HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 1997 - 1998DRAFT - NOT APPROVED
MINUTES
PARKING COMMITTEE
Meeting of January 21, 1997
Members Present: Alderman Newman, Alderman Guthrie, Perman, Remen, Giddings
Members Absent: Reynolds
Staff Present: Jennings, Mangas
Guests: Alderman Feldman, City Manager Roger Crum, Terry Jenkins (Evmark), Ms.
Widmayer (420 Church St.) , Mr. Lustig (719 Emerson St.)
Alderman Newman called the meeting to order at 7:45 pm.
Minutes of the December Meetine
The minutes of the December 17 meeting were approved without corrections.
PEO Report for December 1996
Lt. Mangas gave a brief explanation of the December report. A short discussion by Committee
members took place, followed by the acceptance of the report.
Review of Pronosed City Budget for 1997-1998 Fiscal Year
Alderman Newman introduced City Manager Roger Crum who presented the major points of his
proposed budget for the 1997-1998 Fiscal Year. Mr. Crum indicated that his proposal for the
General Fund included a balanced budget with no tax increases and no layoffs. There were,
however, increases in some fines and fees. He reported that the proposals for the Water and Sewer
Funds also included balanced budgets, with 6% and 4.35% rate increases, respectively. He went on
to give some detail on the revenue sources for the $56 million General Fund Budget, stating that the
property tax portion of the revenue was the largest single source, but only contributed $12.6 of the
total. On the expense side, he reported that the largest departmental budget was the Police
Department with a total expenditure of $13.6 million.
Mr. Crum pointed out that the real estate tax bill has less than 19% of the total directed to the City
of Evanston, a percentage that has been steadily decreasing since 1985. The largest percentages are
directed to the two school districts (District 65 - 37.9% and District 202 - 26.3%).
Mr. Crum indicated that the proposed budget reflects an increase of about $2.5 million in the General
Fund, which is an increase of less than 5%. The items impacting the General Fund Increases include
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of January 17, 1997
page 2
wage increases, increases in the cost of health insurance, a necessary increase in the Fleet Services
fund to cover the operating and replacement costs of vehicles, and a general increase in the cost of
goods and services used by the City.
At this point, he asked that David Jennings describe the proposed increase in the parking fines and
rates.
Parking Fine and Parking Rate Discussion
David Jennings began by stating that the two items that were to be discussed next fit into different
parts of the City budget. The first item, parking fines, is a General Fund item. Parking rates,
however, are placed in the Parking Fund, an Enterprise Fund established to support the City's
Parking System.
David Jennings stated that the fine for parking at an expired meter is proposed to increase from $5.00
to $10.00. This fine was last increased in 1986 when it was raised from $3.00 to $5.00. This fine
ranges from $5.00 to $10.00 in the Chicago suburban area, while Chicago is at $15.00 in outlying
business areas and $25.00 in the loop. He reported that the next category is General Violations,
which includes such things as No Parking Zones and Parking in an Alley Where Posted. Violations
in this category carried both $5.00 and $10.00 fines until 1986 when all violations were set at the
$10.00 fine. The proposed fine for this category is $20.00. The next category described was the
Safety/More Serious Violation group. He reported that this includes safety violations, such as double
parking, blocking crosswalks, parking within 15 feet of fire hydrants, and similar offenses. Also in
this category are those violations which may not be safety -related, but which are very undesirable
(meter feeding and parking more than the time limit in two-hour zones, for example) or cause
problems with City services (parking in violation of street cleaning regulations). Before 1980, these
violations carried a $5.00 fine. In 1980, they were increased, but some were increased to $10.00,
while others were increased to $25.00. David Jennings reported that the proposed budget
standardizes these fines at $25.00.
He stated that no change is recommended for the fines related to the snow program, which range
from $25.00 to $75.00 and depend on which ordinance was violated.
Parking for the disabled must increase to at least $100.00 per offense per the State Code, but can be
as much as $200.00. The $100.00 fine is recommended.
David Jennings then gave the revenue estimate for the proposed fine revisions. In the first year, it
is estimated that the new fine structure will result in an increase of $500,000.00. He explained that
this is conservative estimate and should lead to greater revenues in the future. The estimate is being
left at this level to allow some experience with the new fines and will be refined in later years based
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of January 17, 1997
page 3
the amount collected in 1997-98. Also, he pointed out that it is unlikely that the City will be able
to implement the new fine amounts immediately, so a full year of revenue from the new fines will
not be possible.
At this time, the discussion changed to the proposed parking meter rates. David Jennings reported
that the short-term rates had not changed since 1988. He gave the following brief history of rates
for two-hour parking, prior to 1978, rates were $0.051hour; in 1978, they were increased to
$0. IO/hour; in 1980, meters in the core area of the Central Business District (CBD) were increased
to $0.20/hour; in 1986, all meters in the CBD were set at $0.25/hour, followed by an increase in
1988 to $0.25/hour for all meters. The proposed rate is $0.50/hour for all short-term meters.
The next part of the discussion related to parking space rentals. David Jennings reported that most
lots in the Main -Hinman -Sheridan area are proposed to be increased by $10.001month ($20 per
month lots would go to $30 per month, and $25 lots would go to $35). He noted that these rates and
the others to be discussed this evening do not include the parking tax of $4.00 per month. Lots in
the Main -Sherman -Elmwood area are proposed to increase from $20 to $25 monthly. CBD lots are
proposed to increase by $10 per month ($20 to $30 for Lot 20, the largest lot in the Research Park,
and $25 to $35 for the old Dominick's lot at the northeast corner of Church and Maple). Parking
garage rates are proposed to increase by $5.00 per month to $65 per month. The employee parking
permit program is proposed to increase from $10 to $15/month.
He reported that the revenue estimate for these changes is $1.5 million for the street and lot meters,
an increase of $550,000.00. Permits lots and garages are estimated to generate an additional
$ l 77,000.00.
At this time, the Committee and others in attendance began to discuss the proposals. Terry Jenkins
stated that the reaction from the merchants was largely negative. Alderman Feldman stated that
doubling rates and fines will always be a problem an a negative reaction could be expected. There
was a brief discussion of the proposed garage improvements and need to improve the signing in the
garage and in the downtown in general.
