Parking Commission

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE LAFAYETTE PARKING COMMISSION April 21, 2014 11:00 am ATTENDANCE - COMMISSIONERS: Angela Vinson; John Christodoulakis; Cindy Murray; Ken McCammon; and Jim Terry CITY OFFICIALS and STAFF: Dennis Carson, Director of Economic Development; Jacque Chosnek, City Attorney; Max Smith, Lafayette Police Department; Dan Walker, Project Manager/Planner; and Erin Diener, Administrative Assistant, Billy Emerson, Parking Enforcement Officer; Kevin Harris, Parking Operations Manager; Kaleb Schick, Parking Enforcement Officer; Jennifer Miller Leshney, City Engineer and Public Works Director. GUESTS: Mike Buckles, 220 S. 4th St.; Tom McDonald, 250 S. 4th St.; Daniel K. Beckefeld, 3516 E. Thornhill Circle; Rich Groeben, 1104 Columbia St.; Cheryl Strong, P.O. Box 2332, West Lafayette, IN 47906; Dean Bartolone, 3416; Rascal Dr. Angela Vinson noted that a quorum was present and opened the meeting of the Lafayette Parking Commission at 11am. Approve October 21st, 2013 Meeting Minutes Cindy Murray moved to approve the minutes for the October 21, 2013 meeting. Jim Terry seconded. The motion passed. Requests for change in parking at 220 S. 4th St. Michael Buckles is the owner of Buckles Feed Depot at 220 S. 4th Street. His business has operated there for 23 years, and he is concerned that with a gas station going in across the street from his business that there will be an issue with parking. He understands that he does not own the street parking, but he knows and understands that many of his customers over the last 23 years have grown accustomed to parking out front of his store, run in quick and leave. He expressed concern that a parking shortage will result from the construction of a gas station on the corner of 4 th and Romig as well as from the rentals in the area. Mr. Buckles is requesting three-20 minute loading zones to be placed directly in front of his building. Tom McDonald owns the liquor store next to Mr. Buckles and the two co-own a building just down the block. After discussion, Cindy Murray motioned to allow two-20 minute loading zones in front of 220 S. 4th Street and the commission can reevaluate again if needed. Ken McCammon seconded. The motion passed. Requests for change in parking on east side of 11th St. between Columbia St. and Main St. Jennifer Leshney spoke about the parking and traffic issue on 11th Street between Columbia and Main. She is requesting that there be a “no-parking” zone on the east side of 11th Street between Columbia and Main. Leshney stated that 11th Street in this location is only 32 feet wide. It is not wide enough for two parking lanes, opposing traffic, and large vehicles like the CityBus which has a route on that street. Leshney recommended establishing no parking on the east side of the street in order to preserve one existing on-street parking space that is used by the building tenants. A trolley turn-around and Hahn-Groeber Funeral Home are located on the east side of the street. Mr. Groeber noted that in addition to a no- parking zone on 11th between Main and Columbia, he would like to see parking removed on 11th between Columbia and South. He stated that his car has been struck by CityBus, and has personally witnessed many close-calls. Angela Vinson stated that the commission could only consider the request as proposed, any additional consideration of removing on- street parking by the commission would have to be in response to a new request at later meeting. After further discussion, Jim Terry motioned to follow the City Engineers recommendation of making the East side of 11th Street a “no-parking” zone from between Columbia Street and Main Street. Ken McCammon seconded. The motion passed. Requests for change in parking on the north end of Hanover Dr. at various locations Cheryl Strong, representing Today Homes Condominium Association, Inc., with Ernie Wilkinson, spoke about the dangers of entering and exiting Hanover Drive and requested that the “no-parking” zones they have proposed be approved. The area that they are requesting become “no-parking” is located on the East side of Hanover Drive in front of the 3209 Hanover Drive from the exit onto Brady Lane to the sidewalk at 3209 Hanover Drive and the West side of the Hanover Drive area between 3208 and 3228 Hanover Drive. Ernie stated that he believes that approval of this request would improve safety in the neighborhood. Max Smith of the Lafayette Police Department stated when built it was all privately owned. Cheryl added that there have been additional connections made in the neighborhood that have increased the amount of through-traffic. Cindy Murray would like to see it on both sides by the entrance. Cheryl and Dan agreed that, yes, it was already yellow on the right side and that the yellow on the photo was just the extension that they are requesting. John Chistodoulakis motioned to approve the “no-parking” zone. Cindy Murray seconded. The motion passed. Requests for change in parking on Rascal Drive proximate to access and egress to LiquidSpring LLC Dean Bartolone spoke in regards to parking issues in front of his business, LiquidSpring LLC at 3416 Rascal Drive and is requesting that no parking zones be added to both sides of the street in front of his business. Every business on Rascal Drive has a parking lot for their employees, visitors, and delivery trucks, but one in particular hires seasonal employees and rents additional trucks. This causes a shortage of off-street parking at that business and the displaced parkers use the street directly in front of LiquidSpringLLC. The presence of additional vehicles on-street causes difficulty for delivery trucks entering and leaving the LiquidSpring LLC property. Rascal Dr. is wide enough for deliveries by semi-truck as long as cars are not parked in the street. Many are parking in front of fire hydrants as well. Dan Walker was contacted by Jeff Turner of Service Master who has no objection to this. Jennifer Leshney stated they have the same issue in many of the industrial parks and also mentioned there is to be “no-parking” 15 feet on either side of a drive curb out. Dean mentioned that the only yellow paint is in front of the hydrants that is ignored. Cindy Murray motioned to approve the “no-parking” zones in front of LiquidSpring LLC on both the North and South sides of the street. The commission decided to expand the no parking zone from was what shown in the commissioners’ packets to cover the area between the two drive access points on Rascal Dr. directly south of