Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-07-07 City Council (27)City Manager’s Report TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: PLANNING AGENDA DATE: July 7, 1997 CMR:315:97 SUBJECT:VALET PARKING IN DOWNTOWN PALO ALTO REOUEST The issue of valet parking in downtown Palo Alto surfaced approximately two years ago. At that time, staffused an existing mechanism (Encroachment Permit) to address the issue of valet parking on an interim basis, with the expectation that if the interest in valet parking continued and once staff gained some actual experience with valet parking, a more formal arrangement (i.e. City ordinance) would be developed. With two years of experience, continuing interest in valet parking on the part of downtown restaurants, and ongoing concerns about valet parking, staff believes it is time to develop a formal valet parking program and ordinance for the City, and requests Council direction to do so. RECOMMENDATIONS Staff recommends that the Council direct staff to do the following: o Work with the Chamber of Commerce Parking Committee and other downtown and residential interests to develop a formal valet parking program and ordinance for downtown Palo Alto, and refer it to the Policy and Services Committee for review and recommendation to Council; Develop an effective monitoring, enforcement and revocation process, which can be added to the existing procedures, and return to Council with it by September, with the goal of being able to continue the use of the existing procedures on an interim basis, until such time that a formal program and ordinance can be developed, reviewed and adopted; Utilize the following strategy for the interim period of time until a formal valet program and ordinance is established: Permit continuation of the existing three valet parking operations, subject to all existing and future appropriate conditions and regulations, CMR:315:97 Page 1 of 10 Co Consider for approval applications that Evvia Estiatorio and Zibibbo have already submitted .for valet parking, subject to all existing and future ¯ conditions and regulations,"including a limitation of two on-street spaces for drop-off/pick-up, unless there is a clearly demonstrated need for more spaces, and Consider for approval any additional applications submitted by businesses that want to use any on-street or off-street public parking spaces (parking lots and garages) for valet parking operations, only at~er staffhas returned to Council in September with an effective monitoring and enforcement plan that can be added to the existing procedures. POLICY IMPLICATIONS One of the basic policy issues regarding valet parking concems the exclusive use of on- street public parking spaces and off-street public parking facilities (surface lots, garages) for private businesses. BACKGROUND The issue of valet parking surfaced about two years ago with the opening of Stars Palo Alto (Stars) on Lytton Avenue. While valet parking had already been provided for several years by some downtown businesses (e.g. MacArthur Park Restaurant, Garden Court Hotel, and I1 Fomaio Restaurant), it generally was being done in a manner whereby the vehicle drop-off/pick-up area and the vehicle storage area were on private property. In conjunction with the opening of Stars, the owners instituted valet parking with the vehicle drop-off/pick-up area on a public street, and used some public parking facilities for the vehicle storage area. Associated with the private exclusive use of the public street and parking facilities, concerns arose about safety, fairness and legality. ~g theinitial months of Stars’ valet operation, Police Department and Transportation Division staff worked with representatives of the restaurant, regarding the dual objectives of making the valet operation safe and legal. During that time, some changes and adjustments were made in the operation of the valet service, to address initial safety concerns. In addition, Stars was issued an Encroachment Permit by the City, whereby, subject to specified conditions, it received approval to use a designated portion of the public street and public parking lots for the provision of valet parking. In all of these discussions, staff took the position that any arrangement must be safe, fair, reasonable, and equally applicable to other businesses who may choose to offer a similar service in the future. Since that time, two long-established restaurants in the downtown area, Maddalena’s Continental Restaurant (Maddalena’s) and Chantilly II European Restaurant (Chantilly CMR:315:97 Page 2 of 10 1~), have received permission, through the Encroachment Permit process, to conduct valet parking. Both of these valet parking operations have been in effect for approximately one year. Two additional restaurants, Evvia Estiatorio (Evvia) and Zibibbo, have made initial inquiries and have submitted information to apply for a permit to institute valet parking. A few additional restaurants have made initial inquiries, but have not followed through with an application. The terms and conditions of the Encroachment Permits that have been issued for valet parking include the following: Permittee has exclusive use of a designated number of on-street parking spaces directly in fi’ont of its business, between specified hours, seven