Planning Commission

AGENDA Meeting Location: Sloat Room—Atrium Building Phone: 541-682-5481 99 W. 10th Avenue www.eugene-or.gov/pc Eugene, OR 97401 The Eugene Planning Commission welcomes your interest in these agenda items. Feel free to come and go as you please at any of the meetings. This meeting location is wheelchair-accessible. For the hearing impaired, FM assistive-listening devices are available or an interpreter can be provided with 48 hours notice prior to the meeting. Spanish-language interpretation will also be provided with 48 hours notice. To arrange for these services, contact the Planning Division at 541-682-5675. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2013 – REGULAR MEETING (11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.) 11:30 a.m. I. PUBLIC COMMENT The Planning Commission reserves 10 minutes at the beginning of this meeting for public comment. The public may comment on any matter, except for items scheduled for public hearing or public hearing items for which the record has already closed. Generally, the time limit for public comment is three minutes; however, the Planning Commission reserves the option to reduce the time allowed each speaker based on the number of people requesting to speak. 11:40 a.m. II. SOUTH WILLAMETTE STEET IMPROVEMENT PLAN Staff: Chris Henry, 541-682-8472 12:30 p.m. III. SOUTH WILLAMETTE STREET – LONG-TERM VISION Staff: Robin Hostick, 541-682-5507 1:15 p.m. IV. ITEMS FROM COMMISSION AND STAFF A. Other Items from Staff B. Other Items from Commission C. Learning: How are we doing? Commissioners: Steven Baker; John Barofsky; Jonathan Belcher; Rick Duncan; John Jaworski (Vice- Chair); Jeffery Mills; William Randall (Chair)  AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY November 4, 2013 To: Eugene Planning Commission From: City of Eugene Public Works – Engineering Division Subject: South Willamette Improvement Plan ISSUE STATEMENT This work session will provide a process update and consultant team recommendation for the Draft South Willamette Street Improvement Plan. The South Willamette Street Improvement Plan is exploring options for people to safely walk, bike, take the bus, or drive in an eight-block study area of Willamette Street from 24th Avenue to 32nd Avenue. BACKGROUND The South Willamette Street Improvement Plan will develop a complete street design plan for an active transportation corridor (providing for walking, biking, transit access, motoring and business access) that can be adopted and advanced as a capital improvement project for construction. The goal of the South Willamette Street Improvement Plan is to help South Willamette Street become a vibrant urban corridor accessible by bicycle, foot, car, and bus. The plan aims to: • Support existing businesses and the commercial district’s vitality • Create a balanced multi-modal transportation system • Further City planning efforts to identify compact growth and redevelopment opportunities • And, foster a well-informed and involved community supportive of the plan The City of Eugene engaged a consultant team including DKS Associates (a transportation planning and engineering firm), Cogito (a public involvement and strategic planning firm), and OTAK (a design and engineering firm) to analyze and develop recommendations about alternative street designs for South Willamette Street. The consultants proposed multiple alternative designs for South Willamette that were narrowed through a public process, including technical review, and evaluation criteria based on triple-bottom-line sustainable transportation planning considerations of equity, environment, and economy. The three street design alternatives advanced for more detailed analysis were: Alternative #1 (4-lanes) Alternative #3 (3-lanes with Bike Lanes) Alternative #5 (3-lanes with Wide Sidewalks) PC Agenda - Page 1 The South Willamette Street Improvement Plan included a robust, inclusive, and committed community involvement process including stakeholder groups and community forums. Meetings were structured in order to both inform and learn from these groups. Stakeholder groups were organized around interests with business and property owners meeting separately from bicyclists (both advocates for on-street facilities and parallel routes), pedestrians, neighborhood organizations, transit users, nearby residents, freight carriers, and commuters using the corridor. Three well-attended community forums were held to explore, evaluate, and refine street design alternatives with opinion surveys used to receive feedback. An interested parties list provided process updates as well as extensive media coverage and direct outreach. In addition to the public review process, a multi-agency Technical Advisory Committee provided technical review of the plan throughout its development. In weighing all the considerations identified in the Draft South Willamette Street Improvement Plan, the community feedback and technical analysis, the consultant project team finds that Alternative #3 (3‐lanes with Bike Lanes) represents the best solution for South Willamette Street. The Draft South Willamette Street Improvement Plan (Executive Summary and Draft Plan with appendix) may be viewed through the project website at: http://www.eugene- or.gov/SWillametteStreet. Staff would appreciate receiving feedback and comments regarding the Draft South Willamette Street Improvement Plan and consultant team’s recommendation at this time. Such information will be useful as staff prepares a future recommendation to the Eugene City Council. NEXT STEPS The South Willamette Street Improvement Plan will be presented to the Eugene City Council at their meeting on November 25, 2013. In response to Willamette Street economic concerns, the