With regard to the proposed rate increase, the Committee noted that the parkers in the downtown
have a free parking option which is not available to parkers in the outlying business districts. That
option is the "first hour free" program which is found in both garages. This would justify raising the
meter rates only in the CBD.
At this point, there was discussion about having ther meters programmed so that they accepted
nickels and dimes, but only registered when a 25 cent total was reached. After exploring this option,
the consensus was that this was not a "customer -friendly" approach and should be dropped.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of January 17, 1997
page 4
Alderman Newman moved a three part motion:
1. That the Committee recommend all proposed changes discussed this evening except
for the rate increase for outlying meters
2. That the City commit to improvements in public relations, signage, and
communication with regard to parking
3. That the Sherman Avenue Improvements, including stairwell and elevator upgrades,
better lighting, and related items be included in the budget and proceed as soon as
practical.
The motion was seconded by Jonathan Pcrman and approved unanimously.
After the vote, there was discussion about signage in businesses which could tie into the program
to improve communication about parking. Also, there was discussion about having the Parking Fund
contribute funding to the signing effort. City Manager Crum addressed this briefly, but no amount
was discussed or committed to this project.
Other Matters
Patricia Widmayer asked about the status of the request to extend the hours of District B later into
the evening. David Jennings reported that this would be discussed at a future meeting.
Mr. Lustig commented that he was interested in doing the same thing for 700 Emerson and 1900
Orrington and Sherman. Alderman Newman stated that ward meetings would be needed to discuss
this possibility and David Jennings added that additional study of parking characteristics in these
areas would be needed to determine the impact of the proposed changes.
A letter from Alex Sproul was distributed to the Committee, outlining his concerns about several
parking -related matters. It was agreed that this would be discussed at the next meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:50 pm.
Re ectfully submitted,
David C. Jeri
City Traffic ineer
DRAFT - NOT APPROVED
Members Present: Alderman Newman, Perman, Giddings, Remen
Members Absent: Alderman Guthrie, Reynolds
Staff Present: Baucom, Jennings, Mangas
Guests: Alex Sproul
Alderman Newman called the meeting to order at 7:40 PM.
David Jennings reported that the minutes had not been prepared, but would be ready at the March
meeting.
The January PEO report was reviewed and accepted by the Committee. Lt. Mangas report that
a total of 162 cars were booted in January and that, at the current rate, about 100 would be booted
in February.
Note: A copy of Mr. Sproul's letter is attached.to these minutes.
Mr. Sproul began by stating that he sees a major problem in the Main Street area (east of Chicago
Avenue) as being underutilization of permit spaces at night. He believes we should return to a
policy of overselling the residential lots and that the permits should be valid in more than one lot,
similar to the daytime employee permit program now in operation in the area. He reported that
meter feeding is still a problem in the area and wanted to know the frequency of "overtime at
meter" enforcement. (Lt. Mangas had Ieft the meeting after the PEO report, so that information
would have to be provided at a later date.) He went on to report that there may be a daytime
problem if the proposed development on the Evanston Bank property happens. He also stated that
it is important to have the same parking meter rates in all areas of the City, but expressed concern
that this may not be the best time for a rate increase.
In response to Mr. Sproul's concerns, Jean Baucom gave a brief history of parking regulations
in this area and explained that over -renting of spaces has been tried in this area. However, after
a snowstorm several years ago, there were numerous complaints from permit -holders that there
was not enough space in the lot and that the permits they had purchased were useless. In addition
to the over -renting, it was noted that snow must be piled in the lots until it can be removed which
further reduces the number of spaces available. The result was that the staff was directed not to
Parking Committee Minutes - February 18, 1997
page 2
sell more permits than spaces, a policy which remains in effect today in all lots except the
Research Park.
In a discussion of daytime use of space in the permit lots, David Jennings reported that none of
the employee permits good in lots both east and west of Chicago Avenue have been sold out since
the total number available for sale was increased at Mr. Sproul's request. In response to a
question, David Jennings reported that spaces are currently (and have been) available for use by
teachers and staff at Lincoln School,
The Committee thanked Mr. Sproul for coming and discussing these important issues. The matter
of over -renting permits and making permits valid in two lots would be considered in the future.
I11 / u' +1+11 1- ' /+l1'1 +1111
' 1 1
Alderman Newman pointed out that only one proposal had been received (from Broadacre
Development) and that it did not help the parking situation much at all. A discussion of the
proposal among various Committee members found that they were generally in agreement that the
proposal was unacceptable and the consensus was to recommend to City Council that it not be
pursued any further.
Jean Baucom presented a draft RFP for review by the Committee. The Committee agreed with
the basic content of the RFP, but wanted to make it clear that the City desired a creative solution
so that the garage would be given a new look, a new face. They wanted to make it special, using
such ideas as a "themed garage", examples of which are found in Chicago. Jonathan Perman
reminded the Committee that for many visitors the garage will be their first contact with the City
as they enter to park and the last contact for the evening as return to their cars to exit the building.
Given that, it should leave a lasting positive impression. The Committee also wanted to have the
selected consultant examine exterior lighting and signing for the best approach, not limiting
themselves to the current sign ordinance. Jean Baucom agreed to modify the RFP to reflect the
Committee's desires and proceed with the process of advertising. It was noted that this RFP
should be approved by full Council since the project is so important to the City.
David Jennings reported that staff was recommending several changes to the E-ticket program.
"E-tickets" are the violation notices given for failure to register vehicles properly and to display
the registration (the City Sticker) once the wheel tax has been paid. The recommendations include
making the tickets count as parking tickets (so that they will count toward boot -eligibility),
Parking Committee Minutes - February 18, 1997
page 3
eliminating the mandatory court appearance, and increasing the penalty for not complying with
the wheel tax ordinance. The Committee agreed with the concept and had no objection to
finishing the ordinance and cover memo for future review by City Council.
David Jennings presented a request for a loading zone from the property manager for the building
occupied by Nabih's Computers in the 500 block of Davis. The Committee reviewed the request
and recommended that it not be granted. Instead, they recommended that the area in question be
controlled by two hour parking meters. They thought the alley could be used for loading without
taking up metered spaces which could be used by several businesses along the block. The
placement of meters does not require any changes to the existing ordinance.
