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_ 10/12/2015 6.3.B. - Page 9 TJ1CM - Transporta�ion ConsuBtants • � !, BACKGROUND Many cities across the nation and around the world have offered in-lieu fee alternatives to ' providing onsite parking to alleviate requirements imposed on new developments.The intent is to i overcome site-specific constraints and to utilize in-lieu fee payments to fund alternate yet relevant ! programs and services that result in overall benefit to the public. The guidelines for an in-lieu fee ', program are typically adopted by the City Council for inclusion in the City codes. In almost all cases, � while the regulations are clearly spelled out and codified, participation from the developers is ' voluntary, at the discretion ofthe developer. ; In Redwood City, a developer may choose to pay the voluntary in-lieu fee per guidelines approved ; by the City Council in February 2006 and codified in Section 30.3 of the Redwood City Zoning Code. As outlined in the February 2006 staff report to the City Council,the purpose of this fee is to offer a ' voluntary option to the developers to pay a fee for each required parking space that is not provided ' on-site.The fees collected via this program are used to create additional public parking within the Downtown Parking Zone. ! This voluntary fee is being paid by developers who choose to pay the in-lieu fee instead of building parking spaces as required by the zoning codes.As part of the entitlement process,the City must also make a finding that an in-lieu fee should be applied to a specific project.These fees can only be used to create additional public parking spaces within the Downtown Parking Zone. Since this new parking is created within close proximity of the developments that paid the in-lieu fees,there is a reasonable assumption that employees, residents and visitors to these developments will utilize the ' newly created parking spaces.Thus,there is a clear linkage between the development that pays the ; fee and expected end users who benefit from the new public parking supply. An "in-lieu"fee is much different than the development "impact fee." It is voluntary in nature and �� is not being"imposed" on a developer by Redwood City. Any new development, irrespective of the land use, creates a certain number of trips, and therefore provision of some on-site parking is ' necessary.The City's Zoning Code determines the number of parking spaces that a developer must ', provide so that the new trips do not cause a negative impact on the existing parking supply, vibrancy of downtown or safety.Thus, a reasonable relationship between the need for public ; parking facility and the type of development is already established by imposing specific parking �� requirements through the zoning ordinance.The "in-lieu"fee is merely a mechanism, or an ' alternate,for the developer to support addition of public parking spaces by the City instead of � i taking on that responsibility. " The total cost of building a new parking facility includes the cost of land,environmental clearance, ' design, construction,financing, etc. As shown in Table 4,the cost of new parking supply ranges ! between $17,000 and $81,000 per space,with an average cost around$32,000. In 2014,the City � ' evaluated options to build a new garage at the site of the Main Street Lot and at the SamTrans JPB site.The estimated costs for those projects ranged between $31,000 and $52,000 per space. Redwood City's current in-lieu fee of$10,000 per space is well below the cost of building a new parking space. It is reasonable and significantly lower when compared to other local jurisdictions in the urban areas of the San Francisco Bay region.The following table shows in-lieu parking fees collected by several SF Bay Area cities. �� The proposed in-lieu fee of$25,000 per space would cover the minimum cost necessary to ! construct a space and is comparable to the fees collected by similar size cities within the Bay Area. Redwood City In-Lieu Parking Fee Study Page � 2 4 RESO.#15448 MUFF#703