Restaurants Parking Requirements - Desk Item & Exhibits 5-6TOWN OF LOS GATOS ITEM NO: 5
DESK ITEM PLANNING COMMISSION STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: January 13, 2016
PREPARED BY:
APPLICATION NO:
LOCATION:
APPLICANT :
APPLICATION
SUMMARY:
EXHIBITS:
REMARKS:
Monica Renn, Economic Vitality Manager
mrenn @ lo s gatosca.go v
Town Code Amendment Application A-15-005
Town Wide
Town of Los Gatos
Consider adoption of amendments to Section 29.10.150 of Chapter 29
(Zoning Regulations) of the Town Code to revise the parking
requirements for restaurants.
1-4 . Exhibits received with original staff report.
5. Public Comment.
6. Public Comment received regarding October 6, 2015 Town
Counci l Meeting.
Exhibit 5 contains public comments that were received after distribution of the staff report. Please
note that staff provided Ms. Quintana with links to explore most of the requested information
independently.
Exhibit 6 contains a public comment from Mr. Arzie that was written in September 2015 regarding
a variety of topics the Council was considering. This letter was previous ly distributed to the Town
Council on September 16 ,2015.
53 .-~ Preparedb~ pproved by:
Monica Renn Joel Paulson, AICP
Economic Vitality Manager Interim Community Development Director
N:\D EV \PC R EPORTS\20 16\Desk Item Restaura nt Prking Ord (A-15-00S).d ocx
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Monica Renn
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Hi Monica,
Welcome to the new year.
Lee Quintana <leeandpaul@earthlink.net >
Monday, January 11, 2016 2:34 PM
Monica Renn; Laurel Prevetti
Item #5 on PC Agenda Jan . 13th.
I think de-coupling the allowed number of a restaurants seats from parking requirements is both an economic vitality
issue and a planning issue.
Please provide the following tables in Desk Item to more information on which to assess the proposed changes:
A. A table of the most 20 most recently approved restaurant CUP's in the downtown area including the following:
1) Maximum seating allowed under the current CUP
2) Number of seats currently provided by the restaurant
3) Number of parking spaces required per current code
3) Number of credits in the parking district and/or on site parking
3) Maximum seating allowed under the proposed Fire Code alternative
4) Maximum seating allowed using a square footage formula (give several examples using different square
footage formulas)
B. Provide a table of downtown sites that:
1) Have the potential to intensify based on existing parking credits
2) Have the potential to add additional square footage
Thank you,
Lee Quintana
EXHIBIT 5
1
From: <mpmillen@ aol.com>
Date: January 12, 2016 at 4:34:58 PM PST
To: <mrenn@ lo sgatosca.gov>
Subject: Re: Planning Commission Discussions Tomorrow
Dear Ms . Renn and the Town Council :
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on these two important matters. I hope to attend tomorrow's
meeting, but if I am unable to do so I wanted to share my thoughts.
First, as to the formula retail ordinance, it is a terrible policy, and the new version only adds a bunch of
bureaucratic gibberish to the existing bad law. The entire formula retail ordinance should be repealed and
the town should send a letter of apology to every business it has chased away under this awful anti-
innovation law and invite them back to do business . Unreasonable CUP fees and 6 month delays to
"maybe" open their doors are not reasonable or fair .
Second, the town must favor the most generous seating and occupancy policy the State Fire Code
allows, and trust in discerning customers to decide if a bar, restaurant or other business is too crowded
(to State Fire Code limit}, or is otherwise undesirable . Uber, Lyft and self-driving cars will likely be the
solution to the parking scarcity, not artificially limiting seats at a bar or restaurant.
I also believe the Town should be encouraging outdoor seating , as it seems to be a huge success in
Campbell in the warmer months.
Thank you,
Mark Millen
204 Bachman Avenue
Los Gatos, CA 95030
( 408} 891-6344 -cell
Planning Commission
Our current version of tying seating to parking
started 30 years ago through the Parking District
ordinances. It was meant to fairly provide parking
for downtown shoppers and the business
community. These regulations codified by bonds to
build more parking infrastructure was agreed upon
by the Town, Restaurants, small business and
property owners. In my mind this is a contract. For
the town to change the rules without providing
more parking is not acceptable. Just because we
don't follow these regulations does not mean we
have to change them. These regulations work when
we want them to work. So why are we considering
them without adding more parking. Decou piing
seating to parking is a current conversation by staff
and restaurants, because there is no way they can
increase seating without providing more parking
or without consent of Town Council.
Decou piing parking from seating would be the
ultimate betrayal to the community. Making it
easier to add seats without planning new parking
infrastructure serves to only benefit the most
intense user of parking: Restaurants certainly not
small retailers. Decou piing may work for areas
outside the CBD but to intensify the CBD any more
parking is not good planning
Larry Justo Arzie
Planning Commission ,
Re: Decou piing of Seating to Parking.
I did not cover money. Of course decoupling of
parking to seating will increase restaurants bottom
line and provide more tax revenue. But most of all
how will it benefit non-restaurant uses? Non-
restaurant business's and property owners will be
effected the most. Not just because there will be less
parking for their clients or customers but they are
at a disadvantage in that an inequitable change
means they paid a obvious percentage more for
parking than restaurants. Changing the parking
district regulations shortchanges the majority of
property owners.
Larry Arzie
From: Paul G [mailto:pablocostazul@gmail.com]
To: Monica Renn
Subject: PARKING
t, THIS IS PAUL MATULICH, OWNER OF STEAMERS' RESTAURANT. 1 AM
CONCERNED ABOUT THE PROPOSED REDFINING OF PARKING GUIDELINES. WHO
BROUGHT THIS TO PLANNING? ALSO, IS CHANGE PROPOSAL FOR UNHAPPY
OWNERA TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO INCREASE SEATING? I HOPE IT IS TO
DECREASE SEATING .. PARKING IS A;LREADY A MAJOR TOWN PROBLEM. WE
DONT NEED TO CHANGE CURRENT GUIDELINES BUT TO ADHERE TO THE
OBVIOUS ONES THAT ARE BEING TOTALLY IGNORED .
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Town Council Sept 16/15
Re: changes to C.U.P. and Parking District regulations.
Dear Council members,
Why are we further discussing to change intensification
legislation? You recently denied new regulations for the
entertainment policies as you felt it unnecessary. I hope you feel
the same about this new request to make it easier to get CUPs.
The push to untie intensification to parking will only create further
parking problems. Leaving things alone does not limit your ability
to say yes for new CUP request. The request to change chain store
applications on an individual basis is a ruse, isn't that what is done
now? 95°/o of CUPs (restaurants or chain Stores) have been
approved by council since any regulations have been put in place.
There is no need to make it easier. Leaving things AS IS does not
limit your control of the CBD. Changing them just might.
Making it easier to do business in Los Gatos will happen once we
take control of the problems we created ourselves. Vibrancy
without SUBSTANCE, QUALITY, and ASSESABILITY should be our
goal not making it easier to intensify our CBD. The way we have
gone we will need a lot more parking than the Main St. garage
proposal. Tying seats and intensification to parking is the only
control we have to do this but is seldom done to any detriment to
the applicant. To further weaken it makes no sense.
The parking district regulations requires more parking for
additional intensification but we mostly wave these requirements.
So lets keep things the way they are incase we really need them.
Then perhaps vacancy problems will be resolved, making it more
affordable for small retail to enter the Los Gatos market place.
Making it easier to fast track national chains and more restaurants
is not the way. It can only put a road block up for small retailers to
enter the Los Gatos market place.
Larry Arzie
EXHIBIT 6
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