Alderman Newman asked that this be done at the request of residents living in this block who are
currently impacted by all -day parkers. It was suggested that since both property owners affected
by the proposal had signed off on it, that the public hearing was unnecessary. The Committee
agreed. Staff will prepare an ordinance for consideration by City Council.
It was agreed that this would be discussed at the March meeting.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:50 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Wngineer
David C. JeCity Traffic
DRAFT - NOT APPROVED
Members Present: Alderman Newman, Alderman Wynne, Alderman Bernstein,
Giddings, Remen, Perman
Members Absent: Reynolds
Staff Present: Jennings, Baucom, Mangas
Guests: Sam Lederman, Paul Masek, Jose Venzor
Alderman Newman called the meeting to order at 7:10 P.M.
David Jennings distributed copies of the draft minutes from February 18th meeting and advised
minutes from the March meeting would be provided prior to the next meeting.
The Committee agreed to schedule its meetings to precede meetings of the Economic
Development Committee. The new time for the Parking Committee meetings will be 6:00 P.M.
until 7:30 F.M. on the fourth Wednesday of each month. The next regularly scheduled meeting
will be Wednesday, June 25th at 6:00 P.M. David Jennings will notify the City Clerk of the
change in schedule and will contact Facilities Management to arrange for a meeting room.
Alderman Newman indicated that the Aldermanic Library could be used if no other room was
available. Concern was expressed that the Economic Development Committee may not meet in
August and December, and that the November meeting is the evening before Thanksgiving.
David Jennings will check on the schedule for EDC meetings. A decision regarding holding,
rescheduling, or canceling the August, November, and December meetings will be made after
the EDC schedule is determined.
David Jennings distributed a report for April which had not been available when the packets were
delivered. Only the March report had been included in the packet.
Alderman Newman led discussion on the purpose of this report and queried why the committee
needs/wants this report. David Jennings explained that years ago the Committee had requested
information about the number of tickets issued monthly as well as information about the ratio of
tickets issued per man-hour. Mr. Jennings explained each of the five categories, noting the
difference between Meter Overtime and Residential Overtime, and provided the fines for various
categories. Alderman Newman noted that the revenues generated from the ticket fines do nQI go
to the Parking Fund.
Alderman Newman expressed his preference to see this type of report on a quarterly basis and his
desire to be provided information about the usage of the parking facilities by area. Specifically,
he would like to have information about the usage of the two garages, the number of people on
waiting lists for lots, and the number of vehicles booted, and revenues from ticket collections
(number of tickets collected along with revenues), if such information could be easily obtained.
Jean Baucom will put together a 12-month history of usages of the two garages for the next
meeting, and thereafter this information will be provided on a quarterly basis. Staff will
investigate the availability of information regarding ticket collections and booting.
Discussion Rgeardine Two Reouests for Use/Purchase of City Lot 27 - 1600 Block of Oak Ave.
Mr. Sam Lederman, representing the trustee ownership of the property commonly referred to as
the "Oak Street Market," said they had tried several years ago to purchase Lot 27 and had been
advised by the City that the lot was not for sale. Spaces were leased by the Oak Street Market;
at the time he learned the Whole Foods/Oak St. Market would be leaving, he had asked to
continue the lease and had been told there would be no problem in the future negotiating a Iease
for these spaces. Mr. Lederman said they need to be able to lease spaces to provide parking for
future tenants and they would still be interested in purchasing the entire lot.
Alderman Newman asked about the status of the current lease. Jean Baucom advised there is no
lease. The lease of the 12 spaces off the alley had been between the City and the owners of the
Oak Street Market grocery operations. This lease was terminated at the time the Oak Street
Market moved on Ridge as Whole Foods. Mr. Lederman said lie had paid (lie parking space
lease bills during the last few months the Oak Street Market was still in his building. Ms.
Baucom acknowledged this payment relationship had been the arrangement between the
trusteeship and the Oak Street Market; however, the name of the lessee had never been changed
and the lease terminated last year.
Alderman Newman introduced Jose Venzor and asked him to present his request to purchase the
lot. Mr. Venzor distributed a footprint of the first floor of a mixed -use project combining
condominiums and public parking. Although this footprint did not include development of City
Lot 27, Mr. Venzor said lie is interested in acquiring this property to combine with the proposed
development to provide access onto Oak Avenue. He expressed his understanding of the need
for additional public parking in the area, and believes the public parking aspect of the project will
be able to serve many needs of this area of the CBD. When asked the status of this project, and
whether he was looking for City participation in the project, Mr. Venzor said lie is working with
Cyrus Realty to develop the property and they are in the process of obtaining financing. He said
they are not looking for any tax incentives or City involvement, but would be open to the City's
participation if it had an interest in the public parking. Mr. Venzor indicated he has a meeting set
up to discuss zoning aspects with the City and that the project will go forward with whatever
modifications are necessary with regard to height restrictions.
Lt. Mangas and Jonathan Perman arrived near the end of Mr. Venzor's presentation at 7:45 p.m.
Mr. Paul Masek was invited to address the Committee regarding his needs. Mr. Masek advised
he is in negotiations with Mr. Lederman regarding the property which was formerly the Oak
Street Market. Mr. Masek intends to open an English brew pub and is seriously considering this
location; however, his inspections of the parking on several evenings around 10 PM indicate that
there is an inadequate supply of on -street parking available to serve his customers. Mr. Masek. is
interested in removing the parking spaces in front of the building so that there is a clear view of
the business from the street. He understands that he would need to provide 7-8 spaces elsewhere
to meet the zoning requirement for parking, and he would prefer to lease the entire Lot 27
parking lot. Mr. Masek said a pub in this Iocation would seat about 125 people, which is
equivalent to a restaurant with a seating capacity of 250. Jonathan Pcrman asked Mr. Masek
what number of parkins spaces he believed he would need to serve his facility and if his business
could tolerate parking on Davis and other streets if he were able to lease the 36-space lot. Mr.
Masek indicated he would need in the range of70 guest spaces plus 8-10 for employees. He
said he anticipates many employees will be graduate students at Northwestern and won't be
driving to work, but reiterated his concern of the lack of on -street parking.
