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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/04/2014 - Planning And Zoning Board - Agenda - Work Session (2)Planning & Zoning Board Work Session Agenda Friday, April 4, 2014 281 N. College Ave – Conference Room A Web users: Documents for the Consent and Discussion items shown below can be found online under the April 10, 2014, Hearing agenda. 12:00 – 2:00pm Consent: 1.) P&Z Hearing Minutes – March 13, 2014 2.) Bella Vira, Filing 1, One-Year Extension of Final Plan, Vested Rights #14 (Wray) Discussion: 3.) Fox Grove Overall Development Plan & Modifications of Standard (Holland) 4.) Lincoln Corridor Plan (Wray/Lewin) 2:00 – 5:00pm Board Topics: • 2014 Bicycle Master Plan (Greegor) • TOD Parking Study (Lorson) Policy and Legislation: • 2014 Annual Land Use Code Revisions A. Solar Energy Standards (Gloss) B. Site Plan Advisory Review Process (Gloss) C. Upcoming code revisions (Shepard) 1 1 Bicycle Master Plan April 4, 2014 Planning and Zoning Board Tessa Greegor, FC Bikes 2 2 Agenda • Plan Background and Overview • Public Engagement to Date • Plan Vision and Goals • Level of Comfort Network Analysis • Bikeway Design • Bike Share Business Plan • Next Steps and Discussion 3 3 Fort Collins Cycling Today • Platinum Bicycle Friendly Community (LAB) • 170 miles of bike lanes • 35 miles of paved trails • Five E’s (FC Bikes Program and SRTS) • 7.9% bicycle mode split – 6th highest in the country 5.6% 9.8% 4.9% 9.2% 3.9% 8.6% 4.6% 10.8% 50.0% Women Male 2007-09 2008-10 2009-11 2012 Copenhagen 4 4 Plan Background • Transportation Master Plan implementation item • 2008 Bike Plan and 2011 BSEP • Paved Recreational Trails Master Plan (2013) • Evolving best practices for bikeway engineering and safety programs • Next stop…Diamond Bicycle Friendly Community! 5 5 Target Audience 6 6 Plan Elements • Vision, goals, policy and performance metrics • State of Bicycling in Fort Collins – History and culture – Existing plans, policies, standards – Bicycle network analysis – Safety analysis – Bicycle programs (4 E’s) 7 7 Plan Elements • Bicycle Facilities Plan – High priority areas – Updated bikeway network – Infrastructure design guidelines – Wayfinding – Bike Parking 8 8 Plan Elements • Education, Encouragement, Evaluation and Enforcement • Implementation Plan • Bike Share Feasibility Analysis and Business Plan 9 9 Project Timeline Anticipated Plan adoption: Late 2014 10 10 Community Engagement to Date • Online survey • Community Bike Audits • Community Issues Forum • Visioning Workshop • Online WikiMap • Citywide Projects Open House • Bike Plan Open House 11 11 Three Words to Describe Bicycling Bicycling Today Future 12 12 Plan Vision “The Bicycle Master Plan envisions Fort Collins as a world-class city for bicycling. It is a city where people of all ages and abilities have access to a comfortable, safe, and connected network of bicycle facilities, and where bicycling is an integral part of daily life and the local cultural experience.” 13 13 Plan Goals Connectivity Safety Ridership Community Equity Comfort Health 14 14 Bicycle Level of Comfort Analysis Higher Stress Lower Stress 15 15 Bicycle Level of Comfort Analysis 16 16 Bicycle Level of Comfort Analysis DRAFT 17 17 Bike Lanes & Parking 18 18 Bike Lanes at Intersections 19 19 Traffic Signals 20 20 Other On-Road Bikeways 21 21 Bicycle Boulevards 22 22 Bicycle Boulevards 23 23 Protected Bike Lanes 24 24 Protected Bike Lanes 25 25 Approach to Safety • Promoting a culture of respect and safety among all modes • Safety-driven education, enforcement and engineering recommendations • Ongoing partnership with FCPD – Bicycle Safety Education Diversion Program – Enforcement and Education Campaign – Distribution of lights, helmets and educational materials 26 26 Bike Share Business Plan What: • Expanding Bike Library • Self-checkout, public bikes • Transit integration • Phased system Business Plan: • Demand and cost analysis • Feasibility • System planning • Implementation strategies • Business model 27 27 Next Steps • Synthesize public input received to date • Draft recommendations • Bike Share Business Plan (late April) • Draft Plan (June) • Boards and Commissions • Targeted outreach events • Public Open House (June/July) • City Council Work Session #2 (August 26) 28 28 Discussion 29 29 Thank you! Tessa Greegor, FC Bikes Program Manager tgreegor@fcgov.com Plan information: www.fcgov.com/bikeplan 30 1 Fort Collins TOD Parking Study Update April 4, 2014 PROJECT BACKGROUND Problem Statement: In 2013, as development