Title:
Title
Amendment to Pilot Program for Educational Institution Preferential Parking Permits
End
FileID
File ID: 2018-01417
Location
Location: St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School, District 4
Recommendation:
Recommendation
Pass a Resolution: 1) approving an Educational Institution Preferential Permit Parking pilot program at St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School; and 2) authorizing the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee to approve amendments to the pilot, including the addition of pilot locations during the 2018-2019 academic year.
Contact: Erika Galang, Program Specialist (916) 808-8572; Matt Eierman, Parking Services Manager (916) 808-5849; Department of Public Works
Body
Presenter: None
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Resolution
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: On August 9, 2018, Council approved Resolution No. 2018-0327 authorizing an Educational Institution Preferential Parking Permit pilot at William Land Elementary School and St. Francis Catholic High School for the 2018-2019 academic year. The purpose of the pilot is to evaluate the effect of establishing a preferential parking permit to accommodate staff at educational institutions located in areas where parking is limited or impacted.
California Vehicle Code section 22507(b) authorizes designation of preferential parking privileges to school personnel to park on specified streets if use of the permits will not adversely affect parking conditions for residents and merchants in the area.
Staff recommends Council approve an amendment to the pilot program for the 2018-2019 academic year to include St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School, located at 2500 K Street, as an additional location to the pilot program and to issue Educational Institution parking permits for specific streets bordering property owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, which delegates all management and operations of the property to the Pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Sacramento, a corporation sole.
Policy Considerations: This recommendation is consistent with the City’s strategic plan and the goal of the City Council to achieve sustainability and enhance livability.
Economic Impacts: Not applicable.
Environmental Considerations: This is an administrative activity that is not considered a project as defined by Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines. Therefore, no environmental review is required.
Sustainability: This action supports the City of Sacramento’s sustainability goals to improve and optimize the transportation infrastructure.
Commission/Committee Action: None.
Rationale for Recommendation: St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, which owns several parcels of property in the area where the school currently is located. The surrounding neighborhood was incorporated into a residential permit parking (RPP) area in 1988. The sale of a portion of the school’s off-street parking assets to Mercy Housing California 80, LP for construction of residential units decreased the number of off-street parking spaces available to the school. The remaining portion of the off-street parking lot was converted to the school’s play yard. During inclement weather days, this play yard is temporarily converted to parking spaces when students cannot be outside. Additionally, this same play yard serves as the student pick-up area at the end of the school day and accommodates various events at the church. Therefore, the multiple uses of this small area cannot accommodate the staff’s parking needs year-round.
The RPP in the surrounding area allows up to 2 hours of transient parking. Vehicles parked beyond two hours must display a K Area residential parking permit. Implementation of this pilot will require additional pilot signage on 25th Street, between K Street and L Street, and on 26th Street, between K Street and Jazz Alley. These street sections border property lines owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento.
There are 25 spaces on the east side of 25th Street between K Street and L Street. Of these spaces, 13 are between Kayak Alley to L Street and are posted as RPP from 8 a.m. - 10 p.m., Monday through Friday. The remaining 12 spaces are from Kayak Alley to K Street that are currently posted as 30-minute parking from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. This side of 25th Street prohibits parking on the first Thursday of every month for city services.
As a good faith effort to retain residential parking for the adjacent Mercy Housing California complex, the thirteen RPP spaces from Kayak Alley to L Street will remain as RPP, however only in the evenings from 4 p.m. - 10 p.m., as opposed to 8 a.m. - 10 p.m. These spaces are typically empty during the day and will be better utilized as Educational Institution parking from 7 a.m. - 4 p.m., then convert to two-hour residential permit parking in the evenings from 4 p.m. - 10 p.m., when residents return home.
Of the twelve parking spaces from Kayak Alley to K Street, two will remain as 30-minute parking while the remaining ten will convert to Educational Institution permit parking spaces. All of these spaces will be enforced Monday - Friday, from 7 a.m. - 4 p.m. These spaces will be open to all vehicles after 4 p.m. and will not convert to RPP in the evenings because they are not currently posted as RPP.
