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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-03-17 DTPC MIN DOWNTOWN PARKING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES March 17, 2016 REGULAR MEETING Chairwoman Pelletier called the meeting to order at 8:37 a.m. Present: Chairwoman Pelletier, Commissioners Anderson, Hopfe, Johnson, Lettner, Council Representative Junker Absent: Commissioner Glynn Staff: Community Development Director Turnblad, Police Chief Gannaway, Parking Enforcement Officer Pasket APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of February 18, 2016 meeting minutes There were no changes to the minutes of the February 18, 2016 meeting. SPECIAL EVENTS SEED Earth Day Event Kristin Klemetsrud explained that the SEED program (Stillwater Eco Employment Directive), which assists businesses with recycling, is hosting an electronics recycling event on Earth Day, April 22. The Stillwater IBA would like to reserve nine parking spaces in Lot 9 for three hours on Friday, April 22 from 7-10 a.m. The event will last two hours. Setup will take less than an hour. Community Development Director Turnblad suggested that the spaces be reserved on the north end of the lot to facilitate traffic flow. Staff recommends approval. Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Hopfe, to approve the use of up to nine spaces in Lot 9, to be located on the north end of the lot, at no charge. All in favor. NEW BUSINESS Zephyr Theatre parking mitigation Community Development Director Turnblad stated that Only a Dim Image Productions has a purchase agreement for the Minnesota Zephyr property on North Main Street. The group proposes to renovate the depot and add a 332 seat performance theatre, rehearsal area, Downtown Parking Commission March 17, 2016 Page 2 of 4 production area, support staff offices, and bakery/coffee shop. The theater space would be constructed on the north end of the building. Accessory outdoor uses would include seasonal sales of snacks and coffee to serve Brown’s Creek Trail users. The facility will be known as “The Zephyr Theatre.” In addition to building improvements, a new parking lot is proposed to be developed on City property adjoining the site to the north. The City leases the property to the Zephyr and the lease is transferrable to subsequent owners. When the Council reviews the project, it will consider re-issuing the lease to the theater company. The new north lot is planned to have 47 parking spaces. The total number of available spaces for the facility would be 124. The theater will require 111 spaces. The bakery/coffee shop will require 28 spaces, so the total parking requirement is 139 spaces. For multiple use buildings like this, the Zoning Code allows a 5% reduction in required parking. With the multiple use reduction of seven spaces, the facility requirement is 132; therefore, the project is short eight parking spaces. The short term business plan is to operate the bakery/coffee shop only for users of the theater, for theater performances and other rented uses of the theater. If the bakery is not open to the general public, no parking mitigation is required as sufficient spaces would be available. The longer term business plan is to open the bakery/coffee shop to the public. It is possible under this scenario that all 132 spaces could be needed. Therefore, if the business plan changes like this, the eight spaces will need to be mitigated. Overflow parking guests will probably want to park in Municipal Lot 12. Staff recommends that as long as the business plan does not open the bakery/coffee shop to the public, no parking mitigation should be required. If the plan changes to allow both theater use and public use of the bakery, then the eight spaces should be mitigated. At the current rate of $10 per space, the eight space shortage would require the business to pay $80 per month. The business owner would be responsible for informing the City if the business plan changes. Roger Tomten, architect with ARCHNET, added that part of the proposal is to make improvements to the north parking lot. Community Development Director Turnblad said the current lease with the Zephyr allows City public safety to use the north lot for staging events; if the property is sold and a new lease were written, staff would recommend that the new lease continue to allow for this. Franz Hall, Only a Dim Image Productions, explained the proposed business plan. Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Hopfe, to approve the mitigation plan as follows: 1) if the bakery/coffee shop is not open to the public, no mitigation will be necessary; 2) if the bakery/coffee shop will be opened to the public, then a mitigation fee must be paid monthly for the eight spaces that are deficit; 3) the lease for the north parking lot will need to allow the City’s public safety department to continue to use the lot as a staging area when necessary. All in favor. Ramp ads presentation by Chris Christian Chris Christian, Ramp Ads Marketing LLC, explained a proposal for advertising in the municipal parking ramp. The advertisements would do no harm to the wall surfaces and there would be no up-front City costs. The City would have a portion of revenues. Ad placement Downtown Parking Commission March 17, 2016 Page 3 of 4 and content would be subject to City approval. Ramp Ads would remove or fix ads that are vandalized or damaged. Council Representative Junker said the Commission should set a limitation on how many ads would be allowed in the ramp so it is not completely covered. He reminded the Commission that the downtown is a historic district. Mr. Christian said they would like ads to remain as long as possible; they shoot for a 3-month minimum. Replacing the ad or swapping it out would be negotiated with the advertiser. They currently sell a small 2’ x 4’ ad for $350/month, a 3’ x 6’ for $400-$500, a 4’ x 8’ for $600- $700, with the property owner usually receiving 20%. The City would be able to cancel the contract any time but if there is an ad placed, they would like to allow it to run its course. Asked if the Heritage Preservation Commission needs to be involved, Mr. Turnblad responded that the HPC reviews signage only if it is on the outside of the building. These ads would only be visible on the interior of the ramp. Commissioners expressed concerns about City liability, should the Commission reject the content of an ad. Mr. Turnblad agreed to run this past the City Attorney. By consensus, the Commission asked staff to circulate a draft contract for the ramp advertising services. When the commissioners have had a chance to comment, staff will bring it to the City Council for consideration. Parking lot sign replacement Community Development Director Turnblad reported that there are about 30 signs in downtown parking lots in various states of disrepair. Staff recommends replacing half of the signs this year and half next year. The estimated cost for replacing all signs is $5,400 for materials. The City sign shop would assemble the signs. Motion by Commissioner Lettner, seconded by Commissioner Hopfe, to approve the replacement of half of the parking lot signs in 2016 at a cost not to exceed $2,700 for supplies. All in favor. SPECIAL EVENTS continued Stillwater Criterium bike race Community Development Director Turnblad reviewed the request. Lee Stylos has made application for an event permit on behalf of Minnesota Bicycle Festival, Inc. for the 15th annual Stillwater Criterium Race, to be held June 19. The Criterium is the final leg of the five-day professional bike race known as the North Star Grand Prix. Organizers are requesting the City to close each street in the course and reserve two parking lots for their exclusive use. From the Downtown Parking Commission’s point of view, the request is to reserve all of the on-street parking along the course and to reserve Parking Lots 16 (Olive St Downtown Parking Commission March 17, 2016 Page 4 of 4 Lot) and 17 (Teddy Bear Park Lot). Lot 16 would be used for the Festival Expo. The expo will include a number of vendors offering bicycles, bicycle accessories, fitness equipment, food and booths for festival sponsors. Portable restrooms will also be located in this lot. The City’s 2016 fee schedule sets a price of $3 per space per day in this lot. Since all 47 spaces would be reserved, the total fee for the lot would be $141. Lot 17 would be the location of the “pit” for race participant bike repairs. It will also function as a base of operations for the event organizers. So, all 97 spots are requested to be reserved. As with Lot 16, the fee for this lot is $3 per space for the day. The total fee for this lot would therefore be $291. The race requires closure of the course streets. Closed portions of both Second and Third Streets are in the Downtown Parking District and the City charges for reserving the on-street parking spots. Second Street up to the foot of Chilikoot Hill is considered part of the Downtown Parking District. It has marked on-street spots. Third Street up to Pine Street is considered part of the downtown parking system as well. But, its parking spaces are unmarked. The total number of on-street spaces is 79 (51 un-marked and 28 marked). The fee for each reserved on-street parking spot is $3 for the day. The total would be $237. For the past several years, the Parking Commission recommended charging only for the 28 marked spots on Second Street. Staff recommends the same for this year, which would be a fee of $84 for on-street parking. Staff recommends approving the request to reserve the lots and on-street parking, and recommends charging the standard fee of $516 for the use of the two lots and the marked on- street parking. Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Hopfe, to approve of the event with a fee of $516 and the condition that the event organizer include notations in their marketing materials that parking is available in the municipal parking ramp. All in favor. OTHER BUSINESS Parking lot signs The Commission asked staff to bag the pay parking lot signs in Lots 1 and 2 to eliminate confusion. Loading zone signs The Commission asked staff to review the loading zone signs on South Water Street to make sure they allow for general public parking on Sundays. ADJOURNMENT Chairwoman Pelletier adjourned the meeting at 9:45 a.m. Respectfully Submitted, Julie Kink, Recording Secretary