days a week. The City posts signs to this effect. Permittee agrees not to park vehicles on any public street or alley, at any time during the day or evening (except for the approved spaces for drop-off and pick- up), within the surrounding commercial or residential areas. Permittee pays the following costs: the existing fee of $30 per week (Commercial/Construction Parking Permit) for each designated on-street parking space; the cost to the City for installing two signs ($300); and the Encroachment Permit application fee ($400). No fee is charged for City- authorized use ofundemtilized parking lots and garages in the evenings. Stars does pay the applicable published fee when it uses Lot S during the lunch-time period. Permittee agrees to park vehicles in a private parking facility during the daytime and evening hours. Evidence of an agreement, assuring that parking on private property is, and will remain, available for valet parking, must be provided to the city. /~a private parking facility is not feasible, the City, subject to availability, will allow selective public parking facilities that are currently underutilized, to be used for valet parking only in the evenings. Permittee agrees not to park vehicles in any off-street public parking facilities during the daytime, and to use only public parking facilities designated by the City in the evening. Permittee agrees to use a specified route for travel between vehicle drop- off/pick-up area and vehicle parking areas, and to obey all traffic rules and regulations in transit. Permittee agrees to provide adequate staffing to avoid the queuing of cars in travel lanes. No double parking or blockage of bicycle or travel lanes is allowed. CMR:315:97 Page 3 of 10 Permittee agrees to keep a five foot sidewalk space in front of the entrance to their restaurant open at all times. Some cities, most notably Beverly Hills, California, have extensive amounts of valet parking and have established a city ordinance to regulate it. Staff initially did not pursue that approach, but rather used the Encroachment Permit to address the issue of valet parking for the following reasons: (1) to develop and receive approval of an ordinance would have taken much longer; (2) to gain some actual experience with valet parking prior to the development of an ordinance; (3) to determine if the interest in valet parking would continue, disappear, or expand; and (4) because the Encroachment Permit provided a reasonable mechanism. Current Status At the present time, there are three valet operations that are ftmctioning under City authorized and approved procedures. Stars was the first such operation, and it began in the summer of 1995. Maddalena’s was the second, and it began in June 1996. Chantilly II was the third, and it began in September 1996. This past April, staff met with representatives of each of the three restaurants, as well as representatives of the valet services they contract with, to review their present operations. Following is a summary of staff’s understanding of their operations, as of late April: 1 1 r i Stars provides valet parking service for both the lunch-time period and in the evening, seven days a week. Stars uses Lucas Parking Service (2135 Pullman Avenue, Belmont, CA) to provide the service. There are four designated and signed spaces that are reserved for its valet operation in front of the restaurant, on the north side of Lytton Avenue. Stars charges the customer nothing at lunch time, and $3.00 per car in the evening. At the present time, Stars valet parks between 20 to 30 cars at lunch and about 45 cars in the evening. These numbers are lower than they were initially, and are expected to increase with the change in restaurant planned during the summer. Stars says it has about 6 attendants on a regular basis, and sometimes 7 to 8, who are parking and retrieving cars. At lunch time, the cars are initially parked in a private lot (22 spaces, serving about 35 cars with turnover) adjacent to its property, which can be accessed from Bryant. Any excess volume is parked in the City-owned attendant lot (Lot S). When Stars uses Lot S, it pays the appropriate fee. CMR:315:97 Page 4 of 10 In the evening, the cars are initially parked in the same private lot Stars owns. As part of its Encroachment Permit, Stars is allowed to use Lot K, which is underutilized in the evening. In addition, Stars says it also uses the private lots at 325 and 390 Lytton. Stars pays for the four designated spaces on Lytton at the rate of $30/space/week, or $6,240/year. It also pays the published hourly appropriate charge for the daytime use of Lot S (City-owned pay parking), but does not pay for the use of Lot K in the evening. Maddalena’s Continental Restaurant Valet Operation Maddalena’s provides valet parking service only in the evening (beginning at 6:00 p.m.), seven days a week. It uses Flying Dutchman Parking Company (Pier 27, Administrative Building, San Francisco, CA ) to provide the service. There are two designated, signed spaces reserved for its valet operation in front of the restaurant, on the west side of Emerson. Maddalena’s charges the customer $4.00 per car in the evening. At the present time, Maddalena’s valet parks about 15 cars a night, Monday through Wednesday and 20 to 25 cars, Thursday through Sunday. The