Council considers easing rules for temporary parking lots

On the heels of the unveiling the new parking study, the Leavenworth City Council is considering to ease the regulations on temporary parking lots around town. The issue was discussed at the May 8 city council study session.
Development Manager Nathan Pate said as the parking study is being finalized, the city can address a piece of the puzzle, temporary parking lots. Right now, the regulations say if you have a parking lot that is not attached to a structure, you must apply for a conditional use permit.
“With that, there are specific standards which make the requirements for parking a little bit higher. For example, the landscaping, the surface materials, the stormwater control facilities. Look next door, the city went through the conditional use process to provide as much needed to keep the parking lot per code. We’re finding out people are balking and moving away from that,” Pate said.
Parking is a temporary holder of land, he said, which is not necessarily the highest and best use. There might be some revenue gain, but it’s not something you would hold onto for generations.
Mayor Cheri Kelley Farivar said the Bavarian Lodge is a good example. Before the Lodge was built, that space was a parking lot for eight to 10 years.
“This is the way we’re going to bring down the regulations. Still have control, but have a stopgap measure. We really want to make it so it is affordable and controlled. It’s a tough balance. I’ve prepared some draft language,” Pate said.
City Administrator Joel Walinski said there are lots of examples through town where people have opened up their dirt lots and have parking on them.
“We’re not trying to hit the high mark but raise that other level because one of things talked about in the parking study is to improve this temporary look so you have the right signage, so that it is organized,” Walinski said. “This lot here we used for parking. Maybe 25 cars are here, just based on the way they parked. The minute you organize it, you increase by 50 percent, if not 75 percent. That is one of the issues.”
The other issue is the temporary nature, meaning if the city or someone else decided to build a more permanent parking structure, these things would go away.
A special use permit, which is renewed annually Pate said, includes minimum standards like gravel, a controlled area and access. Plus, there must be a way for pedestrians to move around.
“Marking, because if you have random parking everywhere, you can’t have a lot of efficiency. That’s something we want to encourage and develop so it makes sense for someone to walk in, put this in place with limitations, but be relatively affordable for it’s function and purpose. There shouldn’t be a lot of cost associated,” Pate said.
Councilman Elmer Larsen said he couldn’t think of many places around town that would qualify. Although, the area by Kristall’s has grass, not gravel. It as agreed lawn would be a viable option to gravel since the main issue is to keep down the dust.
Pate said there are four areas around town that would qualify, by Kristall’s, the open area at the corner of Chumstick Highway and U.S. Highway 2 owned by Tom Linn, the Johnson property by the park and next to the Brender building on Commercial Street.
Councilwoman Margaret Neighbors asked if that would include the lots by Dan’s Food Market. Pate said they have other plans for the lots, including adding a Tesla charging station. Councilman Jason Lundgren asked if this would create parking bottlenecks.
“When we look at the numbers our parking study says we need, the four lots we’re talking about is a temporary solution. There is enough additional parking to really make a dent. I think it will be surprising,” Farivar said.
Lundgren wanted to know if there was something the city should do to incentivize this so people to make temporary parking lots. Farivar said these new regulations are meant to incentivize people. The big difference is people will be able to charge for parking, which they cannot now, under the regulations.
Walinski said they have spoken to two of the property owners.
“They have agreed to this particular language and made suggestions. This is what they would like to see. I think one of the bigger things for the city is having the signage. One of things that was talked about is that way-finding sign,” Walinski said. “Kind of standardize it. You look at Dan’s and he has a cardboard sign out there for parking. It would be nice to formalize that stuff, so when people saw it, they know there is parking.”
The new regulations would limit temporary parking lots to the commercial zone, but Farivar thought maybe this could be used in the residential area too.
“I don’t know where we have spots. It’s kind of a free for all during Christmas Lighting. At the Residential Advisory Committee meeting, Mike Bedard said he parked cars on his lot and his neighbor’s lot during Christmas Lighting,” Farivar said. “However, that is really not an option because those are home sights. They filled up their lawns. But if there are vacant lots close in, should we consider them? We’ve talked about pocket parks, now we’re talking about mini- parking lots. If you were a property owner, and you could get 10 or 20 cars on a site, this might be an option.”
Councilwoman Sharon Waters asked if the signage would be the city’s responsibility.  
“Let’s just say Tom Linn’s property becomes a parking lot and it will stay that way until he wants to build on it, maybe five to 10 years. It might be possible they become part of the city’s parking plan. If it is a temporary weekend thing, then no,” Farivar said.
There should be different standards for parking in the residential area, Councilwoman Mia Bretz suggested. She said she probably wouldn’t like living next to door a parking lot where people are coming and going all the time.
Neighbors said before promoting parking in the residential district, even temporary parking, the council needs to talk to the residents.
“If it is a Christmas Lighting weekend and somebody just pops something up. That’s not what this would cover. But if somebody wants to have a vacant lot and establish ongoing daily parking, that’s a business in the residential neighborhood,” Walinski said. “One of the things we do know with home businesses, one of the requirements is you don’t drive a lot of traffic to a home business.”
Farivar said maybe parking in the residential area is not a good option. She thought they should start in the commercial zone and see how it goes. Pate asked if the alleys would be a viable parking option.
“The thing about alleys is they do create a flow. You can come in the street side and go out the alley side. That is very functional. When we use the WSDOT for parade parking, we require them to come in on the highway and go out on the alley. Alley access alone is probably not a good idea,” Farivar said.
There are probably some alleys that would work fine but not others, Larsen said.
Ian Dunn can be reached at 548-5286 or editor@leavenworthecho.com.