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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-04-15 DTPC MIN DOWNTOWN PARKING COMMISSION MEETING April 15, 2021 Chair McAllister called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. Present: Chair McAllister, Commissioners Anderson, Glynn, Hopfe, Johnson, Council Liaison Junker Absent: Commissioners LePage and Lettner Staff present: Parks Superintendent Grode, Zoning Administrator Tait, Community Development Director Turnblad, Police Chief Mueller, Parking Enforcement Officer Pasket APPROVAL OF MINUTES Possible approval of minutes of March 18, 2021 meeting Motion by Chair McAllister, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve the March 18, 2021 meeting minutes. All in favor. OPEN FORUM There were no public comments. NEW BUSINESS Downtown Parking Shack for Employees Police Chief Mueller requested Commission approval to use parking funds to build a shack for the parking attendant at a cost of approximately $1,900. Parking Enforcement Officer Pasket said the shack would be built east of the two pay machines on the existing cement slab. It would indicate where users can get assistance and would not obstruct any parking spaces. Motion by Chair McAllister, seconded by Commissioner Glynn, to authorize the construction of an attendant shack at a cost of up to $2,000. All in favor. Employee Hiring Chief Mueller stated that two past parking attendants are interested in being rehired and the additional 4-6 parking attendant jobs will be posted. He asked if the Commission would like to go back to 7 day a week staffing, as last year the lots were only staffed Friday through Sunday. Additionally, he recommends increasing the starting pay from $12/hour to $14/hour because it has been difficult to get applicants. The job description is specific to parking duties but he envisions in the future having the individual roving around downtown doing other duties rather than staying in the lot. He will look for more ideas in the future. Officer Pasket explained the staffing schedule and agreed it has been hard to get applicants. The job is very important to the City as they are the first person a visitor sees. He recommends staffing the lots Downtown Parking Commission Meeting April 15, 2021 Page 2 of 6 Thursday through Sunday in May, and 7 days a week June through August, and paying $14/hr to attract more applicants. Chief Mueller added that the paid Community Service Officer program was stopped this year due to the time it takes to find applicants, hire, equip, provide uniforms and training for the short summer season before they are back in school. Commissioner Hopfe suggested contacting Boy Scout troops for additional assistance downtown. Motion by Commissioner Glynn, seconded by Commissioner Johnson, to follow the Chief’s recommendations on hiring parking lot attendants: 1) level of staff; 2) hourly wage of $14; and 3) staffing days as recommended. All in favor. Event Parking for Bridge the Valley Bike Rally Parks Superintendent Grode reported that Rick Heidick, Stillwater Sunrise Rotary Club, is proposing a Bike Rally, which will cut through portions of Stillwater, on Sunday, August 15, 2021. There will be six bike routes located on both sides of the St. Croix River. After the Bike Rally, downtown businesses will be able to participate in “after ride” food and entertainment. Mr. Heidick would like to reserve at least 300 downtown parking spots for the participants to park while they are riding. Riders who are not able to make it on time to park in a reserved lot would have to find and pay for parking in the parking ramp or another parking lot. The event is expected to have around 300 riders, max 1,500 riders. The rally is planned in conjunction with the bridge opening ceremony. Pressure on the parking system will be great during the event. Staff recommends the Commission consider asking the rally organizer to arrange for satellite lot parking outside of downtown, with a shuttle service. Lots 3 and 4 are close to the registration area and Lots 14 and 15 are a bit more peripheral. Lots 3, 4, 14 and 15 for the entire day would cost $744. Staff recognizes the need for parking near the rally’s registration area, but would prefer to see only one lot used for this purpose. Staff would also recommend that this registration lot be used only during registration. Once the biker is registered, they should move their vehicle to a different lot. Rick Heidick, Stillwater Sunrise Rotary, clarified that the rally is part of the weekend festivities for the grand opening of the bridge and loop trail, but does not overlap with the City festivities, which are planned for Friday night, Saturday and Saturday night. There is no conflict. He totally understands the high demand for parking downtown but stated that shuttling would be very difficult to do because the participants will have their bikes with them. Commissioner Anderson noted the permit indicates they set up Saturday morning. He asked when they would want to close the lots. Mr. Heidick replied set up means tents and tables in Lowell Park and Chestnut Plaza and has nothing to do with parking. Routes will close by 3 p.m. and most riders will be done by noon. Officer Pasket remarked that theoretically, 24 hour advance notice must be given to close a lot. Commissioner Anderson said that means the reserved lots would be closed for the entire weekend. Chair McAllister said she does not think there will be a problem with rally participants finding parking within a walkable distance to the starting point, being on a Sunday morning. Officer Pasket noted on summertime Sundays when the boats are going out, there are many people coming to Stillwater. The first boat goes out at 10 a.m. He suggested having participants park in the parking ramp or the old Aiple property rather than tying up the lots. Commissioner Hopfe voiced concern about employee parking, which was a problem with the Nature Valley race in past years. When that event ended, the traffic was backed up all the way to Myrtle between 3-4 p.m. Downtown Parking Commission Meeting April 15, 2021 Page 3 of 6 Councilmember Junker remarked he supports the rally but does