Discussion continued about possible lease of spaces in Mr. Venzor's project for Mr. Masek's
pub or for any other tenant in the old market building. Mr. Lederman expressed his concern that
the City be able to guarantee lease of spaces in the lot while Mr. Venzor's project is under
construction. Alderman Newman asked Messrs. Lederman, Masek, and Venzor to work together
to negotiate a parking arrangement in Mr. Venzor's project and to return to the Committee on
June 25th to let it know what arrangements had been worked out. Alderman Newman indicated
the next step for the City would be to obtain an appraisal of this property.
Messrs. Lederman, Masek, and Venzor left, the meeting at this point.
Parkine Policv Work,-d=
Alderman Newman asked Jonathan Perman to introduce this item. Mr. Perman prefaced that in a
recent meeting including Alderman Newman, Judith Aiello, David Jennings, Terry Jenkins, and
himself, they had discussed future direction to address parking issues and problems which were
to have been addressed in the parking study. Mr. Perman expressed his believe that the City's
current methods of making decision are reactive, offering short-term solutions rather than having
a consistent policy. lie further commented that the currently policy is unpredictable and has a
negative impact for future business development because of the uncertainty of how things will be
decided and changed. Mr. Perman indicated that the purpose of a workshop would be to gather
individuals from various areas of the City to identify and discuss parking issues that need to be
addressed and to formulate ideas and suggestions which could be utilized in developing
consistent policies and guidelines.
Alderman Newman explained his perception is to educate members of the Council and bring
members of business areas together to look at issues. He said the Parking Committee should
identify basic issues prior to a workshop and use the discussion as the basis to develop policies
which would be presented to the Council by the Parking Committee. Paul Giddings asked for
clarification on the scope of the workshop and asked if the 19 areas and issues previously
identified by the Parking Committee would be revisited, because there were particular issues in
each area that need to be addressed because one solution will not necessarily work in all areas.
Alderman Bernstein joined the meeting at this point, 9:00 P.M.
Alderman Newman expressed his believe that there are several major areas that must be
discussed. Among them are signage - to make City public parking facilities more visible,
particularly at night; the Parking Fund: What rates should be charged?, Should the Parking Fund
be an enterprise fund where all the revenues stay in the fund?, Is the Parking Fund supposed to
maintain to expand public parking?, Should the City be removing properties from the tax rolls to
use for public parking? Alderman Newman listed 6 areas which lie considers as the categories
which should be discussed:
I . Capacity (number of spaces, need for spaces)
2. Rates
3. Allocation (residential or zone policy)
4. Marketing & signage
5. Management - Public or Private?
6. Enforcement
When asked who would be participating, Alderman Newman said he envisioned members of the
City Council, members for businesses, and residential groups. Alderman Wynne suggested that
it is important for the Parking Committee to educate itself on the types of parking programs and
alIocation/locations of the various zones; parking resources - lots, garages, meters; parking rates;
and parking issues before holding a Parking PoIiey Workshop. The members of the committee
concerned with Alderman Wynne, and asked David Jennings and Jean Baucom to develop
materials for the next meeting which present definitions of the residential parking programs,
location of the various residential zones, parking rates in other communities, locations of parking
meters, usage data by area, and any other materials which will provide a good overview of the
City's parking needs. Alderman Newman also requested information on the number of Parking
Enforcement Officers and how they are assigned.
The Parking Committee decided the format for the next meeting would be to spend the first 30
minutes on business items and the remaining hour to discuss the materials provided by Mr.
Jennings and Ms. Baucom. Materials which are small enough will be prepared ahead of time and
distributed with the packet so that members can review this information prior to the meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 9.35 P.M.
Draft - Not Approved
The Parking Committee
A Committee of the City Council of Evanston, Illinois
Members Present: Alderman Newman, Alderman Bernstein, Alderman Wynne,
Perman, Remen
Members Absent: Giddings, Reynolds
Staff Present: Jennings, Baucom, Mangas, Nielsen
Visitors: Alderman Kent, Sam Lederman
Alderman Newman called the meeting to order at 6:18 P.M.
City Lot 27 - 1600 Block of Oak Avenue:
Sam Lederman expressed his continuing interest in purchasing the lot. David Jennings noted that
Jose Venzor had called, but would not be at this meeting. Mr. Jennings reported that the
appraisal for this lot had not been received as had been promised by the Appraiser. Chuck
Remen commented he believes that should the lot be sold one of the conditions should be that the
new owner must provide the same number of public spaces are currently on the parcel. Mr.
Lederman added he has had several prospective tenants, but could not meet their parking needs.
The Committee decided to hold this matter over until September. Jean Baucom will notify Mr.
Lederman if the appraisal is received and the matter of possible sale of the land is to be discussed
at the September meeting.
Proposed Parking District - Ashland Avenue area. north of Sinl=
Alderman Kent discussed parking problems being experienced by residents due to the three
churches in the area. Alderman Kent pointed out that this area is predominantly commercial, but
there are several residences scattered on the two blocks of Ashland between Simpson and Noyes.
The problems occur primarily at night, as some churches now hold meetings seven days per
week. Spillover parking can also be seen on Simpson and Ashland as well as other
neighborhood streets. Some of the residents would like to have the area in front of their homes
reserved for Residents Only Parking. It had been suggested that the north side of Payne, just
west of Simpson, be designated as a residential parking area, but there is some concern about the
safety of the area at night.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of July 23, 1997
page 2
Alderman Newman asked Alderman Kent for his desire in this matter. Alderman Kent asked for
a parking study to be performed at night. David Jennings was directed to have the area studied
during nighttime hours and to submit an analysis at the next meeting, scheduled for August 27th.
David Jennings reviewed the communication requesting the Parking Committee's endorsement
of legislation to included in the City Code a violation for vehicles which do not display current
State of Illinois registration. This violation can currently only enforced on a moving vehicle
under State Statutes, and it is recommended that the City adopt an ordinance allowing the
violation to be enforced on parked vehicles. Lt. Mangas indicated this would be helpful for
officers when vehicles have been abandoned on -street and when enforcing the "no Evanston
Vehicle Sticker" ordinance. The Committee agreed to support this proposed legislation.