activity increased in the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Overlay Zone, the Planning and Zoning Board and the City Council expressed concerns associated with the increasing number of multi-family and mixed- use housing (with a student-oriented housing emphasis) projects. The concerns include a perceived lack of development-provided parking spaces in relation to the parking demand generated and, the potential for spill-over parking into adjacent neighborhoods. Concerns have also been expressed about the need for parking structures to accommodate the envisioned density. Fueled by these concerns, the City Council adopted a “stop-gap” ordinance (Ord. 121, 2013) requiring minimum parking in the TOD Overlay Zone. The new minimum requirement is 70% of the existing standard with an alternative compliance element that permits a parking impact study to show a reduction in parking demand. The ordinance will expire on September 13, 2014, during which time the City, with the assistance of a parking consultant, are conducting a TOD Overlay Zone Parking Study that will result in a comprehensive TOD parking strategy and corresponding regulations. PROGRESS TO DATE Planning Context – Building On Adopted Community Policy: It is important to note that this planning work is building on work that has been vetted through significant community discussion and is based upon adopted City policy. The City of Fort Collins has made significant investments in variety of planning initiatives and has produced a series of inter-related plans that build on a common vision for the community. These plans reflect years of adopted community policy. It is important that this planning effort builds on this solid foundation of planning and is supportive of the policy decisions and direction that have been established and adopted by the community, including key goals such as promoting compact infill development, reduction of VMT, and development of multi-modal transportation options. Specifically, the following plans have contributed to the evaluation of parking policy in the TOD Overlay Zone: • City Plan • Transportation Master Plan • Parking Strategic Plan • Midtown Plan Best Practices Research and Literature Review Another key goal of this study was to “explore a comprehensive approach to TOD Overlay Zone parking requirements.” To meet this goal, staff has completed extensive research on a wide variety of topics related to parking requirements as an element of municipal zoning codes. This includes a surprisingly wide range of issues and topics related to community access management, development policies and transportation demand management to name just a few. 31 2 Themes for TOD Parking Best Practices : Transit/TOD Supportive Policies, Strategies & Programs Carsharing Transit Friendly Parking Design Transit Incentive Programs Annual Passes Visitor Programs Walkability and Wayfinding Parking Requirements: Changing Parking Regulations on Development Storage Parking Strategies Reduction or Elimination of Parking Requirements Developing TOD Friendly Parking Requirements Parking Maximums Shared Parking Changing the Price of Parking On-street Parking Pricing Variable Rate Parking Pricing Coordinated Off-street and On-street Pricing Unbundled Parking Parking Cash-Out Parking Management Strategies, Programs and Technology Parking Payment Technology Parking Database Real-time Parking Information Parking Benefit Districts Old Pasadena Business Improvement District Lloyd District Meter District (Portland) Downtown Tempe Community Boulder Downtown and University Hill Management District Parking Financing Fee-In-Lieu Parking/Development Impact Fees Risk Fund Tax Exemptions and Variable Rate Tax TIF Peer Cities Research In addition to researching best practices from around the country, the project scope also calls for a review of peer cities that have experienced the transition to a fully functional TOD district. This research will provide a range of specific strategies developed by other communities. Examples Best Practices from Peer City Research: • Arlington County, Virginia – Mobility Lab/Aggressive Commute Services • Tempe – District Management of Private Parking Assets 32 3 • City of Miami Beach – Parking Impact Fees • City of Seattle DOT - Downtown Seattle Parking Database and Unbundled Parking and Market Driven Parking Cashout • City of Eugene – Parking Policies along a BRT Corridor • City of Boulder – Updates to their TDM Toolkit Approach Data Collection Existing data from the Residential Parking Permit