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Commission recommends City Council remove downtown in-lieu parking exemption and require permits for robotic parking
Summary
The Commission voted 3-0 to recommend City Council adopt a zone text amendment (ZTA No. 3-25) that would remove a downtown in-lieu parking exemption on Gardena Boulevard between Normandy and Vermont, and would require conditional use permits and operational standards for mechanical/robotic parking structures citywide, including noise-report requirements for structures within 50 feet of residences.
The Planning and Environmental Quality Commission voted unanimously to forward a proposed zone text amendment to the City Council that would change Title 18 of the Gardena Municipal Code in two principal ways: remove a downtown exception that allowed property owners on Gardena Boulevard (between Normandy Avenue and Vermont Avenue) to pay a one-time in-lieu parking fee instead of providing required off-street parking; and create a citywide regulatory framework requiring conditional use permits and operational standards for mechanical or robotic parking structures.
Assistant community development director Burns told the Commission the in-lieu fee is currently $750 per parking space and that the downtown exception allowed businesses to be permanently exempt from providing required off-street parking after paying that fee. Staff said removing the exception for the specified Gardena Boulevard segment is intended to reduce traffic congestion and circulation problems attributed to inadequate on-site parking. Burns clarified that prior in-lieu payments would remain valid so long as the use and building footprint do not change.
On mechanical and robotic parking, Burns said the draft ordinance would require a conditional use permit (i.e., not allowed by right), add development and operational standards, and require compliance with building and fire codes. For structures located within 50 feet of residential uses, applicants would need to submit a noise technical report identifying decibel levels and proposed mitigation (for example, sound walls or screening). Staff also discussed minimum stall dimensions and noted very large SUVs or trucks may require larger depth standards, which the Commission could recommend to the City Council.
Staff published the hearing notice in the Gardena Valley News for slightly longer than the 20-day period required by Government Code and reported no public comments prior to the meeting. After brief clarifications from commissioners about geographic applicability and non-retroactivity to existing approvals, the Commission moved and voted 3-0 to adopt Resolution PC-3-26 recommending City Council approve Zone Text Amendment No. 3-25.
