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Home My WebLink About0154.095.- • ·'--.. -<~ -. (D City or Palo Alto City Manager's Report -------- 1'0: HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL FROM: CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: PLANNL'\'G DATE: Februlryl).1995 CMR:lS4:9S SL1UECT: TER.1WNATION OF THE TE:\fPORARY USE OF mE TIMES TRJBUNE PARKING LOT REQljESI . The purpose o(!his report is 10 infonn 1lle Council ofill. impending termination of the City". ~ Iempor8Iy use of th. Times Tribune parlring lots. This i,; an informational (epan, and no CounciIocfon is required. RECQMl\fENDA TIONS No CoonciIoction is required at !his time. POUCV IMPUCATIONS The Ie!Irp<lrar)' use of ",'lIilabk parldng in 1lle downtowa area, panicularl)l during Ille year-end boIidl<y season, has beea vel}' beneficial and sbouJd be pursued wbenever anel wherever possible. A pceW>us, sinn1ar arrangement was made wit!l ReX)' Raw in 1981. foe Il>e telllpoDly use 0( pOllcing 8t the site where the Ramooa Plaza project was subsequently COIIStrucIed. Another example. which mff is now pursuing. is !he possible shared use of Ib.e CalTrain parlring \0( on the west side of the CalTrain tracks, adjacent 10 Ille Holiday Inn sile. "The Iempor8Iy use of wcantlots is one pan of the multi-point Chamb<:r of C<>mmerceICitj of Palo Alto downtowlI parking program. EXECVTIVE SUMMARY In late 1993, TribUlle Properties Inc. (the agent for Tribune Newspapers West, Inc.} was pursuing !he possible sale andice development of the Times Tribune property. During the eDSlliDg period (until such time lhallhe proporty would be n..-eded roc construction or other use), Tn1>unc Properties agreed 10 allow the City free temporary use 0( its two parking lots (at 245 Lyttoo Avenue and 336 Emcrwn Slreet). An agleemen~ for Ibat purpose. between the City anel Tribune I'ropertie> was en.tered inlo 00 November n, 1993 (see Attachment t, CMR:604:93; 12!V93). Since 1haIIime, Tn"une Properties Inc. has allowed the City free temporary use of the Times Tn"une SlIlface parking lots (approximately 100 parking spaces), over a period offoorteen JJlOOlhs, spanning two year-end holiday seasons. The free temporary use of these parking lois hge.laf2 ) .. ~. , bas been I substantial benefit 10 the mercbants, employers. employees and cuslomers of the doWnIoWll ma. A ~h1!ive frOOl Tn"bune Praperties Inc. has now informed the Cily that the company is completing 1be sale of" 1be property 10 Mozart-Wilson Ventures. and the agreement, along with 1be City. me k:mponIIy usc ofdle TmIeS Tn"bune parking lots. must cease. Staff conUlC! with M<>zart-wllson Venlln. concluded with the undersUlnaillg that vacancy would facilitate the final sale and conslrUl.'OOa wcd on !be re-development of the sile, wruch will begin in the very near future. Consequently, there is M basis foc I further extension of use as I temporary parldng lot Therefore, the puNk uS<! ofL'te parking lots will end effective March I, 1995. During the period leading up 10 March J st, stliff will procee4 with .ppropriate steps 10 advise th. public regarding the planned closure, and arrange for removal of all signing om: fencing items thaI are the City'. respousibility. In addition. the Mayor has senl a leiter 10 Tnbune Propenies, Inc. expressing the City', smeeT. aJ>lRciation for the fre. \emponry use of its parking lots (Atta<;hmenl 2). Flsc."L IMPACT P-.blic informaIiooaI ikms, removal of signs, and other items fOf w~jclt the City is responsible, will be ~plished within existing budget resources of the r ransportabon Division and the Department of Publl6 Weds. No additiooa1 funds are needed for this item. ENVIRONMElliT AL ASSESSMENT No officiaI!ICIioo is necessary 10 lerminale lhis use; therefore, under CEQA. "" Eaviroomeutal AzsessmcnI is RqUired' for