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Committee recommends removing six meters from private lot behind Sandusky Street; staff to draft legislation
Summary
City staff told the committee the city operates six meters on a privately owned lot behind Sandusky Street and recommended removing them because of mixed private/public ownership, modest revenue and administrative burden. The committee instructed staff to draft legislation to end the arrangement and return the spaces to the property owners.
City staff told the Parking and Safety Committee on April 29 that six parking meters currently operated on a private lot adjacent to City Lot No. 2 (behind Sandusky Street, near the Strand Theater) should likely be removed and the lot returned to private control unless property owners agree to a new written agreement.
Staff said the meters predate current downtown land uses and that the lot is owned by multiple private parties: four of the meters sit on the Strand Theater property, one is on Manos’s property and one straddles Manos’s and an owner identified as Scott Gordon’s property; another nearby parcel used for access is owned by Don Ranke and has no paid spaces. Staff said in the last 30 days electronic payments from those meters totaled $176.50 (finance staff have not yet reported coin collections), and finance offsets some expenses out of that revenue.
Given the mixed ownership, evolving land use (new second-floor residences), and the administrative work required to establish revenue-share agreements with all property owners, staff recommended removing the six meters under current conditions. Mr. Pemberton, representing the Strand, said the meters have served as a helpful buffer and a revenue source but attended the meeting as an observer; staff said Mr. Manos indicated by phone he would accept whatever outcome was chosen or would negotiate if requested.
Committee members agreed the complications of negotiating a four-party written agreement outweighed the benefit of administering six meters and asked staff to draft legislation to remove the meters and return the spaces to the private owners. The committee also discussed the broader downtown parking study underway by consultant Kimley-Horn and options such as relaying parking layouts or partnering with private owners who operate ParkMobile on private lots. The committee directed staff to coordinate with the city attorney to prepare the necessary legislation.
The committee’s recommendation will be translated into draft legislation for council consideration; no final council action occurred at the committee meeting.
