Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parklets topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Staff proposes stricter standards, flat fee for permanent parklets after maintenance problems
Summary
Planning staff recommended an update to the city’s parklet ordinance to require private ownership, structural permanence and an updated flat fee schedule; staff cited prior parklets removed because maintenance and repair costs exceeded $10,000 each.
Mount Shasta planning staff on April 15 proposed amendments to the city’s parklet (Parkwood Dining) ordinance that would require private ownership, demonstrate structural permanence to the building official’s satisfaction, and use a flat-fee model rather than a public lease.
Jeff (planning staff) summarized the proposed changes, saying the draft approach is intended to prevent the maintenance and liability problems that led other communities to remove parklets. “They were…removed because maintenance was a problem,” he said, referring to examples the staff reviewed. Staff proposed an application fee and an annual charge to cover staff review and inspections; the packet figures include a $250 application fee and a total illustrative annual fee of $670 after accounting for periodic review and inspection time.
Staff said private ownership is preferable to long leases of public right-of-way because leasing can create long-term rights that make enforcement and removal difficult. Under the proposed model, parklets would remain the private property of restaurant or adjacent property owners, who would be subject to permit renewal and enforcement; staff said permits could be revoked or not renewed when maintenance lapses and the city could use its abatement authority to remove unsafe structures.
Staff also proposed objective construction and design criteria to improve durability and public safety: stronger decking, commercial-grade materials (masonry, heavy timber, steel frames), railing strength and “structurally integrated vertical elements.” Staff said the design review criteria would reference desirable local context so parklets fit the downtown character while avoiding temporary, low-durability construction in the public right-of-way.
Commissioners discussed lighting, maintenance frequency and enforcement. Commissioners asked that parklet rules address continuous maintenance (not only annual checks), that lighting comply with the city’s existing objective standards and that staff clarify enforcement when there is no planning director in office.
No ordinance was adopted at the meeting. Staff said it will return with formal ordinance language and that annual renewals and inspections will be used to enforce maintenance standards; existing parklets would be subject to the updated standards at their next renewal period.