this mailer. ATTACHMENTS I. CMR:604:93. December 2, 1993 2. letter from Mayor !O Tn1>une Properties, Inc. Prepared By: Christcpber TIm.y, Transpo<1abon Engineer .DtPa:tI=>I Head Revkw: tMmI <£ .lk4 City Manager Approval: co: CIwnber of Commerce Tribune Propenie~ ~I.sas KENNETH R. SCHREIBER Oil ectoc of Planning and C mmunity E1lvironmenl BE .Y Page 2 oil • -"~. IiC>NOR1JILE Cl'l'lt COUNCIL Palo Alto, California AITACHMENT 1 fPfPOMRI USE Df fIMES tRIBWlE PARKING 1m tLOT Tn Members of the counc U: DPOlI'I' IW un!' Tribune properties 1s presently pursuing the possible sale andJor develop.ent of -the Times Tribune property. Du.rinq the int.erim period.· unt.il the property is needed for const:ruction or .other \o'$e, Tribune Properties has cffered to lease the parking lots to the city of Palo Alto. Attach~nt 1 illustrates the location of ~heir parkIng. lots in relation to the dow~town area and existing public park~D9 lots and garages. The purpose Qf this staff repor~ is to inform the Council that an agre.ement has been reached with Tribune Properties, 'WhIch will perait the temporary" sbo-rt-t.erm. use of the existinq Tilles Tribune parking lots by the City, to provide additional publIc ~rking in the 6oWntown .a't'ea .. This is an informational re~rt, no Council action is required~ In late 19S1 r prior t.o constructic-n of the Ramona Plaza project. an ~rrange~ent ~s ~aQe with ~oxy Rapp~ who offered to let the city ~emporarily (~onth-to-month) use the then existing surface parking lot behind the vacant bank building at :250 University. at a cost of $1~~~ An agreement was sign~a between the owners and the City. ~he city installed some signs, tri~ed some trees, cleaned up the tot... and operated and antO-reed t.he lot as a temporary l-hour parkIng lot:. Tha arrangement continued until the owners 'Were prepared t.o eSc sOPIething else 'With the slter ... "hich ,turned out to lJoe several :months. OVerall, it 'Was judged to be a very positive experie.nr....e. When it came tima to close the lot, there 'Were no serious objections, since it was ~ell known that the parking use Vas short term and temporary. A similar opportunity exists with the now vacant Times Tribune parking lot. ,'. <.-. -,-. LEMB nOVIUO!IIJ During the past s~ver~l ~eeks~ staff has pursued serious discussions vitb representatives of Tribune Properties, regarding specific terms and conditions or 011; possible short-tenl" t.emporary lease of the Times Tribune p.orking lot to provide additional public parking in the: downtown area ~ Th.ose discussions have culainated in a lea~e betveen Tribune Fropert[es and the City or Palo Altor with the-following qeneral characteristics: a. Tribune Properties agrees to let the City use the Times Tribune parking lots Cor an in! tial perIod of three ~onths. with ~tinued use, tbereaft~rz on a ~onth-to month basis; f~r a total rental fee of $l~OO, for the duration of the Qse~ b. Each party 'has the right to term.inate the lease at any time, without. eagse, on thirty days' advanced vritten notice .. c~ The City Yi~l provide the necessary signs, restripe the parkirig stalls.. repair-a few potholes and provide: enforcement and .,erlodie cleanup. Tbe City bas also agreed to bave a. chain link fence installed along the rear of the building .. whicb opens onto the main parking lot. d.. 80th parties. acknowledge t.hat the lease shall have no effect. on any develop!il.ent. approval process that the owners ~dy pursue.. now or in the future; and eo. The City agrees to reasonable insurance and liabilit.y pr-oYisions. IMl'LEKEHTA7IOlI Public Works staff viiI be installing the necessary signs. rest.riping tbe parking stalls and repairill9 the poth<>les. The chain link fence will be installed, maintained and removed by a private contractor under a rental agreement with the ~ity. sweeping