Program (RP3): Parking Services has performed inventory and occupancy counts in response to complaints about parking near the Summit student housing development. When: The data were collected on October 28, 2013 at 5:45 pm, November 6 at 7:30, November 11 at 5:30 and November 19 at 6:00 pm. Where: The streets included in the analysis were • Remington from Parker to Spring Park Drive • Parker between College and Remington • Stuart between College and Remington • Spring Park Drive between College and Remington Results: • Total of 124 spaces in this area • The occupancy counts on the four days were 55, 59, 62, and 57 respectively. • The max occupancy rate was 50% • Average occupancy rate was 47% • Highest occupancy on any one block – 15 out of 22 on Parker on 11/19, for occupancy rate of 68% • Lowest occupancy on any one block – 5 out of 13 on Stuart on 11/19 for occupancy rate of 38% Conclusion: the occupancy rates in the area are insufficient to justify the Residential Parking Permit Program at this time (as a general guideline, the City needs approximately 60% occupancy or greater on a consistent basis to justify the RP3). TOD Parking Data Collection: City Staff is collecting parking data at multi-family and mixed-use development sites within the TOD Overlay Zone. The sites are derived from the existing developments that were used to evaluate the temporary ordinance. • As part of this data collection effort, parking counts were collected over the CSU Spring Break to assess impacts without the presence of CSU students (utilization levels well below problem levels). • Additional counts planned over the next few weeks. PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESSES The extensive public engagement plan for the TOD Parking Study includes outreach to targeted stakeholders, such as the development and design community, real-estate professionals, property and business owners, organized citizen and neighborhood groups, the public at large, and City boards. 33 4 WHAT WE’VE HEARD / KEY THEMES (From public outreach to date) • It is important to identify strategies that will address both current and future needs. It is challenging to make long-term policy decisions on parking requirements when the MAX isn’t online yet. Current parking issues (Downtown/around CSU campus) may not be the same issues that exist once MAX comes online. • Providing car storage is a critical need, both on and off the CSU campus. • "Colorado is considered part of the ‘west' and supporting access to an active lifestyle is part of our culture" • 93% of Board of Realtor (BOR) survey respondents said owning a car was “Important”; 67% said “Very Important” • Current state of parking: o Midtown/Mason Corridor: There is plenty of parking in Midtown, except around a few projects like the Summit. 61% of BOR survey respondents said that there was the “right amount of parking” around buildings and businesses. However, survey respondents also said that parking was one of the top two obstacles to the Mason Corridor’s success (next to building heights). o Downtown: Very busy on-street but there is adequate off-street parking except for maybe once or twice a year. o CSU Campus Area: “Always congested”; 62% of BOR survey respondents said there was “not enough parking” around CSU. o Residential: Spillover into neighborhoods continues to be an issue. Residents feel that the RP3 program is an unfair imposition/externalization of developer responsibility. • Tailored parking supply solutions by project, zone and/or “sub area" are generally supported. • Recommendations of this study can’t be a “one size fits all solution”. Identifying solutions on a case-by-case basis seems to be supported, however careful consideration should be shown to avoid “cutting things up into pieces” in terms of zoning and sub areas. • Public/Private Partnerships are critical to the Mason Corridor’s success. There is wide-spread consensus that identifying opportunities for increased Public/Private Partnerships (i.e., shared parking, financing parking structures) will be vital to achieving the City's increased development, quality of life and a ease of access in the Midtown/Mason Corridor/TOD area. • Implement targeted areas of paid on-street parking, perhaps as a pilot. Implementing a paid parking solution came up multiple times throughout a variety of different stakeholder groups. • “The most convenient parking should be paid parking” • Many reported being unsure why parking in a garage costs money but on-street parking is free ALTERNATIVES DEVELOPMENT / WHAT DIRECTION WE ARE HEADED The following alternatives were identified in the overview and scope of the project. The City's consultant, Kimley-Horn Associates, has elaborated on the alternatives based on best practices and peer city review that best fit Fort Collins. 34 5 Alternative 1: No changes o Issues being considered: ▪ It may be premature to evaluate parking standards for the Transit-Oriented Development Overlay Zone prior to operational transit (MAX) for which the standards were created to complement. ▪ Existing “temporary” standards will limit over-building of parking to some degree, however, costs for parking are high, and particularly so for structured parking where the life-cycle of a parking structure is 50 – 75 years. ▪ The original TOD Overlay Zone was developed per Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requirements of New Starts/Small Starts grant funding program for the MAX BRT system. FTA may be opposed to the parking standards being “watered down” – as the focus of the parking management strategy – is to promote use of BRT. The revised parking management strategy was a requirement for City of Fort Collins to receive FTA approval for MAX funding. Could it affect on-going or future FTA funding if the parking requirement changes are made permanent? ▪ Does a lack of revisions to our interim parking standards change our decision making going forward? Alternative 2: Minimum Requirement with Alternative Compliance o Issues being considered: ▪ Existing “temporary” standards will limit over-building of parking to some degree. ▪ If developers propose alternatives, those options could be vetted through a parking impact study. ▪ Storage parking strategies are being assessed as an alternative compliance option. ▪ Regarding student housing issues, leverage the fact that CSU already has a bus pass program with Transfort. The City could monitor increases in transit usage and related traffic and parking demand impacts on an on-going basis and identify opportunities to collaborate with CSU on common parking goals. ▪ Through this process, the City could develop a range of developer and/or employer trip reduction programs. ▪ Minimum requirements could vary based on land use. Alternative 3: Parking Impact Study o Issues being considered: ▪ For development projects of a certain size, a required “parking impact study” could provide some protection for adjacent neighborhoods and provide developers with a process for proposing or assessing alternatives. ▪ Shared parking strategies between properties should be encouraged. ▪ Inclusion of a parking study as a minimum submittal requirement will add cost and complexity to the development review process. 35 6 Alternative 4: Dynamic Parking Requirement o Issues being considered: ▪ Staff is considering how parking standards can be tied to trip generation rates. A key goal of the TOD Overlay Zone was not to allow parking supply to be overbuilt. The fact that the MAX is not yet in place is an issue, however, we should not lose sight of the goal that parking should be sized based on the vision for the future not what is needed today before the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) opens. ▪ The City and CSU both have access to the Park+ parking demand modeling software. This could be expanded and used as an on-going tool in the Development Review Process (as is currently being done in the City of Beverly Hills) ▪ As the opportunities for multi-modal transportation options expands, parking requirements could be more dynamic, adapting to specific criteria on an aggregate or area-specific basis. Alternative 5: Parking Fees o Issues being considered: ▪ Fee-in-Lieu programs have been reviewed and have several significant drawbacks. ▪ Parking Impact Fees are an option that may offer more benefits and flexibility. Staff is continuing the assessment of this option. ▪ Other approaches to parking infrastructure development (to support the larger TOD corridor development goals) are being reviewed. The most options that appear most viable include: • Development or Parking Impact Fees • Paid on-street parking o A paid parking pilot program on Lake Street (adjacent to CSU which already has paid parking) could be a way to introduce paid parking on a limited basis. • A parking tax measure Alternative 6: Structured Parking Strategies o Issues being considered ▪ Public/private parking partnerships for the creation of public parking structures, on-site and off- site parking for private development, and as an economic development tool: • CSU would consider a shared-use garage along the MAX line between Pitkin and Lake Streets • An alternative site nearer to Drake may be an option ▪ Consider long term “return on investment strategies”; in particular consider data regarding land value and potential tax generation rates for different types of development patterns. Parking investment can be a tool to support and encourage the level of development density in the TOD corridor. It can be viewed as an “investment” as opposed to an incentive. There needs to be a balance between developer-required investment and public investment. A parking investment and infrastructure funding strategy is needed. 