Commission pauses parking reform pending consultant study on cost‑per‑stall and fee‑nexus

Leavenworth Planning Commission discussed a comprehensive overhaul of parking requirements and a potential fee‑in‑lieu program but agreed to hold off on permanent changes until consultants return cost‑per‑stall estimates and a consolidated nexus study.

Staff explained the current parking table is outdated and inconsistent with the district use chart; commissioners recommended aligning the chart with IBC/occupancy classifications where appropriate and using consultant analysis for trip‑generation and cost estimates. Commissioners noted wide variances in existing ranges (for example, common eating/drinking standards range from 1 stall per 100 square feet to different industry averages) and questioned whether net or gross floor area should be used for parking calculations.

Commissioners said the city’s ultimate goal is to create a fee‑in‑lieu mechanism that produces equitable revenue without unduly incentivizing paving or penalizing small local businesses. One commissioner summarized: "Goal is fee in lieu, and we wanna make sure that we're charging the right amount, not overcharge or undercharging." Staff said they will gather baseline cost per stall data from the ongoing parking feasibility work and return with tighter recommendations.

Interim direction: the commission asked staff to prepare a prioritized list of uses for the consultant to analyze (grouping similar commercial uses rather than every granular use) and to bring back consultant recommendations on appropriate parking metrics, any proposed equivalencies for joint‑use, and a recommended fee schedule or nexus approach. The parking discussion will be tabled until staff has those data and the commission can reverse‑engineer ratios from the consultant’s cost estimates.