12-13-1978 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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While the applicant has projected his parking needs to be 16 spaces, the City must give consideration to the possibility of a change in use or ownership of the building and what the ultimate number of spaces should be for the building rather than the proposed use. With regard to saving trees and preserving green space, we previously mentioned that this was a commendable idea, however, not at the expense of permitting buildings to be built without adequate parking facilities. It should be noted that inadequate space for parking can potentially lead to traffic congestion on adjacent streets and problems with overflow parking (an issue which Little Canada has experienced in the past). 2. Site design. In attempting to save trees and still provide adequate parking, the applicant has designed a site plan which attempts to work around existing trees (see attached plans). However, in doing so, several problems are evident. a The parallel parking along the proposed driveway is viewed as creating potential congestion problems in terms of cars stacking up while waiting for other cars to maneuver into a space. This congestion within the parking lot could also have an impact on traffic flow on Little Canada Road. In this regard the parking should not be allowed as close to the road as that which is shown. A minimum of 20 feet should be provided for stacking space. b. Lack of space to turn around at the east end of the lot results in cars backing a considerable distance in the event the parking lot is full. c. The irregular shape of the lot does not lend itself to ease of maintenance in terms of snowplowing. This issue primarily concerns the applicant, as any additional expense would affect him rather than the City. A sketch of an alternative parking plan is included with this report to indicate another means of providing the required parking spaces while saving a considerable number of trees and resolving some of the problems previously noted. The following is a summary of suggested changes: a. The building could be sited closer to the east side of the property. This allows ample room for perpendicular parking as shown and has the added advantage of increasing the angle of vision for cars approaching from the west, thus eliminating the need for the requested front yard variance. b. Parking is eliminated for a distance of 30 feet from the street, allowing room for cars to stack. In addition, the perpendicular parking spaces are more accessible than parallel.reducing congestion. 0004