On 26th Street, approximately six spaces that border property owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento are posted as RPP spaces. These spaces will convert to Educational Institution permit parking spaces from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday - Friday. These six spaces will convert to RPP spaces in the evening from 4 p.m. - 10 p.m. during the week. The regulations in place for these six spaces on Saturdays and Sundays will not be modified.
The goal of the pilot is to support educational institutions, such as St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School, that have lost parking availability due to growth of the community surrounding it. By limiting Educational Institutional parking permits to specific spaces, school personnel will not need to park on residential streets nor in front of businesses, therefore assuring availability of parking for those other purposes. The current time limit restrictions on streets with RPP will still provide short-term parking for non-residents and the pilot spaces will serve dual uses to accommodate both the school and residents.
This new permit will provide a way to balance the parking supply between the needs of businesses, residents and visitors. The pilot program will assess whether the following goals are met:
• Convenient and increased parking supply for school personnel
• Increase safety for school personnel and residents by providing parking in closer proximity to school and homes
• Reduction of parking citations issued for parking over the time limit
• Reduction of long-term parking by commuter vehicles in RPP areas and around the school
• Established curbs for student drop-off and pick-up to promote traffic and student safety
• Maintain short-term parking for non-resident vehicles visiting the area
• More efficient utilization of on-street spaces during different times of the day
Financial Considerations: This additional pilot area will consist of approximately 31 on-street parking spaces. These parking spaces are not metered; therefore no loss of meter revenue will result from this pilot. In addition, informational signage will be installed to notify vehicles of the pilot area and new regulatory signage will replace any current regulatory signage in pilot areas. The cost of the pilot program signage is expected to be approximately $350. The installation of signage and removal of old signage will be performed by department staff. Pilot permit placards will cost an approximately $353 for placards proposed for use during the pilot program period ending in June 2019. Sufficient funds are available in the Department of Public Works, Parking Services Division’s Fiscal Year 2018/19 operating budget (General Fund, Fund 1001) to fund the cost of the pilot program.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
Background: St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School was opened in 1895 as a two-room school staffed by the Sisters of Mercy from St. Joseph’s Academy. In 1947, the program expanded up to grade 12. Several years later, the program for grades 9 through 12 was relocated to Elvas Avenue in Sacramento to form St. Francis Catholic High School while the present site at 25th Street and K Street continued as St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School.
This school offers educational programs from Kindergarten through the 8th grade level with an enrollment of 323 students. A total of 54 full and part-time staff are employed at this site. The school also offers language programs in Spanish and Italian, spiritual development curriculums and extracurricular academics, such as the California State University, Sacramento Academic Talent Search.
To implement the pilot program, the following changes are proposed:
The following sections of street bordering the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento property lines are proposed for the pilot:
• 25th Street, east side, between K Street and L Street
• 26th Street, west side, between K Street and Jazz Alley
St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School is situated in the “K Permit” RPP area. A portion of the parcel which formerly served as the school’s off-street parking lot was sold to another agency for construction of a housing complex. Therefore, the school no longer has any off-street parking option aside from 20 spaces secured through an agreement with the adjacent housing complex. All other staff must park on the street in RPP spaces around the neighborhood.
Parking Services staff hypothesize that restricting the curbs adjacent to these property lines to Educational Institution permit parking only will provide the balance needed to accommodate parking for residents, businesses, school personnel and their volunteers without adversely affecting residents and merchants in the area. If the pilot is approved, informational letters detailing the intent of the pilot program will be mailed to residential addresses located directly across from, and adjacent to, any pilot parking spaces.
If the pilot program achieves its goal, staff will return to Law and Legislation with a new ordinance for Educational Institution Preferential Parking Permits to continue to support these pilot school sites and other sites within the Sacramento area that request parking support.
Additionally, as pilot programs may require on-going adjustments and changes to develop proper policy, staff requests that the City Manager or City Manager’s designee be granted the authority to approve minor amendments to the pilot, including the addition of locations during the 2018-2019 academic year, to facilitate an efficient execution of pilot initiatives.