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CR 92-02 Tenant Parking December 30, 1991 Council Report 92-2 OPK\~ TENANT PARKING proposed Action staff recommends the city council adopt the following motion: "Move to designate the 5 parking s-paces located in the alley north of the municipal parking ramp. and east of the centralized dumpster as residential tenant parking." By a vote of 3 to 2, the Parking Committee recommended the following: "That residential tenant parking be allowed in the Municipal Ramp in an area to be determined by staff." The adoption of either motion will allow tenants who live downtown, to park in the selected area over night, with the use of a green residential tenant parking permit. overview At a meeting of the parking committee held on November 20, 1991, Tina and Dave Johnson of Donovan's Furniture were present to make a request that a change be made in the existing tenant parking policy. ' The present policy is to only allow tenant parking in lots 100, 200, and 300. The Johnsons commented that this policy does not allow for easy accessibility to tenant parking areas for the residents of their five apartments above Donovan's Furniture. The Johnsons have requested the city designate an area in closer proximity to their apartments, namely the Municipal Ramp, for residential tenant parking. Primary o o o o o o o o o Issues to Consider Which lots currently accommodate tenant parking? How will residential tenant parking be monitored in the newly proposed area? What is the basis for the staff recommendation? Why is the Parking committee recommending the ramp? What hours would tenants be able to use this area? Where will these tenants park during a snow emergency? What further steps are required to implement this? What is the response from adjacent business owners? Where in the ramp would tenant parking be allowed? Supporting Information o Memo from Public Works Department o Memo from Police Department o Letter from Tina Johnson of Donovans Furniture o Map Paul T. steinman community Development Specialist \ Tenant Parking Page 2 e:, Primary Issues to Consider o Which lots currently accommodate residential tenant parking? Residential tenant parking is currently allowed in the following lots: lot 100, 200, 300 (see map). Lot 300 is also currently designated as a "snow emergency" lot. This allows tenants to park in the lot overnight, during a snow emergency, without being towed. e: The only requirement for residential tenant parking in any of these three lots, is that the vehicle must display a green residential tenant parking permit. These permits are available at city Hall, and are free of charge. ' o How will residential tenant parking be monitored in the newly proposed area? The city presently monitors residential tenant parking through the use of the green parking permit. This green residential tenant parking permit is available free of charge at City Hall, to any person or persons living in the downtowe apartments. Staff recommends we continue to monitor residential tenant parking in the same fashion as is currently being exercised. Under this scenario, each of the tenants in Donovan's apartments would be required to obtain a free green residential tenant parking permit from City Hall. These permits need to be displayed in a fashion identical to all other parking permits issued by the city of Hopkins. That is that the permit must be displayed in the lower left hand corner of the rear window, of the vehicle which is parked in .the respective parking area. o What is the basis for the staff recommendation? Staff is recommending that overnight residential tenant parking not be allowed in the municipal ramp due to police and public works department concerns. The attached memo from Jim Liddy, captain of the Hopkins Police Department, addresses some of the liability concerns regarding overnight parking in the ramp. Because of the liability issue in the event there was some type of attack which took place in the ramp, the police department feels this would not be a good alternative for use as an overnight parking area for tenants. Staff believes the proposed recommendation offers a safe alternative to allowing overnight tenant parking in the municipal ramp. Tenant Parking Page 3 .- o Why is the Parking Committee recommending the ramp be used for tenant parking? The Parking Committee felt that the ramp is presently being underutilized. ,Two of the Committee members discussed that they felt the ramp would be a safe place for these tenants to park. A Committee member, also commented that if we continue to portray information that our ramp is not a safe place to park, this may have a negative effect on customers coming to downtown Hopkins. The motion to allow tenant parking in the ramp was approved with the dissenting votes cast on the basis of polic Department concerns for liability and safety, and Public Works concerns relative to maintenance. o What hours would tenants be able to use this area for overnight parking? Residential tenant parking in lot 100, 200, and 300, is currently allowed from 6:00 pm to 8:00 am. staff recommends these time guidelines remain the same for all newly proposed residential tenant parking areas. This will keep the hours for residential tenant parking uniform, and in effect less confusing for tenants and enforcement officers. -. .....