TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Steve Powers, City Manager
FROM: Kristin Retherford, Urban Development Director
SUBJECT:
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Waiver of parking permit fees to be paid by YMCA for closing on-street parking spaces due to YMCA construction activities
Ward(s): 1
Councilor(s): Stapleton
Neighborhood(s): CANDO
Result Area(s): Good Governance, Strong and Diverse Economy
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ISSUE:
Shall the City Council authorize a waiver of permit fees to be paid by the YMCA to remove on-street parking spaces due to YMCA construction activities?
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Staff recommends disapproving the request to waive permit fees to be paid by the YMCA to remove on-street parking spaces due to YMCA construction activities.
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SUMMARY:
The YMCA has provided the City with a formal request (Attachment 1) to waive permit fees to close 19 public parking spaces on Court and Cottage Streets for the duration of construction of their new facility. The YMCA anticipates construction of their new facility will be complete by March 2022.
The parking fee schedule is approved by City Council action. Waiving of parking fees is a policy decision for City Council.
FACTS AND FINDINGS:
The YMCA project will necessitate the closure of 19 metered on-street parking spaces at a total cost to the Y of approximately $51,000. The YMCA is requesting a full waiver of this fee.
The YMCA is proposing temporary closures of 19 stalls on Court and Cottage Streets. The maximum amount of meter revenue loss would be approximately $96,000 through March of 2022, with a more likely loss of approximately $58,000 when calculated at a 40% leakage rate.
The waiver request does not include construction of the YMCA’s proposed veteran housing project, which will be undertaken later.
Staff is supportive of the YMCA project and the programs they offer and acknowledges the cost impacts of the pandemic. The staff recommendation is intended to be consistent and equitable with the prior request for a parking fee waiver made by Salem Health in 2020 and with other projects in the City that have not requested a parking fee waiver.
BACKGROUND:
The City does not have a history of waiving permit fees for construction projects, nor does it have a policy or program for reducing or discounting permit fees for closing parking spaces. This request is the second received in more than five years.
Kristin Retherford
Urban Development Director
Attachments:
1. Request from YMCA