yill be-provided at an' added cost under an eXis.ting con-tract. '!'he Police Depart.ment will use existinq staff to monitor and-prov.ide parking enfor-cement4 The cost of I:!aterials for si.qnl.n.g and stripinqJ as well as the ~ost to rent the chain link fence and provide periodic sweeping" is about $7,000; and that will come froa the ex~stlng Transportation oivision budget. Slaff believes this is a very vorthwhile opportunity. to temporarily provide nearly 10~ additional parking spaces for the downtown area", and would like to acJcnowledqe t.be $iqJ'li{i~nt cooperatiDn t.hat Tribune properties has demonstrated in Jlakinq this possihle. CHR:6C4:9) , . ., 12/9/9) Page 2 II .' PAkKIKG ~8TRA7IO» .trnlike the 2~O unlv ... oity site temporary parki1l9 lot, ... bleb .... 5 6., centrally lo<:ate4 tbat it yas illll!leUately fully utilize4, the Ti~es-Tribune lot is r~t centrally located~ is not particularly convenient for customer parking, and would: not likely fill up without efforts to make the public aware of the lot. Staff has identified several alternative strategies for using the lot, five Of lihich are lSummarized in Attachlrte.nt 2. In cOl'lsultatlon with representatIves of the Chamber of Comm~rce Downtown Parkinq SUbcomalttee, tb~ ideas reflected in Alternatives 2 aT~ 3b seem to be most practical and helpful to the Oownt<wn p.arki~ problem. Accordingly, Lot TT will be signed as free parkiD; f~r up to three hour-5 , and will be available for use by anyone. In addition r a limited number ef ~ree parking permits ~ill be issued to business ~er&/e5ployers Who are willing to see that the per. its are qiven to t..'teir employees 'Who engage in ·sleeper· parking: (the practice of r~larly moving a vehicle ~o avoid tbe cOPsequences of exceedi~ the posted two and three hour time li~it9). These permits will override the three hour limit and provide free all day parking tor downtown employees. Fo~ each ~rrent ·sleeper-vho agrees to park in Lot. '1"l' ... t.here vi 11 be a direct and irJnediate benefit of one ~Oditional parkinq space available elsewhere ~ithin the do~town 6.rea for &hort-tera {two and three hour} custo-mer parking. A cOpy of the notice being used to advise business owners/employers of this oppoctunity"is included as Attacbment 3. staft is proceeding 'With the implementation of the physical cba1lges and distribution of the permits as expeditiously as po$sible l so -that .axiwum benefit can be realized du~inq the holiday shopping perlod~ It is antiCipated that the lots will be open tor qe~eral use in early December, and permits viII be distributed soon t.hereafter. Respeetf'"~ly sub5itted~ MARVIW L. OVERWAY Chief Transportation Official ~ Ci ty Ma."1ager Attachments, (3) KENNETH R. SCHREIBER Director of Planning and Commun i ty Emri rorunent c:c.: Rena Hend~rSOi"lf Tribune Properties Susan Frar~, Chamber of Commerce Tony Badg'er, Downtown North Association C!!R,604:93 12/919) Page 3 l ! , • Times Tribune Lots (Lots 17) o o D. .. .c. r---.----~. ~.------~ UNIVERSITY AVENUE PAAK-!IIG ,(sSESSMEllT PIstRICT PARKING lOTS ••••••••• ~ ASSESSME~ ~lSTR.1Cr IIlIuni •. 8O(;~'lWilES ICD , 6 ... ; !lU,1llEl! C, PERMIT PAAK-I/IG SPACES TOTAL ~lJ!lW OF PARKHIG SPACES LOT C PAAK-l/IG SPACES RE5EJ1VEP FO~ PALO ALTa SENIOR CE.TH FEET too , 1:1'1GH 400 I I '121193 .. ~ ,--..,._. ~-"""'''·.IiI·.illiJ( .-.... _00" _ ~ployees Who Nov CUstomer Cost PoliOli! Park On-street In Parking !E.:'torce- Neig11borhood Senefit ment 1. Free parkinq for anyone 50 t.o JIIinimal minimal minimal No time lillit. leO spaces . self park 2. Fre .. parldnq for anyone no lov low some 3 hr. limit problem "3a. Permit parkir.q Shift ElCistinq siqn.inq perlli't holders no high striplnq some f'ron. other lot problem c.hanges (P, CC, IC) t.o to PJCCf create llQre x2 2/3 hr spaces lb. Perm It park inq Free peraits issued: to employers to 11<> h19h distri-some qive employees problem ootion who are known penuits to be sleepers 4. Attendent Parking Free: 2-3 MIS, no low attend-alnimal Charge tor problem dent{s) ; parki~ over revenue. 