AGENDA #5c

MEMORANDUM

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

SUBJECT:      Follow-up Report in Response to a Petition Requesting On-Street Parking Restrictions in the Columbia Place Neighborhood

DATE:            November 21, 2005

PURPOSE

This is a follow-up report in response to a petition submitted by the Columbia Place Homeowners’ Association requesting that on-street parking be prohibited on one side of all streets in the Columbia Place neighborhood.

We recommend no changes to current on-street parking regulations in Columbia Place at this time to allow for further investigation on this request.  We propose to provide a report to the Council in May 2006 following a six-month evaluation of on-street parking operations in the Columbia Place neighborhood.

No action is required by the Council at this time.

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION

At its October 10, 2005 meeting, the Town Council received a staff report in response to a petition submitted by the Columbia Place Homeowners’ Association requesting that on-street parking be prohibited on one side of all streets in the Columbia Place neighborhood.  The staff report recommended prohibiting on-street parking on one side of Columbia Place Drive and Columbia Place East/West.  A copy of the October 10 report, including a map of the area in question, is provided in Attachment 1.

Several residents and property owners from the Columbia Place neighborhood attended the October 10 Council meeting and voiced opposition to recommended prohibition of on-street parking. The Council referred the report and citizen comments to the Manager for further study, and suggested that Town staff meet with the residents to seek a mutually acceptable solution to the parking problem.

Town staff met with 37 Columbia Place residents and property owners on November 7 in the Town Council Chamber.  Staff from the Town Engineering, Fire, Police, and Public Works Departments also attended the meeting and responded to the citizen questions.  The following concerns and/or suggestions resulted from the meeting:

· Eliminating on-street parking would be detrimental to some tenants and/or residents.

· Some cars park on Columbia Place streets without the required parking permits, including nights and weekends.

· Instead of eliminating on-street parking, the streets could be widened.

· Vehicular speeds may increase if on-street parking is eliminated.

· Prohibit on-street parking only at selected locations to be determined by emergency and routine service providers.

· Implement increased enforcement of existing parking regulations, and evaluate parking conditions for a period of six months.

During the neighborhood meeting, we distributed a survey form to solicit residents’ input regarding the proposed parking prohibition, and 90 percent of those present opposed changes to the current on-street parking regulations.  Most citizens at the meeting preferred that the Town evaluate other options to mitigate the on-street parking problems before recommending changes to the existing regulations.

Based on the suggestions and input from the neighborhood residents and property owners, we recommend no change at this time to the existing on-street parking regulations in the Columbia Place neighborhood.  Town staff will monitor Columbia Place parking conditions for a period of six months, and will return to the Council in the spring of 2006 with recommendations regarding on-street parking.  We propose to proceed as follows:

• Implement increased enforcement of existing on-street parking regulations.
• The Town Fire Department and Public Works Department will evaluate accessibility conditions at different times of day and night by conducting test runs using emergency and routine service vehicles.
• Based on results from service providers’ test runs, the Engineering Department will identify specific problem areas where reasonable access is restricted at some times due to on-street parking.
• Town staff will discuss the results with neighborhood residents and property owners, and will attempt to reach consensus regarding mitigation measures for identified problem locations.

CONCLUSION

We propose to provide a report to the Council in May 2006 following a six-month evaluation of on-street parking operations in the Columbia Place neighborhood.

ATTACHMENTS

1.         October 10, 2005 Council Report (p. 3).