Amending Chapter 21, Article 5, Entitled off-street parking and loading facilites, division 3.

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~ ~ ~ ~ STAFF REPORT October 10, 1997 Initiated by the Common Council 1794-97 Location: City of South Bend REQUESTED ACTION: This is a Common Council initiated Text Amendment exempting the East Bank Area from the parking requirements set forth in Section 21, Article 5, of the South Bend Municipal Code. PRELIMINARY STAFF RECOMMENDATION: The Staff has serious reservations about this proposed ordinance due to the potential for conflicts among property owners within the district because some property owners will provide the necessary parking for their establishments while other owners will not. This may result in the customers of those establishments which do not provide adequate parking using the parking lots of those businesses which do. We have already seen instances of this in the East Bank area. There is also a potential that some nearby residential areas may be seriously impacted because of shortages of parking within the district. The Central Business District is currently exempt from parking requirements, but sufficient parking is provided by parking garages and surface lots. At night, these facilities are open for use by the public patronizing the entertainment district. A similar arrangement is necessary for the East Bank area if parking is to be exempted for the individual uses. The Staff would not normally encourage the wholesale elimination of parking requirements in commercial areas since the present variance procedure is a reasonable method for granting relief where it is warranted; however, the current proposal is part of the City's overall plan for the East Bank and might help to achieve the objective of creating a unique pedestrian-oriented residential/commercial area. Therefore, the Staff recommends that this petition be sent to the Common Council