Encinitas Municipal Code § 5.8 Parking

Parking strategies for the Cardiff-by-the-Sea Specific Plan area are intended to support parking availability for patrons of commercial uses and, simultaneously, seek to avoid forcing overflow parking into residential neighborhoods.

In 2005 the City of Encinitas requested San Diego County's regional planning agency, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) to conduct a study of existing and future parking demand in the Specific Plan area. That study concluded that sufficient parking was available at all times of the year and all times of the day and that existing parking was sufficient to meet the demands of anticipated future growth. The study went on to note that in some parts of the Specific Plan area, available parking may be underutilized. It did acknowledge, however, that when difficulty in finding parking spaces occurs, the difficulty is often in finding parking spaces that are close to the driver's destination. According to the study, when parking immediately adjacent to the destination is unavailable, in most cases there is ample parking one or two blocks away. The study also found that a higher percentage of parking is available on-street rather than off-street.

Requiring off-street parking is the usual method for providing adequate parking for land uses. Under this strategy, development is required to provide parking on each development site as per specified parking ratios.

Since parking is adequate to meet the needs of the Specific Plan area, standards for the Specific Plan area shall meet the citywide parking standards of Chapter 30.54 of Title 30 of the Encinitas Municipal Code except as otherwise provided in this Specific Plan.

To be considered in the application of citywide parking standards is a dilemma those standards sometimes create. Typically, standards are a formula requiring a set number of off-street parking spaces based on a specific land use. Sometimes, however, a use desired by a community cannot meet the parking requirement. Thus a restaurant wanting to reuse a retail space once occupied by a bicycle repair shop might not be able meet the considerably greater parking standard. This circumstance occurs particularly when the reuse is in an existing building or older shopping area, and the opportunity for new parking means redevelopment of the entire center. Not only might the restaurant use be desirable – especially in a neighborhood that wants to increase its pedestrian nature – but the additional parking mandates may force major redevelopment and hasten changes in an area's character. The parking strategies in Section 5.8.3 below are intended to introduce some flexibility in meeting parking requirements in a manner that would promote desirable re-use of existing buildings and maintaining existing character.

The 2005 SANDAG Parking Study recommended that the City periodically conduct parking surveys to monitor the supply and demand of parking in the business district. Such surveys will assist the City in evaluating the effectiveness of the parking strategies implemented by this Specific Plan, and making adjustments where necessary to ensure an adequate supply of parking. Such surveys should be budgeted in the City's multi-year Capital Improvement Program and conducted every 5-10 years.

The provisions set forth in this chapter are intended to provide for adequate and convenient vehicle parking. The parking requirements set forth herein shall be considered the minimum necessary for specific land uses allowed, within the zones created for this Specific Plan.

The intent of these provisions is to ensure:

It shall be the responsibility of land owners, developers, and/or operators to provide and maintain adequate parking, meeting the minimum requirements set forth herein.

A. Allowance for Re-use of Existing Commercial Structures

Promoting re-use of commercial buildings extends the economic life of structures and, in so doing, maintains the existing physical look of the Specific Plan area. Because this is a desired objective of the community, consideration is given in Section 5.8.4 to allowing changes in use even in those instances where additional off-street parking is required and cannot be met fully.

An example, as cited in 5.8.1 above, is when a retail space is converted to restaurant use. Under certain circumstances, the restaurant could be permitted even if it cannot meet the full parking requirement for new development. Instead, for instance, the applicant could be mandated to meet as much off-street parking as feasible given site conditions and development standards In no case would the required parking be reduced to less than the existing off-street parking.

B. Ensure Adequate Parking for New Development

As a policy intended to support the reuse of existing commercial structures, all new development must meet off-street parking requirements of this Specific Plan.

C. Encourage a 'Park-Once' Strategy

Improvements to the public streetscape, installation of signage and 'wayfinding' graphics, and allowing informal pedestrian pathways to evolve through commercial developments will encourage more pedestrian activity. By providing a better pedestrian-oriented environment, visitors and employees will be more likely to use less-conveniently located parking and do more walking around. This will result in a wider distribution of parking opportunities throughout the district and provide opportunities for pedestrians to explore businesses and amenities in the Specific Plan area.

D. NCTD ROW Parking

The City of Encinitas should evaluate the feasibility of providing public parking within the NCTD railroad ROW.