City of Eugene is collaborating with business and property owner representatives to develop an economic study of the potential economic effects of changes to the street configuration on area businesses and properties. The economic study is expected to take a few months to complete. After the completion of the economic analysis, staff will return to the Eugene City Council to present the results of the economic analysis and a City Manager recommendation. It is expected that the Eugene City Council will hold a Public Hearing to receive comments from the community in response to the Draft South Willamette Street Improvement Plan. Eugene City Council deliberation and action on the Draft South Willamette Street Improvement Plan would occur at a future meeting date following the Public Hearing. PC Agenda - Page 2 Staff believes that the public process surrounding the South Willamette Street Improvement Plan development will be strengthened by including an economic analysis in collaboration with those that are potentially affected by changes to the street. There may be a slight delay in the decision making process to hear the results of the economic analysis before the Eugene City Council chooses a course of implementation. ATTACHMENTS A. South Willamette Street Improvement Plan Executive Summary October 2013 (http://www.eugene-or.gov/DocumentCenter/View/14078) B. DRAFT South Willamette Street Improvement Plan October 2013 (http://www.eugene- or.gov/DocumentCenter/View/14200) C. South Willamette Street Improvement Plan Appendix October 2013 (http://www.eugene-or.gov/DocumentCenter/View/14226) FOR MORE INFORMATION Chris Henry at 541-682-8472 or chris.c.henry@ci.eugene.or.us PC Agenda - Page 3  AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY November 4, 2013 To: Eugene Planning Commission From: City of Eugene Planning Division Subject: South Willamette Concept Plan Implementation: Long-Term Vision for South Willamette Street ISSUE STATEMENT This work session is an opportunity to share information with the Planning Commission on progress toward implementing the South Willamette Concept Plan as a component of Envision Eugene. Specifically, staff will review analysis results and community input on several options for the long-term, street-side character of South Willamette Street between 23th to 32nd Avenues. BACKGROUND One of the primary goals set forth in the City Manager’s March 2012 Envision Eugene recommendation is to accommodate all of Eugene’s 20-year multi-family housing and commercial job need inside the existing Urban Growth Boundary. Area planning has been identified as a means of promoting compact urban development along key transit corridors and in core commercial centers in a way that enhances the livability and unique identity of each area. The South Willamette Concept Plan (SWCP) as a pilot for the area planning strategy was completed in its final draft in March 2013. The Planning Commission directed staff to move forward with implementation, including several recommendations, on April 22, 2013. At the center of community goals for the South Willamette area is the idea of creating a well- connected, healthy, and walkable district as well as active, successful streets and public realm. South Willamette Street, along with nearby businesses, creates the heart of the district and presents the most significant opportunity for achieving these goals. While much public attention has been given to the short-term street improvements, these conversations have been limited to improvements within the existing street Right of Way (ROW). The SWCP carries forward the community’s desire to look beyond the travel lanes and consider how the street could transform under a longer-term strategy. Over the past few months, staff has engaged the community through a process of “shared learning” around the long-term streetside character of Willamette Street to address the following questions: • What is the community’s preferred vision for the long-term streetside character? • What are the implications for the success of current and future businesses? • What role does parking play in achieving the vision? • How could the street transform incrementally over time? PC Agenda - Page 4 Collaborations were initiated with three property owners along the street to examine detailed redevelopment scenarios involving various street-side character options and regulatory changes for parking. Options for the long-term vision (Attachment A) were coordinated with the South Willamette Street Improvement Project to ensure that all options would work with whichever short-term alternative is selected. Analysis results were shared at two special forums for property and business owners. These conversations informed further analysis, including a preliminary parking study (Attachment B), which were presented at a broader community forum on September 4th. Additional input was gathered through an online presentation and survey (see http://www.eugene-or.gov/SWillamette). In addition, staff has conducted a review of procedural options for transforming the street that meet several criteria. Based on public feedback, if more street Right of Way is needed to provide room for better public amenities, this would ideally be done incrementally – as individual property owners choose to redevelop over time – and with fairness and consideration. The current working strategy is to allow existing uses to continue at each property owners’ discretion. At the time owners decide to initiate major redevelopment (versus minor additions or alterations) new code provisions and adjustment of the Right of Way Map will place the location of the new building to allow room along the street for future improvements. The owner will have the option of