not want to block off Lots 14 & 15 over a weekend; racers should find their own parking which should be plentiful that early in the morning. It may be OK to reserve a few spaces for registration but not to reserve that many spots on a weekend. Mr. Heidick answered that he wasn’t aware this request would impact Saturday night. He realizes it would be a heavy burden on the City that wouldn’t be workable. On the web site they will provide parking locations and let racers find parking on their own. He might need to work with staff on access to the registration area and perhaps reserve the lot adjacent to Water Street Inn. If the City is blocking that lot for the Saturday activities, then he would ask to continue using it for the rally on Sunday. Officer Pasket noted that Lot 4 has only one way in and one way out. He is not opposed to registering bikes there as long as people don’t drive their vehicles into Lot 4. Mr. Heidick said they would not allow cars in Lot 4, it would be for registration tables and a bike corral. Motion by Chair McAllister, seconded by Commissioner Hopfe, to approve the use of Lot 4 on Sunday, August 15, 2021 for Bike Rally registration. All in favor. Event Parking for Ragnar Relay Mr. Grode reviewed the application. The Ragnar Relay Minnesota is a 200-mile long distance running relay race proposed to start in Minneapolis and end in Duluth August 20-21, 2021. They anticipate 250 teams comprised of 12 individuals and 2 vehicles, therefore they expect about 3,000 participants with 250 or less runners spread over 30-50 miles of course at any given time. Teams take turns running relay style to complete the course, picking up a runner and dropping off the next runner at each of the 36 exchange points along the course. Pressure on the parking system will be great during the event. This is a very large event that impacts the downtown greatly. The City received several complaints on how busy and full the parking lots were with the relay teams in 2019. The organizer should consider a shuttle system to satellite lots rather than the mayhem created last time by the hundreds of team vans that dominated the public parking system. The Commission should consider the request and formulate a recommendation for the City Council’s consideration. Amber Sandlier, relay organizer, said they will have 200 teams fewer than in 2019. She pointed out there was construction downtown in 2019 adding to the congestion. They are looking at parking at the middle school as done in years past, but with more parking and fewer vehicles that may not be necessary. They have moved the exchange point closer so participants won’t have time to linger. They will stress to participants that parking is only for when they are exchanging their runners. Officer Pasket commented that last year, some of the participants were very inconsiderate and behaved poorly. He feels it was one of the worst events in terms of participant behavior. If approved, he advises they impress upon the teams that they will be visitors in Stillwater. Ms. Sandlier apologized and said she will meet with team captains before the race and make sure they know last year’s behavior was completely unacceptable and rude. Commissioner Hopfe agreed that last year, all the vehicles, people hanging around, eating outside vehicles, and changing clothes in parking lots was unacceptable. She would like to see stationery parking put at the middle school or anywhere outside of downtown. The Commission needs to be very cognizant of having all these big events downtown which is also a business district. Commissioner Johnson asked if the exchange could be done outside of downtown and just have them run through Stillwater. Downtown Parking Commission Meeting April 15, 2021 Page 4 of 6 Ms. Sandlier said they could move the exchange point to the middle school. She does not want to leave a poor impression on the community. She will still encourage participants to enjoy Stillwater but not dress in the parks or be rude. So there is no need to block off anything downtown because runners will stay on sidewalks and trails. Commissioner Hopfe asked if there could be a police officer or traffic person at the corner of Nelson and Main Street which in 2019 was very congested with all the runners coming through. Ms. Sandlier said they are happy to hire police if recommended. Another option is to ask charity groups to provide a scout leader to stop runners till it’s safe for them to cross the intersection. Officer Pasket suggested the organization get Police Chief Mueller’s opinion on hiring someone or having a traffic control person there. Ms. Sandlier agreed she will ask Chief Mueller for feedback. Event Parking for Summer Tuesdays Mr. Grode informed the Commission that Summer Tuesdays, Inc. has applied for their 2021 special event permit. As with previous years, this reoccurring community event would occur on seven Tuesday evenings in late June to August. It features live music, food and merchandise vendors and a movie in the park. The request is to reserve the 7 spaces in Lot 5 for 7 dates which would cost $73.50. Cassie McLemore, Summer Tuesdays, explained they only use Lot 5 for food vendors. In event of flooding they have requested to use Lot 4 and Lot 5. The lot will be blocked at midnight, with signs that there is no parking for the next day. The lot is cleared out by 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. Motion by Commissioner Hopfe, seconded by Commissioner Glynn, to approve the use of seven spaces in Lot 5 for Summer Tuesdays late June to August, as presented. All in favor. Stillwater Veterans Memorial Event - Memorial Day Ceremony Mr. Grode informed the Commission that the Stillwater Veterans Memorial’s Memorial Day ceremony has been scaled back due to COVID. It will be a closed event of less than 50 people on May 31. No Commission action is needed. Michael Russ mitigation plan for 225 N 2nd Street Mr. Turnblad explained that this item does not require Commission action and is on the agenda due to an oversight. Four parking spaces are being added in the basement to accommodate the apartment units being added, so no parking mitigation is needed. CONTINUING BUSINESS