REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Introduce an Ordinance to Create Chapter 19.47 (Off-Site Stadium Event Parking) of Title 19 of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code to Add Off-Site Parking Standards and Regulations Related to Levi's (49ers) Stadium (2014-7021) and Find the Project is exempt from CEQA pursuant to Guideline 15061(b)(3)
Report
BACKGROUND
In June 2010, City of Santa Clara voters approved a measure allowing the City of Santa Clara to lease land to the 49ers Stadium Authority to construct a new football stadium. Construction of Levi's Stadium began in April 2012; the completion date is set for summer 2014. The new stadium will contain 68,500 seats and can be expanded to approximately 72,000 seats to host major events (e.g. Wrestlemania, Super Bowl, and the FIFA World Cup). In addition, several thousand employees and players will be on-site for these events. The City of Santa Clara is negotiating contracts for approximately 21,000 parking spaces in the surrounding areas; however, not all the contracts have been completed and some of the sites they are in contract with are located further away from the stadium than properties located within Sunnyvale business park areas (Attachment 4).
In April 2013, the Sunnyvale City Council heard a presentation regarding the stadium project by the Stadium Authority. The Stadium Authority estimated that at least 73 percent of the patrons going to Levi's Stadium would travel to the stadium via automobile (roughly 50,300 people) and that there could be up to ten 49ers games and 17-20 non-NFL events per year. At this meeting, the City of Santa Clara's off-site parking ordinance (Attachment 6) was also discussed and the Council directed staff to work on an ordinance to regulate off-site parking for private parking lots within the City of Sunnyvale in conjunction with stadium events.
In August 2013, the City of Santa Clara released a draft Transportation Management and Operations Plan (TMOP) for Levi's Stadium. The City of Sunnyvale submitted a letter to the Stadium Authority on September 5, 2013 outlining its comments and concerns regarding the TMOP (Attachment 5). A meeting between Santa Clara and Sunnyvale staff was convened to address the comments in this letter.
Staff recommends that Council introduce an ordinance (Attachment 1) to create Chapter 19.47 (Off-Site Stadium Event Parking) of Title 19 of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code to add off-site parking standards and regulations related to the new Levi's (49ers) Stadium; and, direct staff to monitor the ordinance and parking and return to Council in one year to discuss the regulations and provide suggested modifications if necessary.
At the March 25, 2014 Planning Commission hearing, the Commission recommended that the City Council adopt the staff recommendation with a modification that allows a decision on revocation to be appealable to the Planning Commission for a final decision.
EXISTING POLICY
Sunnyvale General Plan, Chapter 3: Land Use and Transportation
Goal LT-6 Supportive Economic Development Environment - An economic development environment that is supportive of a wide variety of businesses and promotes a strong economy within existing environmental, social, fiscal and land use constraints.
Policy LT-6.1 Provide existing businesses with opportunities to grow and adopt new industries.
Policy LT-4.1 Protect the integrity of the City's neighborhoods; whether residential, industrial or commercial.
Policy LT-4.2 Require new development to be compatible with the neighborhood, adjacent land uses, and the transportation system.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Although the modifications to the ordinance are considered a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), staff has concluded that adopting the proposed ordinance is exempt , given that it is not known how many applications for permits will be filed and it is unknown which parking sites will be the subject of a parking application until an application is filed. (Guideline 15061(b)(3).) Projects that are subject to the requirements of the amended chapters will be environmentally evaluated on an individual basis when the permit application is filed.
DISCUSSION
As mentioned above, the adequacy of parking shown in the draft TMOP is not certain at this time. The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for Levi's Stadium described a requirement for 19,000 parking spaces to meet the demand of a typical 49ers football game. The EIR listed 40,000 spaces within a 20-minute walk of the station, and stated it is reasonable to assume half of those spaces would be available for stadium parking. The TMOP, however, shows a map of parking spaces available for events with far fewer parking spaces within a 20-minute walk. It is anticipated that even if the Stadium Authority finalizes all of its off-site parking contracts, there may still be a shortage of parking in close proximity to the stadium which could attract property owners in Sunnyvale to provide parking for stadium patrons.
Staff has been working with Santa Clara to ensure adequate parking will be provided near the stadium in Santa Clara. Another action to consider is whether the City of Sunnyvale should enable off-site parking, through a permit to properties in industrial areas near the stadium and along the VTA Light Rail line. This approach would help the City keep track of which parking lots would be in use during stadium events and help the Department of Public Safety monitor activity within the business parks.
Sunnyvale staff has identified three key issues to be addressed regarding off-site parking, with a goal of minimizing the impact on our community: safety, tailgating, and compatibility with existing on-site and nearby uses.
Safety is a high priority for the City and should play a major role in deciding which parking lots might be suitable for allowing event parking within Sunnyvale. For instance, parking lots that do not have a public path of travel (sidewalks) to the stadium or nearby public transportation system would not be ideal for off-site parking. One idea would be that parking lots that do not have this path of travel could hire a private shuttle to transport patrons from their property to an appropriate path of travel, public transportation stop or directly to the stadium. Another concept would be to require the installation of a sidewalk between the parking site and a public path of travel or public transportation site; however, this could become costly for the applicant and may not be possible in some locations.