- o Where will these tenants park in the event of a snow emergency? In the event of a declared snow emergency, tenants would be required to move their vehicles into lot 300, since the ramp does need to be cleaned after a snowfall. Tenants vehicles will be ticketed/towed during a snow emergency if they are parked overnight in any area except lot 300. It is not the responsibility of the City to notify tenants in the event of a snow emergency. Tenants/landlords can call City Hall to ask for more information regarding snow emergency situations. o What further steps are required to implement this recommendation? If the recommendation is approved, it will be' implemented through the Police and Public Works Departments. o What is the response to this recommendation from adjacent business owners? ERA-M.B. Hagen and Glenrose Floral have expressed to staff that they are not concerned with overnight tenant parking in the alley. It was the feeling that most businesses in this area which would uti.lize these spaces, are closed after about 6 or 7:00 p.m., and not open again until 8 or 9:00 a.m., therefore the tenant parking would have no adverse affect on their businesses. . ...... ~". Tenant Parking Page 4 o Where in the ramp would tenant parking be allowed? staff recommends tenant parking be allowed in an area on the main floor of the ramp, in the northwest corner. This area is located closest to an entrance/exit, and also closest to the apartments above Donovan Furniture. Staff recommends designating approximately 10 spaces, which would facilitate tenant parking for this area. Alternatives 1. Adopt 'the motion as recommended by staff. 2. Adopt the motion as recommended by the Parking Committee. 3. Make changes to either of the recommended motions. 4. Make no changes in the current residential tenant parking system. TENPARK CITY OF HOPKINS MEMORANDUM DATE: December 3, 1991. TO: Paul Steinman, community Dev. Specialist Hopkins Parking Committee FROM: Vern Pankratz, Street/Traffic/Sanitation suPt.~' SUBJECT: Tenant Parking at Parking Ramp Area Discussion with Paul Steinman and review of the Parking Committee minutes has brought up maintenance issues and some overall effects of the request for tenant parking. Maintenance issues that occur throughout the year are monthly sweeping during the summer months and snow removal during winter months. If parking were permitted either inside or outside these issues must be considered. Also that parking regulations would have to be altered to accommodate the request. My opinion of this request is that if parking were to be permitted, the location should be in the alley way area outside of the ramp. This would also create a concern for snow removal during the snow season. consideration should be given then to have vehicles parked at Lot #300 under these conditions or subject to the towing arid snow emergency ordinance. Also that parking hours be restricted to after business hours. Overall effects to allow parking for this request could further prompt future requests for such parking. . These issues must be considered and that it not infringe on the downtown business promotion. MEMORANDUM DATE: November 22, 1991 TO: Paul steinman FROM: Jim Liddy Liability ~NVV\ concerns re: overnight parking in the ramp SUBJECT: When the parking ramp was completed, there was an interest in allowing some residents, especially those living adjacent to it, to use the ramp as their residential parking place. This discussion took place shortly after there had been .a number of attacks, involving rape and murder, in some metro area parking ramps. Because the ramp is owned by the city, the issue of liability for the City was raised in the event there was some type of attack which took place in the ramp. While rape, murder, and other serious assaults are not common in our city, the possibility exists that they could occur in the ramp. We felt that there were better alternatives for parking rather than exposing the City to liability should someone be attacked while walking in the ramp late at night where there is no security, no one else around and little if any visibility from outside the ramp. The feasibility of putting closed circuit cameras in the ramp, to be monitored in the police dispatch center, was also discussed. The opinion was that this may actually increase the city's liability exposure if an incident did occur in the ramp and the dispatcher did not see it occur. Because of the duties of the dispatchers, they would not be in a position to be watching a monitor all of the time. In summary, I believe a better alternative for the people requesting to park in the ramp would be to designate the required number of parking spaces on the north side of the ramp, as tennant parking only. The walk from the car to the residence would be shorter, more open to view from the outside and, in my opinion, safer. The only advantage I see to parking in the ramp would be that the tennants cars would be protected from the weather. Please let me know if you need further information or if you have any questions.