Parking Credits Program Gets Thumbs-Up From Transportation Commission

A new method of dealing with parking in West Hollywood won the unanimous backing of the Transportation Commission at its meeting Wednesday night. The proposal now goes before the Planning Commission, which meets Thursday.

The proposal is for a new , designed to help businesses meet the parking obligations required under the city’s zoning laws.

City staff made a presentation to a joint session of the transportation and planning commissions, detailing the credits program. Both commissions have seen earlier presentations on the program, , the Transportation Commission in August. This presentation was designed to answer follow-up questions before votes were cast. Only the Transportation Commission voted at Wednesday’s meeting.

The Planning Commission is scheduled to vote on the plan at its regularly scheduled meeting Thursday night. The City Council must also weigh in before the parking credits program can be implemented.

Current parking plan

City zoning ordinances require businesses to have a certain number of parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of commercial space. In a city as built up as West Hollywood, many businesses cannot meet those parking requirements on-site, so the city allows them to either pay an in-lieu fee or to contract for off-site parking.

The in-lieu fee has never worked, according to Public Works Director Oscar Delgado, who said few businesses are able to afford the one-time $20,000 fee. He said most businesses end up leasing spaces from properties that do have space.

Those parking contracts are done through private transactions. Businesses merely provide a copy of the leases to to prove they have met their parking requirements.

The city acknowledges that this off-site system is flawed, that it is “paper parking” rather than real parking since businesses are not obligated to make those leased spaces available for customer use. Additionally, some property owners who lease spaces have been accused of double- and triple-dipping, leasing more spaces than they actually have.

Counting the number of parking spaces

The parking credits program would put the city in charge of commercial parking for the first time. The city would count the number of spaces actually available for public use—street parking, parking decks and private lots the public could use. It would then sell parking credits to businesses that need to meet off-site parking requirements.

For example, if there are 1,000 spaces available in a district and a business needs 150 spaces to meet its zoning code requirements, the city would sell it 150 parking credits, bringing the number of spaces in the pool down to 850.

City staffers emphasized that they would have an accurate count of the spaces available in a district, something they have never had before. The city would do a count twice a year to keep the information current.

Businesses would pay $375 per year, per space to buy a parking credit, considerably less than the $1,200 or more per year to lease a single space.

Staff said businesses would not be paying for parking itself so much as they would be paying to validate that those spaces are there.

Businesses would have the option of continuing to lease spaces, but Community Development Director Anne McIntosh said businesses would likely transition over to the credits program once they see how much better it works.

1,200 feet walking distance

The parking credits program would be rolled out slowly, beginning in the Boystown area, which now has plenty of parking thanks to the behind the new library, plus spaces available at the parking deck.

Staff cited a study showing that people are willing to walk approximately 1,200 feet to get to retail shops, restaurants, clubs and other entertainment centers. The city’s parking deck is within 1,200 feet of virtually all of the Boystown destinations.

Transportation Commissioner David Eichman liked the plan, saying it would reduce pollution and traffic circulation. He called it “one-stop parking” similar to what happens in the Old Town area in Pasadena and Third Street Promenade area of Santa Monica.

However, Transportation Commissioner Scott Schmidt had reservations, saying it would be “a green light to harder, faster, bigger development,” something the city has said it is against.

Mixed use developments

Businesses larger than 10,000 square feet would not be eligible for program. They would have to provide all of their required spaces on site.

Commissioners questioned what happens with mixed-use projects that have commercial and residential square footage totaling less than 10,000 square feet. Planning Commissioner Lauren Meister suggested that those mixed-used buildings not be eligible for the parking credits.

Staff said they would handle that on a case-by-case basis.

Schmidt suggested clarifying some of the plan's language, stating only commercial portions of mixed-use buildings be eligible for the parking credits and that residential parking for mixed-use buildings be required on-site.

Popular restaurants, reducing parking rates

Eichman noted the zoning code’s parking requirements do not take into account popular restaurants needing more spaces than less popular ones. Staff responded that popularity changes over time—something they can not control.

Schmidt suggested the city reduce the parking fees in the parking deck, saying he believes people drive around looking for cheaper parking, thus adding to congestion. The fees are what “drive human behavior,” Schmidt said.

Delgado responded that 10 years ago, the average parking lot in Boystown was charging $20 on weekends. Thanks to the parking deck charging in the $10 range on weekends, the other lots have come down to a similar price. If the city reduced parking deck fees to say $5, the deck would fill up quickly, but other lots would end up charging significantly more.

Follow West Hollywood Patch on Twitter and Facebook for more updates, tips and news.