36 7 Alternative 7: Other Strategies o Issues being considered: ▪ Focus on “multi-modal strategies”. Increase opportunities for improved walkability and urban design, active transportation, and that address trends in automobile ownership patterns, etc. as a way to reduce parking demand. ▪ One of the goals of the original TOD overlay zone was to incentivize structured parking by allowing more density which, in turn, provides an incentive for more affordable housing. How can new approaches further promote and reinforce these goals? ▪ Consider the goals and role of neighborhood parking permit programs. This will involve balancing the use of public rights of way, promoting long-term planning goals, being sensitive to the needs of neighborhoods and property owners and sustaining the high quality of life that citizens expect in Fort Collins. ▪ Consider the data regarding travel trends related to younger and future generations – people of all ages in the future will not be choosing to live or travel the way that we have in the past. How do we best incorporate these trends into our policy recommendations? ▪ The staff is evaluating strategies such as Parking Districts and/or district management strategies that leverage parking management as a tool to achieve larger district/area development and management goals. ▪ A central conflict in the parking analysis exists between long-range policies that promote the aggressive land-use, transportation and climate action goals, found in City Plan, and the Transportation Master Plan versus short-term parking needs based on present demand. The TOD parking study should give us direction on any incremental approaches that could balance long-term goals with short and mid-term needs ▪ Off-site parking storage at CSU is not being considered at the present time, but should be revisited on a regular basis. ▪ The development of an “Economic Development Oriented Parking Policy” should be considered. Such a policy was developed for the City of Tempe, AZ. ▪ Actively identify opportunities for public/private partnerships (i.e., shared parking, joint financing of new facilities, etc.). A concept referred to as the “Business Development Score Card Strategy” will be introduced. Alternative 8: Combination of Alternatives 1 - 7 NEXT STEPS - SCHEDULE • March – April 2014 o Finalize public outreach o Summarize and incorporate input from public outreach and feedback from Boards and Council o April 4 – P&Z Work session o Finalize parking data collection efforts o Begin refinement of preliminary recommendations. Present to boards and council for input/direction 37 8 • May – June 2014 o May 8 – Planning and Zoning Board: presentation of results and alternatives o May 12 – Parking Advisory Board: presentation of results and alternatives o May 27 – City Council Work Session: presentation of results and alternatives o Refinement of draft report and recommendations based on input from boards and council o Submission of draft report • July – August 2014 o Adoption: Planning and Zoning Board o Adoption: City Council o Proposed Land Use Code Ordinance to P&Z and City Council • September – October o Update the Parking Plan with information and recommendations from the TOD Overlay Parking Study. (City Staff Only) Report Organizing Strategy – Information Flow →Problem Statement →Planning Context →Community Policy Direction / Values →Best Practices Research / Peer Cities Review →Community Engagement/Stakeholder Input →Localized Development Data Collection / Parking Utilization →Special Issues (Ex: Timing of the MAX) →Alternatives Considered →Recommendations 38 39 1 40 2 41 3 42 4 43 5 44 6 45 7 46 8 47 9 10 48 11 49 12 50 13 51 14 52 15 53 16 54 17 55 18 56 19 57 20 58 21 59 22 60 23 61 24 62 25 63 26 64 27 65 28 66 29 67 30 68 31 69 32 70 33 71 34 72 35 73 36 74 37 75 38 76 39 77 40 78 41 79 42 80 43 81 44 82 45 83 46 84 47 85 48 86 49 87 50 88 51 89 52 90