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Home My WebLink About0604.093.. Decembe~ 9, 1993 HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL Palo Alto, Califoraia , ~ .. TEMPORARY USE OF TIMES TRIBllli~?AR15ING LOT (LOT TT) Members of the council: R'El"ORT IN BRIEF Tribune Properties is presently pursuing the pos5ibl~ sale and/or development of the Times TribUne. property. During the irlterim period, until the property is needed for construction or ather use, Tribune Properties has offered to lease the parking lots to the City of Palo Alto. Attachment 1 illustrates the location of their parking lots in relation tc the dow~to~n area and exi~ting public parking lots and garages. The purpose of this staff report is to inform the council that an agreement has been reached with Tribune Properties~ which will per.mit the temporary. short-term use of the existing Times Tribune parking lots by the city'. to provide additional public parking in the downtown area. This is an informational report, no Council action is required. BACKGR.OUND In late 19B7, prior to construction of the Ramona Plaza project, an arrangement ~as made with Roxy Rapp, who offeree to let the city temporarily (mcnth-to-month) use the then existing surface parking lot behind the vacant bank building at 250 University. at a cost of $1.00. An agreement ~as signed bet~een the owners and the City. The city installed some signs, trimmed some trees. cleaned up the lot, and operated and enforced the lot as a temporary 2-hour parking lot. The arrange:ment continued until the owners 'Were prepared to do something else with the site. which turned out to be several months. Overall, it was judged to be a very positive experience~ When it came time to close the lot, there weT:el no serious objections, since it 'Was ... el1 known that the po.rki'1g use was short term and temporary. A similar opportunity exists with the no~ vacant Times Tribune parking lot. CMR:604:93 I j -w .. '. L~SE PROVISIONS Durinq the past several weeks, staff ~as pursued serious discussions 'With representatives of TribUI1e Properties, regarding specific terms and conditions of a possible short-term, temporary lease of the Times Tribune parking lot to provide additional pUblic parking in the downto ... n area. Those discussions hav"=! cUlminc:ted in a lease between Tribune Properties and the City of Palo Alto, ~ith the following general characteristics: a4 Tribune Properties agrees to let the City use the Times Tribune parking lots for an initial period of three months, with continu6d use, thereafter, cn a month-to mon't...h basis; for a total rental fee of $1.00, for the duration of the u~e. b. Each party has the right to terminate the lease a~ any time f 'Without cause, on thirty days t advanced written notice. c. The City v111 p:r-ovide the necessary 6iqns~ restripe the parking stalls, repair a fe~ potholes and provide enforcement and periodic cleanup. The City has also agreed to have a chain link fence installed a long the rear of the building, which opens onto the main parking lot. d. Both parties acknowledge that the lease shall have no effect on any development approval process that the owners may pursue~ now or in the future; and e~ The city agr-ees to reasonable i nsuJ:"ance and liability provisions. IKPLEKENTA'UOJl Public Works staff will be installing the necess~ry signs, restripinq the parking stalls and repairing the potholes~ The chair: link fence will be installed, :rt'Iaintained ar.:j re11lovec by a private: ('-:ontractor under a rental agreement -with the City. S'Wcepinq .. ill be provided at an added cost under an existing contract. The Police Department ..... i 11 use existing staff" to monitor and prcvide parking enforcement. The cost of materials tor signinq and striping, as ~ell as the cost to rent the chain link fence and provide periodic sweeping, is about $7,000; and that 'Will come from the existing Transportation Division budget. staft believes this is a very ~orthwhile opportunity, to temporarily provide nearly 100 additional parking spaces for the downtown area, and would like to ackno\t .. led.ge the sigr.ificant cooperation that Tribune Properties has dernonstrato:!d in making this possible. CMR:604:93 '.~" -'. 12/9/93 Page 2 .. . " .. PARKING AOHXHISTRATIOH Unlike the 250 U!'l,iver-sity site temporary parking lot, ."..hich was so centrally hX:ated that it was immediately fully utilized, the Times-Tribune lot is not centrally locat.ed, is not part h.::ularly convenient for Cl.lstomer parkin-g, and would not likely fill up without effo~ts to make the public aware of the lot. Staff has identified several alternative strategies for using the lot, five of which are summarized in Attachment 2 ~ 111 consultation with representatives of the Chamber of Commerce Downtown Parking Subcommittee, the ideas refl&cted in Alternatives 2 and 3b ~eem to be most practical and hel.pful to the liownto·,.,n parking problem. Accordinqly, Lot TT will be signed as free parking for up to three hours, and 'Will be available for use by anyonE!