Parking Mitigation Policy Mr. Turnblad stated that over the last few months the Downtown Parking Commission has been considering its parking mitigation policy. In March the Commission discussed specific aspects of mitigation policy as they would apply to commercial versus residential projects, asking staff to create a formal Resolution encapsulating that discussion. Based upon that discussion, staff has developed suggested policy points. He reviewed the suggested policy points in detail. Staff feels that for new residential construction, all parking should be accommodated on site. Guest parking could be mitigated. For conversion to residential (not new construction), mitigation could be allowed in the public system. New commercial construction (non-residential) should require all parking to be accommodated on site, with mitigation allowed for parking deficits provided there is sufficient capacity in the public parking system. These policy points are mostly what the City has been doing except for requiring all parking for new residential parking to be on site. The proposed policy language states that if mitigation is approved for a guest parking deficit, then those spaces should be Downtown Parking Commission Meeting April 15, 2021 Page 5 of 6 paid for. Because a new ramp will cost about $20,000 a space to construct, staff is recommending that for guest parking in new residential buildings, developers will pay up front $20,000 for each guest spot requiring mitigation. To soften the blow, this payment would be a tax increment financing (TIF) eligible expense. Essentially this makes developers foot the bill up front but with some tax relief. The City still would require the individual guests to come to City Hall and get a residential parking permit to park in those lots that allow residential parking. Commissioner Anderson asked if there is a solid base to gauge how much parking is truly needed for instance, for a one bedroom apartment. Mr. Turnblad replied this policy does not address the actual parking standard, it addresses the deficit. Parking standards are for another conversation. For the moment, only the Council can deviate from applying those standards in a certain case. For now zoning code is “the law.” The policy language regarding new residential construction is time sensitive because the Council must make a decision Tuesday about the Reuter Walton building. Mr. Turnblad said he has informed developer Nick Walton that staff is recommending that all residential parking must to be accommodated in the building, and that any guest parking requiring mitigation would cost $20,000 up front per deficit space, and Mr. Walton was fine with that with the understanding that the expense would be TIF eligible. Commissioner Johnson asked if the $20,000 would go into the parking fund. Mr. Turnblad replied yes, it would be earmarked for future ramp construction. Councilmember Junker asked for clarification on the bullet point where mitigation is approved as long as it does not exceed 20% of the total public parking spaces. Mr. Turnblad replied that currently, 20% of the downtown public parking system is considered to be the threshold - the Commission does not want to approve mitigation spaces that would exceed that 20% of the entire system. 20% of the 1,997 total public parking spaces in the public parking system equals 396. Currently, the City commits about 200 spaces through mitigation. Councilmember Junker pointed out that the last 5 residential buildings built downtown have provided 761 parking spaces on site for 346 units, which is equivalent to 2.2 spaces per living space. They have added zero burden onto the downtown parking system. The City does not have enough parking for businesses so it needs to be very stringent in requiring residential growth to provide on site parking. Commissioner Johnson remarked that land downtown is finite and that all the customers aren’t just the businesses, they’re also the residents. He struggles with trying to dictate what type of businesses go downtown - it is not the Commission’s job. Chair McAllister commented she would like to discuss a more equitable approach to who pays mitigation and who doesn’t. She assumes the City would be closer to that 20% if those that have been grandfathered and do not pay mitigation are included. Commissioner Anderson argued there is a point where you have to draw a line and mitigate after that point, which is what the City has done. Mr. Turnblad stated that every 20 years staff looks at every square foot of usable space downtown and then looks at what zoning code says is required parking for every square foot and how many spaces there are, as well as how many parking permits have been sold. That data is available. Chair McAllister said she was more concerned about the properties that never came into the mitigation consideration prior to 2000. She also questioned having a monthly pass for guests if it’s just used for a weekend. She also would like to see the same principle applied to new construction of commercial space as applies to residential. Downtown Parking Commission Meeting April 15, 2021 Page 6 of 6 Mr. Turnblad stated the proposed language is a resolution, not an ordinance. It will go to the City Council for adoption. It is a policy and can change. The City adopts an annual fee schedule separately so language concerning fees can be removed from the resolution. The Commission can resume discussion next month but he will report to the Council the part of tonight’s discussion about the new residential because it is time sensitive. Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Chair McAllister, to support the resolution language as edited during the discussion, with the understanding that it is being considered against the current parking zoning code. All in favor. Chair McAllister noted the monthly special meetings will continue in May to discuss the parking capacity work plan. Commissioner Johnson said his term on the Commission ends May 1 and he did not renew his application. Commissioners thanked him for his efforts. ADJOURNMENT Chair McAllister adjourned the meeting at 10:37 a.m. Heidi McAllister, Chair ATTEST: Beth Wolf, City Clerk