ORDINANCE NO. 2653

An ordinance deleting Section 5-5-1.N., Downtown Off-Street Parking Standards, and amending Section 5-5-1.I., Minimum Parking Requirements, and Chapter 12, Definitions and Limitations, of the Grand Junction Zoning and Development Code.

WHEREAS:

a.  The City operates several parking lots available to the public in the Downtown Area which serve as shared parking facilities. All portions of the Downtown Area are within comfortable walking distance (500') of at least one of these public lots.

b.  There is currently a significant excess of parking stalls in the Downtown Area; should a parking problem become foreseeable in the future, this ordinance amendment shall be reevaluated.

c.  The City desires to promote and foster the unique pedestrian environment of its Downtown which requires an alternative approach to parking standards. The City wishes to encourage shared use of parking lots in the Downtown Area and the City believes that this ordinance will provide such encouragement.

d.  There are a number of private parking lots in the Downtown Area that are used as shared parking facilities, with the consent of the property owners.

e.  The use of parking facilities available to the public is encouraged and single-use parking lots are generally discouraged.

f.  In a commercial area as intensely developed as the Downtown Area, fewer parking stalls are needed per business because of the tendancy for businesses to have peak parking needs at different times of the day and because customers tend to park in one place and use more than one place of business.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GRAND JUNCTION THAT:

1.  Section 5-5-1.N., Downtown Off-Street Parking Standards, is deleted.

2.  Chapter 12, Definitions and Limitations, is amended to include the following:

DOWNTOWN AREA

That area within the City which is within the Downtown Development Authority and which is bounded by: the north right-of-way line of Grand Avenue; the west right-of-way line of 1st Street' tje east right-of-way line of 8th Street; and the south right-of-way line of Pitkin Avenue.

BUILDING ENVELOPE

The square footage within the perimeter walls, roof, and the lowest usable floor of a building.

3.  Section 5-5-1.I is amended to include the following:

   USE                MINIMUM PARKING

                   REQUIREMENT

28.  ALL USES IN DOWNTOWN AREA

 (see Chapter 12, Definitions and Limitations)

 Reuse, Remodel of Existing Structure

 Within Existing Building Envelope . . . . .  No Requirement

 New Construction Replacing and Entirely

 within Building Envelope which Existed

 as of September 30, 1991 . . . . . . . . .  No Requirement

 Addition to Existing Structure Outside

 of Existing Building Envelope and

 Other New Construction . . . . . . . . . .  Per Land Use listed in 1 through 27 above for the added or new square footage only; must provide spaces within 500' (*).

* NOTE:  Any permanent, existing public or private parking which is available within 500' of the proposed construction may be counted towards the total parking requirement. Availability is to be determined by parking data and survey information collected by the petitioner at the time of application unless the needed parking data is available through periodic parking studies prepared by the Downtown Development Authority. The petitioner is required to demonstrate parking availability during the anticipated peak use hours of the proposed development.

Introduced for publication this 17th day of February, 1993.

PASSED and ADOPTED this 3rd day of March, 1993.

ATTEST:

__________________________________    ___________________________________

City Clerk            President of the City Council