City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: SEPTEMBER 4, 2019
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of a Petition to Expand the Boundaries of Residential Permit Parking District 4.
BODY
ISSUE: Consideration of a petition to expand the boundaries of Residential Permit Parking (RPP) District 4 to include the 400 block of S. Payne Street, the north side of the 1300 block of Wilkes Street, and the 400 block of S. West Street as shown in Attachment 1.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council approve this petition and amend the Residential Permit Parking District Map to include the properties on the 400 block of S. Payne Street, the north side of the 1300 block of Wilkes Street, and the 400 block of S. West Street in RPP District 4.
BACKGROUND: At its meeting on June 24, 2019, the Traffic and Parking Board reviewed and unanimously recommended approval of a request to expand the District 4 boundaries and post parking restrictions (resident exempt) of 3-hour, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM on the west side of the 400 block of S. Payne Street, the north side of the 1300 block of Wilkes Street, and the west side of the 400 block of S. West Street.
The 400 block of S. Payne Street, the 1300 block of Wilkes Street, and the 400 block of S. West Street townhouses were constructed in 2016. The blocks are located just north of the Alexandria National Cemetery to the south of Duke Street and west of S. Patrick Street. See Attachment 1 for more details. S. Payne Street currently has 3-hour residential permit parking on the east side of the block and 3-hour general parking restrictions on the west side of the block Monday through Friday from 8AM to 5PM. The general time limited restrictions on the west side of the block were put into place before the block developed in residential units. The 1300 block of Wilkes and the 400 block of S. West Street are currently unrestricted.
DISCUSSION: A petition was submitted by occupants of more than 50% of the residential properties abutting of each of the subject block faces requesting to expand the boundary of District 4 to include their properties (Attachment 2). Although there are no addresses on the 400 block of S. West Street, there are two properties with Wilkes Street addresses that abut the block, both of which had occupants sign the petition. These blocks fall just west of the boundary for RPP District 4, which currently ends at the 1200 block of Wilkes St. After verifying the validity of the petition, staff surveyed each block to determine if the parking conditions met the criteria established in the City Code to expand the boundary of the parking district (Section 5-8-75).
During a survey on Friday, May 31, 2019 staff observed that the number of parked vehicles on each of these blocks exceeded 75% of the available spaces. On Monday, June 3, 2019, staff observed that more than 25% of the parked vehicles on each block were non-residential.
As these spaces are currently unrestricted, non-resident use of these spaces is legal; however, it presents problems for residents who may need on-street parking near their homes. Since this request involves changes to the existing RPP boundary, the City Council must approve this portion of the request. Staff is supportive of the request to expand the district boundary and add residential permit parking restrictions to the block faces. Additionally, staff recommend including the east side of the 400 block of South Payne in the District 4 boundary up to the private perpendicular parking spaces. That side of the block is posted with District 4 RPP signs, and residents of that block face have been receiving District 4 permits for several years, but it is not currently reflected in the RPP district maps.
It should be noted; staff are currently recommending removing the 3-hour RPP option and allowing only 2-hour RPP restrictions as part of the RPP Refresh project. Because the request for 3-hour restrictions is consistent with the blocks adjacent to the proposed blocks, staff are proceeding with this request. However, the blocks would be converted to 2-hour RPP restrictions in the future if that recommendation is adopted. The applicants were informed of this possibility and were comfortable moving forward as staff has indicated.
FISCAL IMPACT: The fiscal impact of approving this petition is minor. Approximately 14 new signs will be required for these blocks. The cost to fabricate and install these signs should be offset by the additional parking permit revenue for these blocks. There would be 22 new households eligible to purchase District 4 parking permit stickers at the cost of $40 for the first vehicle, $50 for the second vehicle, and $150 for each additional vehicle. Additional enforcement will be required for the three subject blocks and will be enforced by parking enforcement staff consistent with enforcement on other residential permit restriction blocks.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Map of District 4 Expansion
Attachment 2: Petition from residents
Attachment 3: Presentation
STAFF:
Emily A. Baker, Deputy City Manager
Yon Lambert, Director, T&ES
Michael L, Brown, Chief of Police, APD
Hillary Orr, Deputy Director, Transportation, T&ES
Katye North, Division Chief, Mobility Services, T&ES
Megan Oleynik, Urban Planner III, Mobility Services, T&ES
Sgt. William Mayfield, Parking Enforcement, APD