Tailgating is common in conjunction with stadium sports events. Allowing tailgating on sites would require additional standards: separation from other uses, noise/music levels, sanitary facilities (restrooms and washing), ash collection barrels, additional trash/recycling, and possibly security. Due to these concerns, the draft ordinance includes a prohibition on tailgating on private parking lots within the City of Sunnyvale. This prohibition could be revisited in the future after the ordinance has been in effect for several years.
Compatibility with other Uses could be an issue if parking facilities were located adjacent to residential uses and tailgating was allowed. There could also be on-site compatibility concerns if there are tenants on the site that need the parking for the proposed time of the event parking. Off-site parking Miscellaneous Plan Permits (MPPs) should only be permitted if the activity would not conflict with other uses on the property or adjacent residential uses. The draft ordinance limits the hours of operation and requires a wall/landscape buffer on properties that share a property line with a residentially zoned parcel. The draft ordinance also allows staff to impose limits on operating hours where the use could conflict with other uses on the site.
Other Cities
Staff has researched ordinances on off-site parking related to stadium uses in a few cities (Foxburough, MA; Santa Clara, CA; and, Phoenix, AZ); however, not many cities with stadiums have this type of ordinance in place. The Santa Clara Off-Site Parking Chapter (Attachment 6) provided the basis for the draft ordinance (Attachment 1). Staff has prepared a draft ordinance that uses operational standards from other off-site parking regulations and added standards unique to Sunnyvale.
Proposed Regulations
A draft ordinance has been prepared (Attachment 1) that only addresses event parking for the stadium and establishes a Miscellaneous Plan Permit (MPP) for off-site stadium event parking that can be approved by the Director of Community Development without a public hearing. The permit could only be issued for properties located in the MS (Industrial and Service), MS-POA (Place of Assembly) or MP (Moffett Park) base zoning districts. The most likely areas for potential permits are properties located near a VTA station (Attachment 2) or within a 30-minute walk to the stadium (Attachment 3). The draft ordinance allows property owners to apply for a permit for up to a year (rather than for an indeterminate amount of time). The annual permit allows staff (Planning, Public Works, Public Safety) an opportunity to add conditions of approval to address issues that surface in the prior year. A permit could also be denied or revoked if the use has created problems or has violated the conditions of approval.
Future Updates to the Regulations
Since the stadium is a new use and no events have been held at the site, it is challenging to anticipate everything that could arise or need to be covered in an off-site parking ordinance. Should Council approve Alternative 2, staff would review the regulations after the first season of events at the stadium (or sooner if an urgency issue arises) to recommend modifications as needed. Additionally, once the ordinance is in place for a few years, the annual permit could potentially be changed to allow a longer period of approval based on the City's experience with compliance by property owners and operators.
On-street Parking and Protection of Neighborhoods
As a separate effort, the Departments of Public Works and Public Safety are working with residents, property owners and tenants about limiting on-street parking during stadium events. A separate report will be presented to the City Council on this effort later this fiscal year.
PLANNING COMMISSION REVIEW
On March 24, 2014 the Planning Commission voted 5-2 to support the draft ordinance with a recommended modification that the decision on revocation of off-site stadium event parking should be appealable to the Planning Commission for a final decision. Two commissioners voted against the recommendation; one because he felt that the City should not allow any stadium event parking within the City of Sunnyvale at this time and the other because he felt these regulations would result in parking businesses that are difficult to find due to lack of off-site signage.
In addition to the motion, the Planning Commissioners indicated that tailgating and vending on the lots should be something staff re-visits when looking at the ordinance after the first year or after the first football season. Staff agrees that the ordinance should be reviewed after the first year of operation. The combination of on-street parking controls and demand and use of off-site stadium parking lots should be reviewed to assure no negative effects on Sunnyvale neighborhoods and to determine if services on these parking lots can be expanded.
Staff's suggestion for a streamlined revocation process is based on the unique aspects of off-site stadium parking as compared to other temporary uses: 1) the use requires minimal property investment to start operations; 2) poorly run off-site parking sites can significantly impact adjacent and nearby businesses and residents; and 3) corrections to issues need to be made quickly (most of the regulations are clear as to what can or cannot be done, hours of operation, etc.). The General Procedures chapter of the Zoning Code designates that only the City Council can revoke a permit. Due to the public noticing requirements, agenda posting and time required to prepare staff reports, staff finds that the standard process (Council action) for consideration of permit revocation may not be timely enough to protect the general public.
Similar to other MPPs, initial approval of a permit for off-site stadium parking may be appealed to the Planning Commission, whose decision is final. The "Revocation or Modification" section of the draft ordinance allows for expedient enforcement of violations to achieve timely compliance by providing that the decision of the community development director is final. Staff anticipates that most situations can be resolved with modifications to a permit and that the revocation process will only be necessary when staff cannot resolve code or permit violations with the property owner or operator. Further, allowing the use to continue through a potentially lengthy revocation and appeal period could have negative effects on the community. Because this type of MPP would be renewed annually and an applicant could apply again if their permit was revoked, a quick revocation process would be beneficial for the community and surrounding property owners if one of these lots were to generate significant problems or complaints.