restaurant says it normally has two attendants on a regular basis, and sometimes fills in with other people. Initially it was using a private lot, but, several months ago, lost that option and now has permission (as part of its Encroachment Permit) to use Level C of the Civic Center Garage and Lots E and G off Gilman, if Level C of the Civic Center Garage is full. Maddalena’s pays for the two designated spaces on Lytton at the rate of $30/space/week, or $3,120/year. It does not pay for the use of Level C of the Civic Center Garage or Lots E and G. Chantilly II European Restaurant’s Valet Operation Chantilly II provides valet parking service only in the evening (beginning at 6:00 p.m.) seven days week. It also uses Flying Dutchman Parking Company to provide the service. There are two designated, signed spaces reserved for its valet operation in front of the restaurant, on the west side of Ramona. Chantilly II charges the customer $4.00 per car in the evening. At the present time, it valet parks about 15 cars a night, Monday through Wednesday, and 20 to 30 cars, Thursday through Sunday. Chantilly I1 says it normally has two attendants on a regular basis and sometimes fills in with other people. The restaurant has permission (as part of its Encroachment Permit) to use Level C of the Civic Center Garage and also Lots E and G off Gilman, if Level C of the Civic Center Garage is full. CMR:315:97 Page 5 of 10 Chantilly I-I pays for the two designated spaces on Lytton at the rate of $30/space/week, or $3,120/year. They do not pay for the use of Level C of the Civic Center Garage, or Lots E and G. Future Direction Given the nearly two years of experience and understanding of valet parking in downtown Pal, Alto, coupled with the sense that valet parking, while limited in scale, is likely to continue and possibly expand, it is an appropriate time to develop a more formal and structured valet parking program and ordinance. Valet parking raises a basic policy issue concerning use of on-street public parking spaces and off-street public parking facilities by private businesses. Staff believes that the concept of removing a substantial number of vehicles that would otherwise be competing for heavily used public spaces is a significant benefit to all merchants, employers and customers in the downtown area, and is worthy of allowing exclusive use of a limited number of on-street spaces, as well as possible use of currently under-utilized public parking facilities. For example, for the three restaurants discussed previously (Stars, Maddalena’s and Chantilly II) there are a total of eight on-street parking spaces that have been designated for their exclusive use. In return, on weekends, when the availability of public parking is perceived as problematic, there are upwards of 85 to 100 cars being removed from the competition for the most highly utilized parking spaces, which are instead parked in spaces that are regularly under-utilized. However, in spite of the evident benefits associated with valet parking, the operational aspects of valet parking continue to raise concerns. Development of a formal valet parking program and ordinance for the downtown area would be an opportunity to establish policies and procedures that specifically address and resolve the issues and concerns Surrounding valet parking (e.g., permitting, fees, use of public facilities, monitoring, enforcement, conditions, etc.). The development of such an ordinance could appropriately be a joint effort of the Chamber of Commerce Parking Committee and City staff, and could incorporate the interests and concerns of residents, businesses and customers. While the specifics of such a program and ordinance need to be developed, they should consider and address, to the extent appropriate, the following issues: A requirement for a permit to do valet parking, with application review and approval procedures. Permit to specify: , location of on-street drop-off/pick-up area ¯ hours/days of operation CMR:315:97 Page 6 of 10 5. 6. 7. ¯location of vehicle storage area ¯ prohibition of storage hi residential areas or non-approved public facilities , route of travel to and from vehicle storage area ¯related signing and attendant stands A mechanism to monitor and enforce the terms and conditions of the permit. A fee that reflects use of the public right-of-way (on-street and off-street parking), as well as costs related to monitoring and enforcement. Valet driver screening. Provision for indemnification and insurance requirements. Provision for short term, non-recurring events. Revocation process, if procedures are not followed. As an alternative to pursuing the development of a formal valet parking program and ordinance, Council could consider the following alternatives: Continue with the existing Encroachment Permit procedures for the three existing operations and potential future applicants. Continue the three existing valet parking operations under the existing Encroachment Permit procedures, but do not allow any additional operations to use public facilities. Terminate existing valet parking operations and do not approve any new valet parking operations that use public facilities. Conclusions. The staff recommendation is to proceed with the development of a formal valet parking program and ordinance