In discussion of the fluctuations for various violations, Lt. Mangas explained that some areas are
higher because emphasis gets shifted to other areas. For instance, if complaints are received in
the Main -Chicago area about overtime parking, then there would be less enforcement of expired
meters elsewhere.
Alderman Newman asked that a report be made at the next meeting by Lt. Mangas and Torben
Nielsen regarding their deployment methods of PEOs for enforcement.
Proposed Developme t - Net Increase in Parking Revenues in New Liar=
David Jennings was asked to determine what would be the ill, net increase in dollars for a new
garage to be built at Church & Maple since we are currently receiving revenues from Lots 20, 62,
and 65 and to prepare a memorandum for the next meeting.
• • i
David Jennings suggested that the first topic to be considered and discussed by the Committee be
"commuter and employee parking in neighborhoods." He pointed out that in some areas the
City had developed residents' only parkins districts to prevent shared parking, in some districts
Evanston residents who are commuters can park in neighborhoods other than their own
(Evanston Vehicle Sticker District at Main Street), and in some areas parkins is shared with area
employees and some commuters who can catch trains after mid -morning hours. Some of the
issued to be considered include (a) how much parking on residential streets can be shared,
particularly in areas where residents have driveways and off-street parking, (b) should Evanston
residents who are commuters be allowed to park all -day in other residential areas, (c) should
employees in a business area be allowed to purchase permits to park on residential streets, etc.
Jonathan Ferman expressed his belief that ridership figures should be obtained for the train
stations because there may be stations where the City would want to increase ridership with
commuters being allowed to park in the residential neighborhoods. Alderman Newman said
Davis Street should not be included in this matter because of the availability of off-street parking.
Discussion followed about several streets/blocks with streets around National -Louis University
in particular, and Jean Baucom pointed out that some of the blocks that are now "empty" used to
be full on both sides. Ms. Baucom said there arc some blocks in some districts that should be
reviewed because they only have a couple of houses actually on the block and only a couple of
cars will be parked on -street all day because residents have driveways; yet there is a need for
parking by other entities. Her example was Sherman Avenue between Milburn and Central
where there are often only 3 cars in the two blocks; yet there is a need for shared parking by
students at Kendall College. Resident students at Kendall are unable to obtain permits for any of
the surrounding streets. Alderman Newman said he would be interested in sharing parking,
particularly in the Kendall College area. Staff was asked to prepare some information to begin
discussions on this topic.
Alderman Wynne discussed requests from residents to restrict parking in the two areas at
nighttime because of problems caused by people going to the beaches late at night. Alderman
Wynne said the Police Department had indicated that restricting the parking would be helpful in
getting people out of the areas who do not live there. Alderman Wynne reported that people
tend to park on Lee and Hamilton and drink in their cars, later throwing their bottles and cans on
the parkways. She asked that both areas be designated as residents' only parking overnight.
Staff explained that the City Code requires residents to be advised and public meetings held
before legislation can be taken to City Council to designate an area a residential parking district.
Staff was directed to take the next steps toward notifying residents and setting up separate public
meetings for the two areas. David Jennings pointed out that a conflict with existing parking
regulations near the lakefront restricting parking at 9:00 P.M. but the park areas do not close until
later. This forces people who want to go to the park to park their cars a block or two away and
walk back.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:15 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Jean Baucom
DRAFT - To be approved
The Parking Committee
A Committee of the City Council of Evanston, Illinois
Members Present: Alderman Newman, Alderman Bernstein, Alderman Wynne (arrived 6:20 P.M.)
Giddings, Remen, Reynolds, and Perman
Staff Present: Jennings, Baucom, Mangas, Nielsen
Visitors: Luay Aboona, Sam Lederman, Mimi Sager (Medill School of Journalism)
Alderman Newman called the meeting to order at 6:05 P.M.
Lt. Mangas distributed a written report from P.E.O. Supervisor Torbert Nielsen which provided an overview
of how the l l officers are distributed among 8 beats and towing/booting operations. The report included
several attachments including an Enforcement Beat Map, listing of officers along with their schedule for the
month of August, a copy of the 1997 Street Sweeping Schedule & Map and the assignment forms for
enforcing daytime alternate parking for street sweeping. Lt. Mangas explained that while there are 8 regular
beats, they have to be fluid to accommodate days when officers are out sick or on vacation leave. He further
pointed out that daily schedules are interrupted by citizen complaints for special enforcement problems,
special requests from Traffic Engineering or Aldermen to focus on a particular problem in a particular area.
Jonathan Perman asked the rationale for using PEO's as substitute crossing guards and mail runs., and why
the schools are not required to provide crossing guards since they have to provide the buses. Alderman
Newman responded that the City views the crossing guard issue as traffic control. David Jennings added that
in general the schools handle matters to the edge of their property and the City provides the crossing guards
as off -school property matters.
Alderman Newman stated his belief that people will park wherever they can for free or where there isn't
regular enforcement, referring to the three-hour time zones on Sheridan Road around Davis to CIark. Lt.
Mangas explained that they cannot handle every area every day and that many people have their pet areas
they want enforced. Alderman Newman asked how many PEOs are needed to do all the areas daily. Paul
Giddings pointed out it is impossible to have a full compliment due to vacations and sick leaves. Mr.
Giddings said he supports adding additional PEOs.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of August 27, 1997
page 2
(Alderman Wynne arrived at this time.)
Alderman Bernstein asked if there is a chargeback when PEOs are used to direct traffic for funerals. David
Jennings responded that the City does not charge for such services. Lt. Mangas said we do not provide
officers for most funerals and that the one Alderman Bernstein was referring to was that of a local high
school student and over 200 cars were anticipated. Lt. Mangas said that this size funeral cannot be handled
solely with signals and requires additional manpower.
Alderman Newman asked how Saturdays are handled with only two officers. PEO Supervisor Nielsen
advised that the City is split in half and one officers handles the north portion while the other handles the
south portion.
Alderman Newman said he would like to keep PEO Deployment on the Committee's agenda and spend a
meeting discussing this as a policy issue. Paul Giddings said he would like to discuss street cleaning as this
too must be coordinated with enforcement.
Charles Remen asked Lt. Mangas if he had extra PEOs could he double revenues. Discussion followed
regarding the impact of having too many officers and whether the City wants to have that many tickets
issued.