dedicating the additional ROW to the City and constructing the improvements as part of the redevelopment project, or waiting until City funds are available to purchase the additional ROW and construct improvements as part of a larger public project. In the meantime, the additional room between the new building and existing sidewalk could be used for a variety of purposes supporting the new development. This working strategy was both shared and informed through the above-described outreach efforts. The following items would be useful for the Planning Commission to address: • Which long-term options do Commissioners feel best address current policy direction and the needs of the community? • What, if any, additional information is needed to inform a recommendation to Council? NEXT STEPS Recommendations for the long-term vision will be forwarded to the City Council as part of implementing the South Willamette Concept Plan. This will be further coordinated with the South Willamette Street Improvement Project. Other South Willamette Concept Plan implementation efforts are also continuing including code revisions, community investments, and planning for public improvements. ATTACHMENTS A. Long-Term Vision Options B. South Willamette Concept Plan: District Parking Analysis PC Agenda - Page 5 FOR MORE INFORMATION Robin Hostick at 541-682-5507 or robin.a.hostick@ci.eugene.or.us Patricia Thomas at 541-682-5561 or Patricia.Thomas@ci.eugene.or.us Lou Christofferson at 541-682-5451 or Lou.M.Christofferson@ci.eugene.or.us PC Agenda - Page 6  Attachment A PC Agenda - Page 7  Attachment B South Willamette Concept Plan: Preliminary District Parking Analysis September 11, 2013 Overview Matching vehicular parking supply to demand is an important component to realizing the long-term vision for the South Willamette District and serves as a particular point of concern when discussing current and potential short-term conditions with business owners and members of the community. Furthermore, a key challenge facing the district is a currently fragmented mixture of parking options that result in an unpleasant and unsafe pedestrian experience. A critical goal of the South Willamette Concept plan is to create a “walkable heart” for the district, which includes establishing a network of shared parking options that contributes to one-stop access to multiple businesses and other locations. This parking analysis investigates the capacity of off-street surface parking and on-street parking currently available throughout the South Willamette District as well as potential opportunities for on-street parallel or angled parking along South Willamette Street between 24th Avenue and 30th Avenue. These results are then used to compare the South Willamette shopping area to nearby commercial and shopping areas in terms parking opportunities and physical size. Finally, studies pertaining to the economic benefits of on-street and shared parking strategies are referenced. Method for Measuring Existing Parking Capacity The study area used for this parking analysis is the same “area of effect” used in the South Willamette Concept Plan, which is, generally, the area located between 23rd and 32nd Avenues from north to south and between Amazon Parkway and the base of College Hill from east to west. Existing capacity for the South Willamette District encompasses all off-street surface parking stalls, excluding drive-ways for single family residences, and all on-street parking spaces found within the district. Off-street surface parking stalls are defined as any marked or designated parking space located on private property observable from color GIS air photos dated 2008 and 2011 set at a 1:800 scale. On-Street parking spaces are defined as a length of curb extending 18’-0” along public ways. On-street parking spaces that encroached into intersections, driveways, other access points, or were located in “no parking” zones were not included in the capacity study. Method for Estimating Parking Opportunities along South Willamette Street Two hypothetical scenarios for on-street parking along South Willamette Street between 24th Avenue and 30th Avenue were studied. These scenarios were parallel parking and 45-degree angled parking. This portion of the parking analysis assumed a complete build-out of the South Willamette 1 PC Agenda - Page 9 District as described in the Concept Area Plan, meaning that sidewalks are continuous from block to block and driveways are reduced over time along South Willamette Street as properties redevelop according to a new form-based code for the area. Hypothetical parallel parking spaces for this portion of the study were defined as a length of curb extending 22’-0” along South Willamette Street that is not located within 40’-0” of street or alleyway intersections. Hypothetical 45-degree angled parking spaces for this portion of the study were defined as a length of curb extending 12’-9”, which is the space needed to accommodate a 9’-0” wide stall angled at 45 degrees, along South Willamette Street that is not located within 40’-0” of street or alleyway intersections. Results The existing parking capacity for the South Willamette District can be seen in Table 1. Estimated on-street parking opportunities along South Willamette Street for the two scenarios studied can be seen in Table 21. Table 1 South Willamette District: Existing Parking Capacity Number Parking Type of Spaces Existing Off-Street Surface Parking 2,667 Existing On-Street Parallel Parking 1,256 Total Existing District Parking Capacity 3,923 Table 2 South Willamette District: Estimated Opportunities for On-Street Parking Along South Willamette Street* Number Parking Configuration of Spaces On-Street Parallel Parking 237 On-Street 45-Degree