2-3 hr limit. process- inq ' . • December 1. 1993 ADDITIONAL 3-HOUR PARKING AND FREE DOIA-'NTOWN PARKING PERMITS DEar Downtown Bu.;"" •• Owner Jl:mployer: In an effort to provlde ed<frtional pa.1ting in the cSowntown area, an'angements have been made 10< the City of Palo Alto to .,as. the now vacant park~ Iots.t the Tlmes Tribune wilding (see map on rever ••• idel_ Tribune Properties ha. generO<Jsly agreed to the te""""ary. short-term use fo< pubflc parking. ""til the p:operty Is needed 10< construction Of ol".r use. This ad<fitional parking wlU be particularly benefICial dt.'I"i/'.9 the cu.-renl horiday season, and win continue thereafter on a month to month bas1s. This temporary partcing is available 10< two types of use: . 1_ Free PUBLIC (cust<>maf} parking for anyone, with a fimit of wee (3) hour, from 8:00 a.m_ t<> 6:00 p.r:>.., Monday tNough Friday. 2. Free aD day PERMIT parking for downtown employees. Our pia" Is to issue a 6mited number of free PERMJTS. on a fltst C6ITle filst served bai:'fS., to employers woo are WIlling 10 ~e· that the flermits are given to their employees who engal1" in "sleeper· parking [wftie" Is the practice of regularly mo~ a vehicle to avoid the consequences of exceeomg the posted 2 and 3 hou< time limits}. FGf each current ·sleeper· wt.o "9'00$1'.) pari< in the TIlT ... Trib<Jfle \0( {lot TT). t,'>e,e will be a direct and immediate benefit of O{\e addittonaf parkklg space availabTe elsewhere within the dcw,,~own area for short-term 12 and 3 hour) "".tonner parklrlg. This Is particularly important and benef.:ial ~ing the bus.,. hoflday season. If you are interested in helping t<> knprove partOng in the downtown area and are WIlling to work with some o.f)tour employees who are cl..H"ren!.ly ·sleepers". pfease contact Ashe. Aggarwal 8t (415) 329·2575 for more in.formation. Thank you for VOUf consideration of the matter and best wT.s1lE's. k... 4i'f'~"""'" o...f Ashok Aggarwal Transportation Division City of Palo Aito ~fwJ-- Susan. frank Executive Dire-etOf Palo Nto Chamber of Commerce , • Cityof Palo Alto C§iacflhevD.,p andCityOJunci A'ITACHMENT 1 Mr. Arthur R Martin, President Tribune~ .. Inc. 435 Ncrth Michigan Avenue, Suite 1210 Chicago, IL (;()611 Dear Mr. Martin: Sill« November 1993, Tribune Prcporties Inc. has .nowed Il:e City of Palo Aho the free kmponry l>Se of the Ti'lles T n1mne site parld.'l8 lois. This bas been an imp<xtmt addition of approximately I ()() porlang .p ... ...,s, 10 help meet the OIlgo;"g parking needs of the downtown area. particularly during the last two year-end holiday seasons. Penni.sion to use the .. lois at no cost has been a substantia! benefillO the merchants. employers, employee. and customers of !he downtown area. Understanding that )'Ou are now COOIpleting the sale of this property and ~ of!he site will ensue, the City's lempo.-a/)' use of ,,'Ie parking lots, as pl"e\oiously agree<!, will DOW end On behalf of the Palo Alto City Council. I. well 2S downtoWll merchants. employers, employees and customers. I would liJce to •• press our sinure aJllll"Ciatioo \0 Tn"blme Properties, Inc. for its IhonghtfuIness and generosity in making the parking arrangement pos>,1>le. I woold also like 10 ackoowledge and dtank Rena Hendet;oo, )'0Ilr primary staff rel'resenfati ve, Wr ber helpful, efficient a'll positive assistance and guidance throughout this endeavor. Again, thank you and best wishes for 11" •• future. Sincerely, ~~S'$=-_ cc: City Council Palo Aho Chamber of Commere< PD.blCi2SJ l'aIc~.CA';"(J13 .t:.s.,329.24,,""7 4l5. 328.~FolI( -: .' .' '-. ' . , ..... >~~->. •