday during the entire study period at the 2 p.m. study hour, when non-resident parking intrusion increased to 46%. This highest non-resident parking intrusion appears to reflect short-term, school-related parking demand. Non-resident parking intrusion at all other study hours ranged from approximately 3% to 36%.
Grace Church Survey
KOA provided a survey form to Grace Church, for distribution to its members and other groups that use the church facilities. The survey was conducted after the parking occupancy data had been collected, in order to avoid concurrent study activities which would have disclosed that the parking study was underway - this was done to maintain data integrity during the parking data collection.
A total of 279 surveys were returned. KOA was not informed how many surveys were distributed, and therefore, does not have sufficient information to determine the percentage of churchgoers that completed the survey. KOA has been informed that Grace Church does not know the total number of churchgoers due to the variability in attendance. KOA, therefore, could not establish Grace Church’s total parking needs. However, the survey results do provide certain information regarding Grace Church’s parking needs, such as:
• 143 vehicles belonging to Grace Church attendees were matched to license plate numbers captured throughout the 20 study hours of the parking data collection.
• 94% of the survey respondents park within the study area identified in the Farragut Parking Study report.
• Of those survey respondents who drive to the church, 36.6% park on Franklin Avenue, adjacent to the church, 29.8% park on Farragut Drive, also adjacent to the church, while 25.2% park on Overland Avenue.
• The majority of survey respondents attend activities at the church between 9am and 10 am; and 7 pm and 8 pm.
• 43% of the survey respondents attend activities on Sundays, while 27% attend religious services.
Based on the above information, and considering that the parking study data indicates that on the average, at least 50% of the parking supply is available within the Study Area, KOA concluded that the parking demand from Grace Church can be adequately handled by the available parking supply in the Study Area.
Feasibility of Shared Parking
KOA explored opportunities for Grace Church to utilize shared parking with the Julian Dixon Public Library and the Culver City Adult School/L.A. Goal. After contact with representatives of each, and review of their scheduled operations, KOA determined that it would not be feasible for Grace Church to share parking with the Adult School/L.A. Goal, but it would be feasible to share parking with the Julian Dixon Public Library.
The most likely opportunity for Grace Church to utilize shared parking with the library is Saturday night and all day Sunday. On behalf of the City, KOA commenced exploration of this topic with the office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. Supervisor Ridley-Thomas’ staff has been receptive to the idea and have suggested next steps for continued dialogue. The pending discussions should include shared schedule, process, timeline, fees, and liability management.
KOA Parking Study Recommendations
Based on the Farragut Parking Study, KOA recommended the following:
1. Based on the finding that the occupancy criteria and non-resident intrusion criteria (as discussed above) were not met, the pre-existing permit-only parking restrictions on the 10700 block of Farragut Drive should not be reinstated.
2. Based on the finding that the available parking supply on the 10700 block of Farragut Drive is adequate for the existing parking demand from the public, and the two-hour time-limited parking restrictions in place during the study period are adequate to protect the 10700 block of Farragut Drive from parking intrusion, the two-hour parking restrictions should remain.
3. Based on the finding that the two required criteria (as discussed above) were not met during the weekdays or during the weekend, the Farragut Residents’ petition for extension of the permit-only parking restrictions into the weekend should be denied.
4. Continue shared-parking discussion with Supervisor Ridley-Thomas’ office and public library representatives.
Staff’s Recommendation
Based on the data collected, and the findings set forth in the Farragut Parking Study, staff concurs with Study recommendation that the existing parking restrictions of two-hour parking, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, except with a District 10 permit, be continued for the 10700 block of Farragut Drive.
Additionally, staff recommends the pre-existing permit-only parking restrictions, temporarily suspended during the parking study period, not be reinstated and be substituted by the two-hour parking restrictions of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, except with a District 10 permit, and related signs.
Proposed Resolution
On March 14, 2016, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2016-R017, temporarily suspending the pre-existing permit-only parking restrictions on the 10700 block of Farragut Drive, and authorizing the implementation of two-hour parking, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday and installation of related signage. The proposed Resolution (Attachment No. 2), if adopted, (1) adopts the findings of the Farragut Parking Study; (2) removes the pre-existing permit-only parking restrictions; and (3) authorizes the implementation of the two-hour time-limited parking restrictions, including installation and maintenance of related signage.
Should the City Council adopt the proposed Resolution, the City’s list of Preferential Permit Parking Streets maintained by the Public Works Department would be updated to reflect these changes.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
Should the City Council adopt the proposed Resolution implementing the two-hour time-limited parking restrictions, there is no additional cost.
ATTACHMENTS
1. KOA Corporation’s Parking Study;
2. Proposed Resolution;
3. Staff report of March 14, 2016, Item A-2; and
4. Staff report of September 8, 2014, Item A-3.
RECOMMENDED MOTIONS
That the City Council:
1. Adopt the proposed Resolution (A) adopting the findings of the Block 10700 Farragut Drive Parking Study; (B) removing the pre-existing permit-only parking restrictions (8 am to 10 pm, Monday through Friday, except with a permit); and (C) authorizing the implementation of two-hour parking, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, except with District 10 permits on the 10700 block of Farragut Drive, including installation and maintenance of related signage;
OR
2. Provide other direction to the City Manager as deemed appropriate.