FISCAL IMPACT
As recommended, an off-site parking use would be processed as an MPP based on the Architectural Review, Landscaping, Parking and Lighting fee ($341.50).
If the City Council chooses to implement the staff recommended ordinance, it is not anticipated that the additional staff time would exceed the previously budgeted amount for permit review. Permit fees for the MPP applications would offset the costs of staff review of the application. Fines could be assessed for parking lot operations that do not comply with City codes or conditions of approval. Small revenues from Business Licenses may also be paid. The Department of Public Safety will monitor the event parking, but it is difficult to estimate the amount of staff hours required as it will depend on the number of permits issued and the level of enforcement required.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Senior Center, Community Center and Department of Public Safety; and by making the agenda and report available at the Sunnyvale Public Library, the Office of the City Clerk and on the City's website.
Property and Business Owner Outreach
Staff from Community Development, Public Works and Economic Development conducted an outreach session with property owners and business owners of properties within The Woods and Moffett Park business park areas on February 12, 2014. Seventeen people attended the meeting and provided the following feedback/comments on the topic:
· Almost all of the attendees are concerned with the effect the stadium will have on their properties;
· Some of the attendees are interested in renting out their parking spaces but know they do not have a public path of travel (sidewalks) to the stadium or a public transportation stop;
· The property owners and business owners discussed joining forces and possibly hiring private shuttles to transport people to the stadium from their properties;
· Some property owners stated that they would be closing off their parking lots on game days but felt this was a hindrance to their employees who may work on the weekend;
· A few of the property owners are open on the weekends and have concerns that people may park in their parking lots without their permission.
· A few of the property owners asked about the Department of Public Safety's role on event days and how they would be enforcing the permit and ensuring their properties remain safe; and
· Most of the property owners want to stay involved with the process and meet with staff prior to the 2015 season to discuss how the permit is working and possible modifications to the requirements based on this season.
Staff provided the staff report and draft Ordinance to the Planning Commission and all members of the public interest list prior to the March 24, 2014 Planning Commission meeting. No one from the public spoke during the public hearing portion and staff did not receive any correspondence on the item.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Introduce an ordinance (Attachment 1) to create Chapter 19.47 (Off-Site Stadium Event Parking) of Title 19 of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code to add off-site parking standards and regulations related to the new Levi's (49ers) Stadium.
2. Direct staff to monitor the ordinance and parking and return to Council in one year (or sooner if necessary) to discuss the regulations and provide suggested modifications as needed.
3. Introduce an ordinance with modifications to the staff recommendation.
4. Introduce the ordinance (Attachment 1) as described in Alternative 1 with a modification that allows a decision on revocation to be appealable to the Planning Commission for a final decision.
5. Do not create Chapter 19.47 and make no changes at this time.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Alternatives 1 and 2: 1) Introduce an ordinance (Attachment 1) to create Chapter 19.47 (Off-Site Stadium Event Parking) of Title 19 of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code to add off-site parking standards and regulations related to the new Levi's (49ers) Stadium; and, 2) Direct staff to monitor the ordinance and parking and return to Council in one year (or sooner if necessary) to discuss the regulations and provide suggested modifications as needed.
Staff finds that these regulations will help regulate the use of private parking lots used in conjunction with parking for the Levi's Stadium; will allow the Department of Public Safety to monitor activity occurring on private property during stadium events; and, will give property owners a way to reduce the anticipated parking issues for Levi's Stadium. Alternative 2 will also require the City to monitor the off-site parking and recommend necessary modifications to the ordinance to address unanticipated issues.
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION
Alternatives 4 and 2: Introduce an ordinance (Attachment 1) to create Chapter 19.47 (Off-Site Stadium Event Parking) of Title 19 of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code to add off-site parking standards and regulations related to the new Levi's (49ers) Stadium with a modification that allows a decision on revocation to be appealable to the Planning Commission for a final decision; and, direct staff to monitor the ordinance and parking and return to Council in one year (or sooner if necessary) to discuss the regulations and provide suggested modifications as needed.
Staff
Prepared by: Amber El-Hajj, Senior Planner
Reviewed by: Trudi Ryan, Planning Officer
Reviewed by: Hanson Hom, Director, Community Development
Approved by: Robert A. Walker, Interim City Manager
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
1. Sunnyvale Draft Ordinance
2. Map: VTA Light Rail Stations with Quarter Mile Radius
3. Map: 30 Minute Walking Distance from the Stadium with Zoning
4. Map: TMOP Parking Map
5. Sunnyvale Comments to Draft TMOP 9/2013
6. Santa Clara's Ordinance
7. Excerpt of Minutes from the March 24, 2014 Planning Commission Meeting