Angled Parking 407 *Area of study includes South Willamette Street from 24th-30th Avenue 1 See References for Parking Maps 2 PC Agenda - Page 10 It is important to note that a hypothetical future parking capacity in the South Willamette District cannot be estimated by adding either of the estimates from Table 2 to the Total Existing District Parking Capacity in Table 1. This is because on-street parking along South Willamette Street cannot be accommodated without setbacks into private property, meaning existing off-street surface parking lots, and in some cases existing buildings and landscaping, would have to redevelop before this occurred. Any such estimate of how this level of redevelopment would affect district-wide parking capacity would involve a great deal of conjecture and is beyond the scope of this analysis. Table 3 Lists the parking capacity for parking garages located throughout Eugene. The Parcade and Pearl Street garages provide 439 and 262 parking spaces, respectively. This helps put the estimated parking opportunities listed in Table 2 in perspective, with parallel parking providing capacity roughly equivalent to the Pearl Street Garage, and angle parking providing capacity comparable to the Parcade Garage. One significant difference is that on-street parking opportunities along Willamette Street would be distributed throughout the district instead of concentrated in one location. Table 3 Eugene Parking Structures (standalone) Lot Number Stalls Hult 36 510 Parcade 35 439 Overpark 23 595 Pearl Street 34 262 Broadway South 21 363 Broadway North 31 369 Total Structure Stalls 2,538 The potential benefits of providing on-street parking in the South Willamette District is further illustrated by comparing figure/ground diagrams of the South Willamette commercial area and the Gateway Mall in Springfield, Oregon, as shown in Figure 1, which reveals a similarity in physical size. Although there is significantly more retail located in the Gateway Mall, it is important to note that it is a common practice for shoppers to drive to the mall, park at a single location, and then walk from store to store without returning to their car. Taking this into consideration, adding a similar configuration of conveniently located shared parking options and enjoyable pedestrian walkways may help the South Willamette District function more as a commercial destination while improving livability for residents. 3 PC Agenda - Page 11 Finally, this analysis refers to studies conducted by other communities to gauge the value of on- street parking in terms of economic activity2. Robert Gibbs, Director of the Urban Retail Institute, for instance, has estimated that “each on-street parking stall can generate up to $300,000 in annual retail sales” for a shopping district. More specifically, the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association reports that “for each on-street parking space lost, income to an adjacent business will be lost to the shopkeeper to the tune of about $10,000 per year, even if off-street parking is provided.” A study on shared parking in Santa Monica, CA concluded that “properties in the flexible parking requirement area generated eight times more sales tax revenue per parcel square foot than the properties in the standard parking requirement area.” This report went on to say “the businesses in those parcels generated all that sales tax revenue with a fraction of the on-site parking.” The figures reported in these studies reveal that allocating site coverage to building square footage rather than surface parking and providing on-street parking may significantly boost economic activity in the district as well as contribute to an improved pedestrian environment. Figure 1 South Willamette District Gateway Mall 2 See References for bibliography 4 PC Agenda - Page 12 Options for Further Investigation Additional investigation may be helpful to inform the long-term parking strategy in the South Willamette District, including the following:  Quantifying current parking utilization  Estimating future parking demand The first investigation – parking utilization – would determine whether current parking supply matches current demand in the district. An oversupply could show that enough parking capacity already exists to support some level of redevelopment before additional parking is needed. On the other hand, an undersupply may indicate a need to increase supply and/or improve access for active travel modes in the short term, as well as a need to add more supply to support redevelopment. The second investigation may help forecast parking demand by estimating how much redevelopment we might expect to occur in the district over time. Although forecasting is difficult because the many variables involved, an “order of magnitude” study may be possible. In combination with a parking utilization study, this could help the community and staff partners gauge the effort needed to provide shared parking in the district, manage expectations and proactively limit potential impacts. References Bibliography “On Street Parking: An evaluation of current trends, technologies, and applications.” CarlWalker.com. Posted: n.d. Accessed: 09-02-13. (http://www.carlwalker.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/On-Street_Parking.pdf) “Recommendations for On-Street Parking Downtown.” Atlantadna.org. Posted: n.d. Accessed: 09-02-13. (http://www.atlantadna.org/onstreetparking.htm) Rubin, Carter, “How Flexible Parking Requirements Spur Economic Development: Lessons from Santa Monica.” LA.Streets.Blog.Org. Posted 07-23-13. Accessed 09-02-13. (http://la.streetsblog.org/2013/07/23/how-flexible-parking-requirements-spur-economic-development- lessons-from-santa-monica/) 5 PC Agenda - Page 13