Purpose:

The purpose of this report is for the City Council to consider a Shared Parking Agreement with the Burbank Community Church (Exhibit A). 

Background:

On September 21, 2004 the City Council considered and approved the Magnolia Park Action Plan. The Plan is based on the findings of several focus group meetings and a neighborhood survey. One of the components to the Action Plan includes the implementation of the proposed shared-use parking arrangement with the Burbank Community Church. In exchange for providing certain improvements, Burbank Community Church would allow the public to use the parking lot, since the Church usually only needs the parking lot on Wednesday evenings and Sundays.

Working with Kabbara Engineering, a firm that has worked with the Public Works Department in the past, a number of parking designs were considered. Ultimately, the final design considered the number of parking spaces provided as well as circulation and landscape design. The Magnolia Park Community Advisory Committee, at its regularly scheduled meeting of June 17, 2004, reviewed and approved the conceptual design (Exhibit B). 

Analysis:

In a previous staff report, staff had estimated that the cost of the improvements to the parking lot would be $250,000; however, a current estimate indicates that the cost of the improvements would be approximately $247,500, which will be subject to a competitive bidding process through the City�s Purchasing Division. The improvements include: a two-inch resurfacing of the asphalt paving; striping; wheel stops; curbing and driveways; landscape improvements including a separate water meter; additional lighting including a separate electric meter; and a new six-foot wall between the parking lot and the adjacent single family homes. The six-foot wall would serve two purposes, first it would replace an existing distressed wall and second it would comply with the City�s code. The following summarizes the proposed budget based on the most recent budget estimate:

Improvement Costs

Since the Burbank Community Church only utilizes the parking lot on Wednesday evenings and on Sundays, there appears to be an opportunity to utilize the parking lot for neighborhood businesses at other times. The agreement would allow the City to utilize 40 spaces to be made available to the public, with the remaining 12 spaces dedicated to the Church, and to certain adjacent businesses that currently have offsite parking agreements with the Church. It is the City�s intent that the shared spaces be used primarily by employees and customers of the businesses in the district. The shared public spaces will be posted as available to the public on Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The shared spaces will be designated and marked by the City as �Two-Hour Parking Except by Permit� spaces. Thus, employees may park in this area provided they obtain the City�s monthly parking permit at a cost of $28 per month. Spaces designated to be used only for the Church will be marked as �Church Parking Only�.

The agreement shall be for a period of ten (10) years commencing on the completion date of the improvements. Per the terms of the agreement, the improvements paid by the City will be in the form of a loan to the Church. For each year that the parking remains available to the public, 1/10^th of the loan ($24,750 per year) will be forgiven. (The agreement allows the loan to be as high as $250,000 should there be unanticipated expenses). In addition, the City shall be responsible for paying approximately $400 per month towards cleaning and landscaping maintenance as well as pay for the water and electrical expenses for the lot.

Consistent with the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), this proposed project is Categorically Exempt by Section 15301 Existing Facilities.

Fiscal Impact:

There is no additional appropriation of funds needed to pay for the improvements to the Burbank Community Church Parking lot, since the funding was approved at the time the Action Plan was approved last September.

Conclusion:

The shared use parking agreement with the Burbank Community Church will provide much needed parking to the Magnolia Park District. The 40 spaces will provide the neighboring commercial businesses with additional parking for employees and customers and will assist in reducing the number of cars parking in the residential neighborhood. Also, the landscape improvements will help create a buffer between the residential and commercial areas. The approval of this agreement would facilitate the implementation of the Magnolia Park Action Plan.

Recommendation:

Staff recommends that the City Council approve the Shared Parking Agreement with the Burbank Community Church to allow the joint use of the parking lot.

Exhibits

Exhibit A          Shared Parking Agreement

Exhibit B          Parking Lot Improvement Plan

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