LiquidSpring LLC’s address. Max Smith asked if this needed to be 24 hour no-parking or just normal business hours. Both Max and Dean agreed that 24 hour will be the easiest to control and monitor as FedEx has many shifts throughout. Ken McCammon seconded. The motion passed. Petition for Neighborhood Parking Permit Zones at Thornhill Circle. Dan K. Beckefeld came to request neighborhood parking permit zones in Thornhill Circle. Issues of parking have been ongoing since he moved to Thornhill, but it has escalated as of late. He lives at 3516, and he and many neighbors are having issues with six to eight vehicles parked at 3517 Thornhill Cr. over the weekend. All of the duplexes were all designed to have two off street parking spots and one on-street parking. Mr. Bekefeld explained that five to seven vehicles parked near a single residence causes inconveniences, especially for elderly and handicapped. He then proposed several potential solutions: a requirement that each resident has a sign up for their spot or no parking at all on the street like at Benjamin Crossing. Of the houses in his immediate area, six of seven are affected. Dan expressed that a Permit parking system would be preferred. Dan has spoken to Brent Parks (a property manager of some of the units that are rentals) about the parking problem, and Brent stated he is unable to resolve the issue. Dennis Carson stated that the petition doesn’t meet standard for neighborhood parking permit, because the problem would not be solved by a permit system that does not address the entire neighborhood. Dennis then stated that there were not enough signatures on the petition to achieve a neighborhood-wide permit requirement. Dennis also stated that a permit system would be largely unenforceable given the distance between Thornhill and the downtown enforcement area. He stated the only neighborhood parking permit system that exists is on Ferry St., and that is enforced by downtown parking enforcement and does not draw on police resources. The commissioners then recommended that some of the parking issues could be better addressed by code enforcement rather than the police. Dan was advised that a neighborhood association could be formed and would probably garner more signatures. Dan Walker asked the commission if it would like to send a letter to the property owners in the affected area stating that it had been contacted about parking conditions and echoing the concerns of Mr. Beckefeld. Angela asked if there was a motion to deny the permit request. Ken McCammon motioned. Cindy Murray seconded. The motion passed. Ken McCammon motioned to also send a letter to the owner of 3517 in regards to his company. John Christodoulakis seconded. The motion passed. Presentation of Contractor Permits Dan Walker gave a presentation on the revised construction contractor, repair/maintenance contractor, and in-home health service provider policies and contracts with the exception of the Construction Contractor permit. The permits will be blanket permits now for the city. Repair/Maintenance and in-home health care providers will no longer be required to provide addresses of worksites. The construction contractor permits will be tied to a specific construction site and will be good for three months. Dan showed a copy of what the vehicles permit looks like and stated that the Clerk’s Office would be managing and maintaining these permits. John Christodoulakis asked what precludes someone from using it as a personal parking permit. Dan stated that they must be tied to a specific location and be within one block radius of the location. Dennis Carson stated that with parking management operations in-house now, they will be able to observe and enforce the permit condition. Dan stated that there is more information that is requested for now including a copy of the building permit. He also stated that there is a $20 fee and that the permit is non-transferable between vehicles. Angela Vinson opened to public comment. Jennifer Leshney stated “these are a great idea”. John motioned to open these for 30 days for public comment. Ken McCammon seconded. The motion passed. Dennis directed staff to hold a special parking commission meeting to consider public comment after 30 day public comment period. Review of 20 Minute Parking Spaces Dan Walker also gave a presentation of results on the 2014 annual review of 30 minute loading zones, 20 minute parking zones, and handicapped zones located outside of downtown. Angela Vinson asked if there was a motion to accept Dan’s report and table the item for the next meeting in order to provide an extension to those businesses and residents who have yet to respond to the initial inquiry. Jim Terry motioned. Cindy Murray accepted. The motion passed. Parking Operations Quarterly Report The quarterly report of the Lafayette Parking Operations Department Manager was given by Kevin Harris. He introduced his enforcement officers, Kaleb Schick and Billy Emerson. He noted that they only lost one parking contract in the parking garage during the transition period. They are collecting most of their fees and are doing much housekeeping on things that have been neglected. He thanked Dennis Carson and Dan Walker as they have been a great asset in helping them get up and running. They have addressed questions and filled in gaps in the transition. He is anxious to expand the enforcement area outside of downtown in order to assist the Police Department with other parking enforcement issues within the city. Downtown he has noticed that there are many inconsistencies that make enforcement difficult. They are starting to document things like paint on one side of alley not on other. As an example, he noted the need to arrange loading zones in a manner that allows large vehicles to make deliveries without obstructing access to handicapped spaces. Kevin stated that both he and his officers have contacted habitual violators and attempted to persuade them into renting a spot in the parking garage on a monthly basis, as it would be cheaper than repeatedly receiving tickets. Kevin noted that the online dispute portal shows pictures should one contest a ticket. He concluded by thanking the commission. Director’s Report There was no report from the Director. Public Comment and Adjournment No further public Comment Cindy Murray moved to adjourn. Jim Terry seconded. The motion passed. The meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Erin Diener Recording Secretary Signed, _____________________________________________ Lafayette Parking Commissioner