The railroad ROW adjacent to the Cardiff business district represents a potentially significant source of parking. Currently, there are three areas of ROW being used for informal public parking: an unpaved area across from the block between Mozart Avenue and Birmingham Drive, and two paved areas across from the blocks between Liverpool Drive and Chesterfield Drive. These parking areas have not been formally permitted by the North County Transit District (NCTD), the railroad ROW owner. Although not part of this Specific Plan, the City should consider approaching NCTD about possible use of a portion of its ROW for formal public parking. There may be an opportunity to plan for the additional public parking in conjunction with implementation of the Coastal Rail Trail project.

E. Potential Future Strategies

Other potential parking strategies were considered during the development of this specific plan. While not recommended for implementation at this time, additional parking management measures that may be considered in the future are presented below.

(1) Shared Parking:

Encourage shared-parking arrangements and/or 'non-exclusive' parking. Within the Cardiff-by-the-Sea business district, more than 100 spaces are reserved for specific businesses or users. This can result in inefficient utilization of available parking capacity, particularly when the spaces are reserved by businesses during periods of non-operation. In the future, if more parking lots or spaces are designated for exclusive use, and/or increased parking demand significantly exceeds increased supply, the City should consider incentives to promote shared and non-exclusive parking arrangements. Potential incentives may include:

When an applicant seeks to employ one or more of the future parking strategies identified in Section 5.8.3 and no other discretionary permit is otherwise required, a Minor Use Permit shall be processed.

(2) Parking Facility:

Construction of a public parking structure, though not justified based on current studies, could act as a catalyst to area development if collocated with commercial development.

Unless otherwise specified herein, the provisions, requirements and standards of Chapter 30.54 of Title 30 of the Encinitas Municipal Code shall apply to all properties in the Cardiff-by-the-Sea Specific Plan area. In case of conflict between the provisions set forth herein and the provisions of Chapter 30.54 of Title 30 of the Encinitas Municipal Code, the provisions set forth herein shall apply.

All required parking shall be off-street, on the same site as the land use it serves, unless otherwise provided by these regulations.

A public alley may be used as part of the required width of back-out and maneuvering aisle space for on-site parking which is immediately adjacent to said alley when the alley is at least 20 feet in width and the adjacent property has at least 4 feet for back-up area beyond the required parking space.. Parking in the alley itself shall be prohibited unless adequate clearance can be achieved to the satisfaction of the Traffic Engineer and Fire Department.

Off-street parking for a use may be provided on an immediately adjacent development site, by discretionary design review or use permit, provided that access from the use to said parking is unimpeded; said parking is not counted toward the required parking of any other land use; and said parking is reserved for the life of the use by a recorded, covenant to the satisfaction of the Planning and Building Director.

Joint use of parking shared between uses may be approved, as provided by Section 30.54.050 of Title 30 of the Encinitas Municipal Code.

A. Schedule of Required Parking

TABLE 5-2 – REQUIRED PARKING

NOTE: A calculated parking requirement resulting in a fractional space shall be rounded up to the nearest whole space.

B. Applicability for Residential Uses

Stand alone single and multi-family residential uses shall comply with the off-street parking requirements of Encinitas Municipal Code Chapter 30.54 for residential uses.

C. Applicability for Nonresidential Uses

The following parking provisions shall apply to non-residential uses. These provisions apply only to the extent that the available area on a development site is restricted, before any new construction, so as to preclude the full provision of the number of parking spaces required in this chapter. In all cases, to the maximum extent possible based on current parking standards and existing site conditions, the maximum number of parking spaces shall be provided, up to the number required by the schedule of required parking.

For additions to or increase of gross floor area of existing buildings, or new development proposed to replace existing buildings on the site, the number of required parking spaces is the fewer of either: the total number required for the development site for the combination of uses as per the ratios specified in this chapter; or the number of existing parking spaces on the development site before new development, plus additional spaces for the addition or increase in gross floor area as required by the ratios specified in this chapter.

For any change from one non-residential use to another non-residential use in an existing building, not related to an addition to or increase of gross building floor area, the number of required parking spaces is the fewer of either: the total number required for the development site for the combination of uses as per the ratios specified in this chapter; or the maximum number that the development site can yield under current parking standards and existing site conditions.