(Lt. Mangas and PEO Supervisor Nielsen left the meeting at this time - 6:30 PM)
Paul Giddings asked Alderman Newman if he had received a response from the City Manager regarding his
Aldermanic request regarding moving the PEOs out of the Police Department. Alderman Bernstein asked to
be filled in on this issue, and Alderman Newman explained that many feel these PEOs should be relocated to
Traffic Engineering, which is more involved in making regulations and handling parking issues. Discussion
followed about the use of PEOs for alternate tasks and that much of their time is for "go-fering." Alderman
Newman said he thinks the Committee should make a recommendation since no one else would (to move the
PEOs away from the Police Department) and that he would support leaving several people at the Police
Department to cover the other needs.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of August 27, 1997
page 3
Luay Aboona was recognized as the representative from Kenig, Lindgren, O'Hara, Aboona, Inc (KLOA),
which has prepared an appraisal of the parking and traffic demand generated by the two development
proposals recently received by the City Council. (A copy of the appraisal had been provided to Committee
Members in their packet for the August 27th meeting.) Alderman Newman asked for questions. David
Reynolds expressed concern about the proposals recommending less parking than Zoning codes require.
Additional discussion continued asking questions and/or expressing concern about the current vacancies in
the CBD, what impact there would be if retails stores started staying open later in the evenings, where the
City intends to relocate the current permit parkers who park on the sites to be developed, the number of
spaces proposed in each project versus the Zoning requirements versus how many will actually be built. In
response to these concerns and questions, it was explained that KLOA had not been asked to address parking
outside of the development area, that the new developments' demands would occur at night and that most
retails do not generate a significant amount of nighttime parking and traffic demand, that the City's intent is
to move the permit parkers into the new garage which will be constructed in the development, and that the
City has some control over the total number of spaces that will actually be constructed because both
-)roposals call for the City to provide the parking element.
Alderman Bernstein expressed his concerns that the traffic patterns need to be addressed so that we are not
building a separate "downtown 11" west of the CTA tracks which discourages people from going to the
businesses east of the tracks. Mr. Aboona responded that this is specifically why parking is spread out so
that people will have to do some walking and pass by other businesses on their trip.
Alderman Wynne brought up previous discussion of the need to develop and improve signage, lighting,
viaducts, and the embankment in this area to encourage people to go further east on Church Street.. David
Jennings reminded the Committee that the City has contracted a designer to develop signage to move people
through the downtown and into parking areas. Mr. Jennings added there are lighted signage systems on the
market which indicate how many spaces comprise a lot and how many are available. Alderman Newman
asked that the designs for the parking signage be brought to the Parking Committee for review prior to design
approval.
David Reynolds asked about future development within the Research Park and the parking demand that
would be generated by new buildings. Mr. Aboona and David Jennings both responded that the City had not
asked KLOA to address anything other than the existing parking with the two proposed developments.
Alderman Newman added that future development would have to be considered on its own, but originally it
had been anticipated that two garages would be built in the Research Park, although it had not been
determined who would pay for these structures.
,Mr. Aboona left the meeting at this time - 6:50 PM.)
Parking Committee Minutes
Aceting of August 27, 1997
page 4
Alderman Newman acknowledged the market value of this lot as provided by the appraiser and asked David
Jennings what he thought of the appraisal and what the City should do. Mr. Jennings related information
from a 1995 appraisal and memorandum which had been prepared regarding this lot that took into
consideration the appraisal value, future revenue potential, property taxes, etc. Mr. Jennings said that at this
time his opinion would be not to sell the parcel for $120,000 as the lot seems to be worth more to the City
than simply the market value. This lot provides economic benefits to the community as well as parking for
the neighborhood both day and night.
Jonathan Penman said he felt the Committee should look beyond revenue to property taxes, jobs, sales taxes,
etc. Sam Lederman asked if consideration had been given to maintenance costs, enforcement costs, and
taxes that could be gained. Alderman Wynne queried if the lot were to be developed to its fullest potential
what impact would there be to other businesses in the area who can't meet their zoning requirements. David
Jennings pointed out the problem is not meeting zoning requirements for spaces and that Mr. Lederman's
iroperty already has its requirement on -site but rather the problem is that spaces are necessary (desirable) for
operating a business out of that property. Mr. Lederman said he has had several prospects but could not
guarantee them they would be able to lease spaces in the lot. Alderman Newman advised Mr. Lederman that
if he gets a good tenant the City will work with them as it had with the Oak Street Market. Mr. Lederman
asked if this mean the lot was not for sale, and Alderman Newman replied that at the present time it is not but
under the right conditions it could be.
(Paul Giddings and Sam Lederman left at this time - 7:05 P.M.)
Ajs eland-Pavne ROPD RCAuest
David Jennings and Jean Daucom reported on the findings from the study performed in the area. In
summary, the area was not found to be impacted and the majority of the cars were registered to residents and
businesses on those blocks. David Jennings said that staff intends to perform another study on an evening
when the Jehovah's Witness Church has meetings. Alderman Newman asked staff to contract Alderman
Kent and Iet him know the results of the two studies.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of August 27, 1997
page 5
Alderman Newman advised he has been talking with Pat Cunningham, Evanston Athletic Club, about
parking used by his employees and club members. Alderman Newman said the Club now has 5000 members
and he would like for Jonathan Penman on behalf of the Chamber, Terry Jenkins on behalf of EVMARK, and
David Jennings on behalf of the City to set up a meeting with the building and business owners/managers
from the 1700 block of Benson Avenue (particularly LePeep, Merles EAC, and the owner of the building
where "Big Doings" had been located) to discuss parking problems and use in some way of the northern area
in Lot 62 which was the staging area for the downtown improvements.
(Jonathan Ferman left the meeting at this time - 7:10 P.M)
David Jennings reviewed the results of the parking study which was recently performed in the CBD core. He
pointed out that the two hour time limit appears to be appropriate regulation for this area based on the
findings. He noted that of the all -day parkers, at least two of the vehicles belonged to Ameritech (Lucent
Technologies) doing work in the area. David Reynolds asked what would happen if the meters were changed
to 3 hour time limit. David Jennings and Jean Baucom said that in most business areas the maximum time
tends to be two hours because longer periods allow employees to park and take their lunches and breaks to
relocate to another space on -street.
