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Item No: 4 Meeting Date: March 3, 2003 Type of Business: Worksession City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: James Ericson, Interim City Administrator Item Title/Subject: Discussion Regarding the Planning Commission Recommendation to Post the East Side of Greenfield Avenue as No Parking 350 Feet to Corner. BACKGROUND: On September 13, 2000, the Planning Commission adopted Resolution 633-00 which approved a variance to Tony Mezzenga, a developer proposing to construct an office building at 2402 County Road I. The variance allowed a reduced parking ratio of one space per 200 square feet. (The standard ratio is three spaces plus one space per 175 square feet of leaseable space.) The developer had indicated that the resulting parking requirement of 15 stalls was more than adequate. Upon completion of the construction, Mr. Mezzenga sold the building to Mr. Steve Farrell and it became readily apparent soon afterward that vehicles destined for the Farrell building were overflowing across the street onto Greenfield Avenue. Mr. Farrell confirmed to City staff that the 15-stall parking lot was not adequate for his business, employees and clients. Because of the regular overflow parking on Greenfield and complaints from residents, the Planning Commission discussed the possibility of posting the east side of Greenfield Avenue south of County Road I as “No Parking”. (The west side of Greenfield is already posted “No Parking.”) While the Planning Commission often reviews No Parking requests, the ultimate authority lies with the City Council. The Council takes into consideration the Planning Commission’s recommendation along with the recommendation of Staff, the Police Department and affected property owners. DISCUSSION: Resolution 633-00 approved a reduced parking ratio of one space per 200 square feet of leaseable space. At just less than 3,000 square feet, the number of stalls required was 15, one of which had to be handicapped accessible. If the typical standards were applied to this building, the number of parking stalls required would have been 20, five more than what was approved by the variance. Because there is not enough room for a twenty-stall parking lot given the size of the lot and the building, the leaseable space in the building would have to have been reduced by almost a third. Staff checked with the Police Department who indicated that there were no typical standards for reviewing “No Parking” requests. Under the direction of then Acting Chief Brennan, members of the MVPD observed the intersection and the parking along Greenfield and have concluded there were no critical safety issues associated with the vehicles parked on Greenfield Avenue. At the December18, 2002 Planning Commission meeting, Officer Terry