PRESENTER: Presenter
Garry Ford, Transportation and Capital Improvements Director
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SUBJECT: Title
Discuss and consider the first reading of an ordinance to amend Section 126-354 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of New Braunfels to establish a new parking by permit area on a portion of South Academy Avenue and West Cross Street.
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation and Capital Improvements
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COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: 5
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Staff received a request from a property owner within the 300 block of West Cross Street to create a new parking by permit area. The applicant’s reasoning for the request is mainly due to increased parking in the area due to nearby businesses and downtown events. The subject area consists of single-family homes and the American Legion Hall. There are also several local businesses near the request area.
A signed petition has been received from the requester for a parking by permit area on the following streets:
• The east side of South Academy Avenue from the intersection with West Cross Street to the northern intersection with West Coll Street.
• The west side of South Academy Avenue from the intersection with West Cross Street to the southern intersection with West Coll Street.
• The south side of West Cross Street from the intersection with Magazine Avenue east to and including the property located at 357 West Cross Street.
The enforcement period requested for the new parking by permit area is 10 AM to 12 Midnight, year-round.
The request meets the requirements for a contiguous area of residential and/or commercial use. More than two-thirds of the affected residents have submitted a signed statement of the following for the requested area:
We the undersigned are residents and/or property owners of the proposed designated permit area described in this application. We understand that: (i) if this area is designated, certain restrictions will be placed upon on-street parking within the area; (ii) residents and/or residential property owners of the area will be entitled to obtain a limited number of parking permits exempting their vehicles from such parking restrictions, but if a resident and/or property owner owns a vehicle without having a permit displayed, that vehicle will be subject to the parking restrictions; (iii) parking permits will be issued for a term of one year and require replacement each year; (iv) the cost of issuing the annual parking permits will be paid by the residents and/or property owners.
Notices were sent in advance of the meeting to all properties within a 300-foot radius of the requested parking by permit area.
Staff presented the request to the Transportation and Traffic Advisory Board on January 9, 2025. At that time, staff recommended approval of the proposed parking by permit area because it meets the two code requirements. After much discussion between the board, city staff, the residents, and local business owners in attendance, the board recommended that 2-hour parking be implemented in the area where parking by permit is requested.
The discussions and recommendation of 2-hour parking, implemented only downtown, at the meeting prompted a further review of the request by multiple city departments. The Transportation and Capital Improvements Department Engineering Division performed the administrative role of evaluating the request against code requirements since parking by permit cases fall outside the typical traffic operations and safety responsibility. Planning and Development Services examined the issue in light of the adopted parking requirements specific to the downtown area, and the Economic and Community Development Department considered downtown parking needs and enforcement, including the recommendations from the Downtown Parking Study. The Downtown Parking Study recommends allowing public parking on the street and the parking by permit program meet certain space utilization thresholds before being approved.
Based on this broader staff evaluation, approval of the parking by permit area is not recommended. The location serves adjacent residences and businesses, and public rights-of-way are intended to provide public parking. Engineering staff determined that there are no traffic operations or safety issues that would warrant parking by permit. The concern about motorists blocking driveways is covered through an existing adopted traffic ordinance.
Staff recommends a comprehensive review of the parking by permit ordinance with consideration to the city’s overall parking policies, practices, and citizen expectations.
ISSUE:
Residents on a segment of South Academy Avenue and West Cross Street have signed a petition to create a new parking by permit area.
STRATEGIC PLAN REFERENCE:
☒Economic Mobility ☐Enhanced Connectivity ☐Community Identity
☐Organizational Excellence ☐Community Well-Being ☐N/A
FISCAL IMPACT:
Traffic control signs cost approximately $150 each. Sufficient funding is available in the FY 2025 Approved Streets and Drainage Budget.
Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION:
Transportation and Traffic Advisory Board
The Transportation and Traffic Advisory Board recommended 3-2 that 2-hour parking be established in the requested parking by permit area at their January 9, 2025, meeting.
Staff
Staff does not recommend creating a new parking by permit area. A comprehensive review of parking by permit code requirements compared to current city parking policies and practices is recommended.