PXkqcY Around Businesses at Church & Dodee
Jean Baucom explained the history of parking meters in the area and indicated there had been requests from
some merchants to post the area for the two hour time limit rather than reinstall parking meters. Based on the
low revenues and the fact that part of the area currently has a two hour time limit posted„ staff requests
permission to sign the remaining areas with the time limit and to leave meters out of this area. Alderman
Newman said he saw no problem in posting the signs, and other members of the committee indicated
agreement.
Ward Manuffigluring Lot - Re earch Park/pmerson
Alderman Newman said he would like to see something done to eliminate the free parkins on the lots at
Ward Manufacturing because it is not fair for these people to park for free while other pay to park in Lot 20.
David Jennings advised that staff is already working on this. Alderman Newman asked if the building
should be knocked down to provide additional parking; and David Jennings said this too is being looked at,
however, Judy Aiello has indicated there may be a need to use the building for storage. David Jennings also
indicated there is a grassed area to the west of the paved area which could also be paved to provide parking.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of August 27, 1997
page 6
Alderman Newman said he would like to the focus of the entire meeting to be on Commuter Parking around
train stations. David Jennings said he will prepare information about this issue, focusing on the Central
Street/Green Bay Road area. Alderman Newman added that he would also like to discuss Parking
Enforcement; (a) number of people required, (b) enforcement after 6PM, and (c) number of PEOs needed for
Saturdays. Alderman Bernstein said he would also like to discuss space around the Union Pacific tracks as
he has been reviewing some of the overhead maps which indicate a lot of vacant areas around the tracks
which could be used for parking.
The Meeting was adjourned at 7.30 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Jean Baucom, Parking System Manager
Draft - To Be Approved
The Parking Committee
A Sub -Committee of the City Council of Evanston, Illinois
Alderman Newman called the meeting to order at 6:15 F.M.
Members Present: Alderman Newman, Alderman Bernstein, Giddings, Remen
Members Perman and Reynolds arrived at 6:20 PM, and
Alderman Wynne arrived at 6:50 P.M.
Staff Present: Jennings, Baucom, Mangas
Visitors: Jim Repsold, Mike Downing
(Several other visitors came in for short portions around 7:00 P.M.)
Alderman Newman asked the Committee to authorize the concept of Associate Member of the
Parking Committee. He noted that several other committees have done this to bring in additional
members with special expertise to assist in consultation; however, these Associate Members are
not appointed and approved by City Council and, therefore, have no voting rights on the
Committee, Alderman Newman stated he has someone in mind who has professional experience
in parking garage operations and development whom he would like to nominate. He indicated
he had requested the Mayor to make this Associate Member appointment over a year ago and
thus far no action has been taken. He indicated he feels it is particularly important at this time to
have this individual in light of upcoming garage development/construction in the Research Park
area. Paul Giddings suggested that the Committee approve two Associate Members. The
consensus of the Committee was to approve its appointing Associate Members who would serve
at the discretion of the Parking Committee for a term of up to two years.
Alderman Newman stated he would invite John Hammerschlag to the next Parking Committee
meeting and, at that time, nominate Mr. Hammerschlag for appointment as an Associate
Member.
Members Perman and Reynolds arrived at 6:20 P.M.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of September 24, 1997
page 2
The Committee agreed to support the U.S. Postal Service's request to extend their lease of
parking in City Lot 25 for the period August 1, 1998 - July 31, 1999, at the current lease rate.
Jean Baucom stated that a letter had been included with the packet materials distributed at the
meeting which provides an overview of the recent exploration of post -tensioning problems
recently discovered in the Sherman Avenue Garage. After Committee members had an
opportunity to read the two -page letter, Alderman Newman led a discussion about Desman's
comments and recommendations, repair costs, long range parking needs, use of the existing site
on Sherman Avenue, and the importance of parking throughout the downtown. Several members
commented that this bad news may be a development opportunity and discussion followed about
possible development alternatives and garage construction costs.
Alderman Wynne arrived at 6:50 P.M. during this discussion.
Alderman Newman indicated he had spoken with an Evanston resident experienced in T.I.F.
districts who had suggested the City review other areas of the CBD and try to tie some of the
T.I.F. areas together in effort to obtain other funds for development within the CBD.
The Committee decided to keep this item on the agenda for further discussion, and requested that
copies of the Desman Ietter be sent to the members of the City Council. Alderman Newman
suggested it may be wise to meet jointly with the Economic Development Committee to discuss
this matter. He noted that financing will be the major issue in determining what development
options exist and also asked that copies of the operating budgets for the two garages and of the
debt service be provided to the Parking Committee.
MXridan Square Residents Survev
David Jennings reported that 87 responses have been received from residents on Sheridan Square
regarding their interest in having a residential parking district implemented on this street. 68
residents indicated they were in favor, while 19 were opposed. Mr. Jennings said that a flier had
been distributed by the City to residents on Sheridan Road after an area resident had distributed a
flier which misinterpreted the City's letter to the Sheridan Square residents.
Mr. Jennings provided a written report of the responses to Alderman Wynne, whose ward
includes Sheridan Square. Mr. Jennings will coordinate a public meeting as the next step in the
residential parking district process and residents from both Sheridan Square and Sheridan Road
will be invited.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of September 24, 1997
page 3
David Jennings said he had received 6 responses from residents on Hamilton, Greenleaf and Lee
regarding implementation of a night-time parking program. All of these residents support
revision of the regulations. A notice will be sent to the residents on Lake Shore Boulevard
advising them of the changes being considered on Hamilton, Lee, and Greenleaf. No changes
would be made on Lake Shore Boulevard, which would continue to be a "no parking" zone for
everyone during nighttime hours.
Paul Giddings reflected back to the Sheridan Square area and expressed concern that there is not
going to be a significant increase in the availability of parking once the parking program is
implemented. He noted that at 8:30 P.M. on a recent evening the entire area was full and no one
was on the beach. He said he believes residents will be upset having to pay $10 for a parking
permit and not have places to park.