~ In addition, a limited number of free parkinq permits will be issued to business owners/employers yho are willing to see that the permits are given to their employees who eng;age in "sleeper" parkir,g ,thE! practice of regularly moving a vehicle tc avoid the consequences of exceeding the posted two and three hour time limits) ~ These permits .ill override the three hour limit and provide free all day parking for downtown employee5~ For each current "sleeper" who agrees to park in Lot TT, there 'Will be a direct and immediate benefit of cne additional parking space available else~here wi thin the d01l>ntown area for short-term (t~o and three hour) customer parking. A copy of the notice being USE!d to advise business ownersjemploye."'.s of this opportunity is included as Attachment 3~ Staff is proceeding with the implementation of the physical changes and distribution of the permits as expeditiously as possible, so that maximum benefit c~n be realiz~d during the holiday shopping pe~iod. It is anticipated that the lots will be open tor general use in early Dece.rober, and permits will be distributed soon thereafter. Respectfully submitted, MARVIN L. OVERWA"i Chief Transportation Official KENNETH R. SCHREIBER Director of Planning ~ and community Environment City Manager Attachments: (3) CC: Rena Henderson, Tribune Propert.ies S'.lsan Frank., Chamber of Commerce Tony Badqer, Downtown North Association CMR:604:93 -- 1219193 page 3 uu .. n: Times Tribune Lots (Lots TT) • ·...-. ATTACHMENT 1 UNIVERSITY AVENUE t ~ PARKING ASSESSMENT V;STRICT PARKING LOTS ••• __ .... ffi.@ ASSESSMENj OISTRICT IUUUJt . BOUNVARI ES 200 a b .... ; o IJUMSER Of PEKJ.lIT PARK/NG SPACES o TOTAL M.1MBER (iF f'A.RK.lNG SPACES L:!, iOT C PARKING SP.~CES RE8ER"EO FOR PALO ALTO SENWR eVITER • FEET zoo 4ca . -j 9121/93 ", > ATTACHMENT 2 IEmPloyees Who No~ I Customer Cost Police Park On-Street In Parking Enforce~ INeighborhOod Benefit ment 1-Free parking I for anyon€ I 50 to minimal minimal I minimal No time limit 100 spaces I Self park I T-------------- i 2. Free parking for anyone no low lo~ some 3 hI:. limit problem I I-------------L.---I Permit parking I 3a. I Shift existing I I signing I PErmit holders I no high I striping some .from other lot i problem I I changes ~ (P, CC, K) to j to PIce/ create more j )(2 I 2/3 hr spaces I I I I I I ------------I , 3b. Permit parking I I Free: permits I I issued to I distr-l-employers to I no I high some give employees! problem ""tioL -who are kno,*"1l I permits to be sleepers --------I -- 4. Attenaent Parking I minimal Free: 2-3 hrs, no lo~ attend- Charge for problem dentes); parking over revenue 2-3 hr limit I process-! ing . ~ ,ii' December I. 1993 .... -; --::--. ::;-...,.;:/,,-••.... , .. ;.".±, -,-t-..;":;; ~ '" -: ATTACHMENT 3 ADDITIONAL 3-HOUR PARKING AND FREE DOWIHOWN PARKING PERMITS Oear Downtowrl Business Owner/Emptoyer: In an effort to provide additional parking in the downiown area, arrangements nave been made for the City of Palo Alto to lease the now vacant porking lots at the Time-s Tribune buildi!1g (see map on reverse sIde). Tribune Properties has generously agreed to the temporary, short-term use for public parking, until the property is needed for construction or other use. TI1is addltionar parking will be particularly beneficial during the current holiday season, and will continue thereafter on 6 month to month basis. This temporary parking is available for two types of use; 1, Free PUBLIC (customerj parking for anyone, with a limit of three (3) hours from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Fridd"", 2. Free all day PERMtT pad,dng fo( downto'Nn employees. Our plan is to issue a limited number of free PERMITS, on a first come first served basis, to employers who are willing to see that the permits are given to their employees WM engage in "sleeper" parking [which is the practice of regularly moving a vehicle to avoid the consequences of exce~ding the posted 2. and 3 hour time. lirnits). For each current "sleeper" who agrees to park in the T~rnes Tribune lot (lot TIl. there will be a direct and immediate benefit -of one addit 1on21 parking space available elsewhere withi.., the downtown area for short-term {2 and 3 hour} customer parking. This is particular!y important and beneficial during the busy holiday season. If you are interested in he[ping to improve parking in the downtown area and are wimng to work with some of your employees who are currently "sleepers". pleaEe contact Ashok Aggarwal at 1415) 329-2575 for more fnformation. Thank you for your consideration of the matter and best wishes. !w. 41') a -<-; a-f Ashok Aggarwal TransplJrtation DiVision Cjty of Pa10 AltQ ., ~f~- Susan Frank Executrve Diiector Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce