Staff: parking count and access history support approval for La Pine Community Kitchen expansion

City associate planner Nick Tierney told the commission staff reviewed parking, driveways and access history and recommended approval with conditions because the proposal moves the site toward code compliance.

Tierney summarized the parking analysis: the applicant conducted a vehicle count on Aug. 24 and proposed a minimum of 35 spaces; staff averaged those counts and found an average of 47 vehicles. The submitted site plan shows 61 spaces total, including 4 ADA, 7 electric-vehicle spaces and 26 snow-storage spaces. "So the total number of available minimum on-site spaces in the winter was 24," Tierney said. With Bonney Way providing on-street parking the staff calculated roughly 20 additional spaces, yielding about 44 spaces available in winter—close to the staff-calculated average.

On vehicle access, Tierney said the property historically had four access points but an older county approval showed only two recorded access points; the proposal reduces total access and both public works and the city’s contracted engineer reviewed and approved the proposed access configuration. Staff noted Finley Butte Road is an arterial with spacing standards (300 feet) and Bonney Way is a local street with a 10-foot spacing requirement between driveways but concluded the proposed accesses "are moving in the direction of code compliance."