for downtown Palo Alto, based upon the following considerations: (a) (b) (c) (d) the substantial benefit of removing a sizable number of cars from the competition for heavily used parking spaces, the opportunity to try and keep valet parked cars out of the residential neighborhoods adjacent to downtown, the continuing interest of downtown restaurants and patrons in having valet parking, and the operational improvements that can be achieved with effective monitoring and enforcement, as part of a formal program and ordinance. As a means to address both the ongoing interest in valet parking and the concerns with existing operations, staff also recommends that Council direct staff to develop an effective monitoring, enforcement, and revocation process, which can be added to the existing CMR:315:97 Page 7 of 10 procedures, with the goal of being able to continue the use of the existing procedures on an interim basis, until such time that a formal program and ordinance can be developed, reviewed and adopted. This is intended to take an expeditious look at what it would cost to establish a reasonable level of monitoring as well as appropriate legal mechanism(s) needed to enforce and revoke permission for valet parking operations, so that there is an improved level of control and performance maintained during the interim period of time needed to develop a formal program and ordinance. Initial thoughts on what this might involve include the possibility of hiring a part-time Parking Enforcement Officer (PEO), who would monitor valet parking operations to ensure compliance with conditions and regulations established in the Enchroachment Permit. The PEO could also provide enforcement of other parking related regulations (i.e. red zones, handicapped spaces, no parking zones in alleys, etc.). This would be an interim arrangement only until such time that a formal program and ordinance is approved. Staff believes that such an interim improvement could be instituted by September, where as a formal program and ordinance for valet parking will likely take at least six months. Until such time that a formal valet parking program and ordinance is established, staff recommends that the Council approve the following strategy: (a)Permit continuation of the existing three valet parking operations, subject to all existing and future appropriate conditions and regulations. This would allow Star’s (Spago), Maddalena’s and Chantilly II to continue the existing valet parking operations, and would make them subject to additional measures when approved in September. (b)Consider for approval applications that Evvia and Zibibbo have already Submitted for valet parking, subject to all existing and future conditions and regulations. Evvia is an existing restaurant, that has submitted all the required application materials, and has been proceeding in good faith with City staff. Zibibbo’s is a large new restaurant, currently under construction, that is scheduled to open August 1, and is anticipated to have a substantial parking impact. Zibibbo’s has also submitted all required application materials and has been proceeding in good faith with City staff. Given the advanced nature of these applications, as well as timing issues, staff does not believe it would be appropriate to delay approval of valet parking until September. 12MR:315:97 Page 8 of 10 Co Consider for approval any additional businesses that want to use any on-street or off-street public parking spaces (parking lots and garages) for valet parking operations, only after staff has returned to Council in September with an effective monitoring and enforcement plan that can be added to the existing procedures. Representatives of Palermo’s on University Avenue have only recently verbally expressed an interest in valet parking. At that time, staff discouraged submission of formal application materials, pending this current Council review. Under this proposed strategy, Palermo’s or other restaurants that may be interested in valet parking, would only be considered in conjunction with staff recommendations set to return to Council in September. FISCAL IMPACT The City receives $12,480 per year from the three current valet parking operations. As part.of the development of a formal valet parking program and ordinance, consideration will need to be given to appropriate fee(s) to cover all program costs, including monitoring and enforcement. The intent should be to make the program 100 percent recovery. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Required. environmental analysis will be completed in conjunction with the development of the program and ordinance. CMR:315:97 Page 9 of 10 Prepared By: Department Head Review: Lyrme Johnson, Assistant Police Chief Marvin L. Overway, Chief Transportation Official CHRIS DURKIN Police Chief City Manager Approval: KENNETH R. SCHR.EIBER Director of Planning and Community / ¯ Chamber of Commerce Palriek Burt, University South Group Dan Lorimer, Downtown North Neig. Assn. Mark Nanevicz, Downtown North Neig. Assn. Maddalena’s Continental Restaurant Chanti!ly II European Restaurant Stars Palo Alto I1 Fomaio Zibibbo (Restaurant LuLu, Inc.) Evvia Estiatorio Lucas Parking Service Flying Dutchman Parking Company MacArthur Park Garden Court Hotel Palermo Rotisserie CMR:315:97 Page 10 of 10