Alderman Wynne acknowledged that there may not be a large number of spaces available, but
said the Police Department supports the change in parking regulations due to the problems with
drinkers who have remained in their cars after the park closes and due to the potential to reduce
crime. She pointed out that one issue this Committee is working toward is the uniformity of
regulations and this would make the regulations along the lakefront consistent.
Alderman Bernstein commented that it is important how the City markets the $10 fee as people
will become more willing to pay when they believe they are getting some benefit, even if it is not
a guaranteed parking space.
Payne & Ashland Parking Study
Jean Baucom reported that a second nighttime parking study had been performed on a night
when the Jehovah's Witnesses were holding meetings. Basically, parking was available all
evening on the northern block of Ashland, between Payne and Noyes, The two blocks of Payne
were full, but there are no homes on these blocks. The east side of Ashland, between Emerson
and Payne, did reach 100% full at 7:45 P.M. from the church goers who arrived between 7:15-
7:35 pm. This area emptied out around 9:30pm, after the church services. There were parking
spaces available on the west side of this block all evening. The Committee directed that this
information be provided to Alderman Kent so that he could decide how to proceed.
Over -renting City Parkjj]g Lots in the Main- hicaen-Sheridan Rd. Area
Alderman Wynne explained that she had spoken to David Jennings about over -renting some of
the parking lots in her ward because she frequently receives comments that the Iots are only half-
full at night yet residents cannot find parking on -street near their homes. Alderman Wynne
pointed out Lot 22 at Sheridan & South Boulevard as the lot she receives the most comments
about and stated that residents have been very thorough in counting the number of vehicles with
Lot permits who park on -street instead of in the lot. Jean Baucom explained that in the past the
City had over -rented these lots, but when one of the lots was completely full on 2 nights around
3AM the ward alderman had directed staff to put the lots back on a I permit to 1 space basis. Lot
22, however, had not been one of the lots where there had been problems. Ms. Baucom and Mr.
Jennings both stated they felt these could lots be over rented without causing problems to permit
holders. Jonathan Perman said he felt if the ward alderman supports the over -renting concept,
the Committee should endorse it. Visitor Jim Repsold interjected that, if residents in the
Sheridan Road/Sheridan Square area have to pay $ I0 for a permit to park on -street, many may go
back into the lot and over -renting would cause problems
Alderman Newman asked the rental rate for this lot, said he felt the $39 per month rate was too,
too low and should be at least $64 per month, and suggested that staff notify permit parkers that
the City is going to over -rent the lots to provide more parking since so many still park on the
street and to increase revenues to the Parking Fund rather than increase their monthly permit rate.
The Committee endorsed over -renting these lots and allowing staff to work with each lot to
determine how many spaces to over -rent. Alderman Wynne suggested that the letter sent to the
permit parkers indicated that the permit is "an opportunity" to park in the lot and is not a
guarantee that they will have a space every night of the year and should anticipate a couple of
night having to park on -street. The Committee asked staff to bring a report back after 6 months
on how the over -renting had impacted the area.
Paul Giddings made a motion to approve the minutes from the previous meeting, and the motion
was approved.
David Reynolds asked if someone could check to see if the Buck project on Chicago Avenue has
excess parking available during daytime hours that could be used by business for employees. He
acknowledged that Buck charges residents for their permits and that, perhaps, the spaces could be
used by area employees who would be willing to pay a little more than the residents to use these
spaces during the daytime.
The Meeting was adjourned the meeting at 7:30 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Jean Baucom
Parking System Manager
DRAFT - NOT APPROVED
The Parking Committee
A Sub -Committee of the City Council of Evanston
Members Present: Alderman Newman, Alderman Bernstein, Alderman Wynne
Paul Giddings, David Reynolds, Jonathan Perman.
Members Absent: Chuck Remen
Staff Present: David Jennings and Jean Baucom
Others Present: John Hammerschlag, Jim Repsold
Alderman Newman called the meeting to order at 6:20 P.M..
Alderman Newman introduced John Hammerschlag as his recommendation for
appointment to the committee as an "associate" member and asked Mr.
Hammerschlag to tell the committee about himself. Mr. Hammerschlag advised
he has been in the parking industry for some 20 years; that he ran General Parking
for a number of years; joined another firm and later sold his interests in that firm;
and that for the last 3 years he has been a consultant and advisor in the
development of parking structures with Villages of Arlington Heights and Lake
Forest and involved with the development of a garage at Madison & Wells.
Alderman Newman moved to nominate Mr. Hammerschlag as an associate
member. The motion was seconded by David Reynolds, and the motion was
approved unanimously by the members present.
Alderman Bernstein arrived at 6:28 p.m., just after approval of the associate
member.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of October 22, 1997
page 2
Jean Baucom provided a copy of the full report from Desman Associates and
briefly summarized the problems Desman had identified and their cost estimates
for these repairs.
The committee members then discussed a range of concerns and questions,
including such things as: Where do we go from here? How long with repairs last?
Could we find problems are much worse once repairs begin and more things are
exposed? Where will parkers go if this garage is not available? Where should
parking be located? What are real costs for repairs?
Alderman Wynne arrived at 6:50 p.m.
Discussion continued on the long-range life of the Sherman Avenue Garage; the
future of its site on Sherman Avenue; impact of not having these 667 spaces in
center of downtown; impact of parking in the Research Park and the new
development; whether or not existing garages can have floors added later.
Alderman Newman stated Council needs to make a decision on the number of
spaces to be in the new Research Park garage and that he believes the Parking
Committee should make a recommendation on the number of spaces to be built.
He stated Council needs to consider (a) the period when the Sherman Avenue
garage is non-existent due to redevelopment and (b) the future needs for parking
in the Research Park, questioning will the 1000 spaces in the proposals actually
meet the need of a fully -developed Research Park.
Alderman Wynne pointed out that if the Sherman Avenue Garage is to be rebuilt,
then it could accommodate any extra spaces needed by the development of the
Research Park. Alderman Newman stated he wants to see the parking built in the
Research Park due to the TIF opportunities for financing. David Jennings stated
that the committee should look at alternatives such as developing surface lots,
utilizing parking on the lakefront, etc. rather than focus only on rebuilding a
garage to replace the spaces currently provided by the Sherman Avenue Garage.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of October 22, 1997
page 3
David Reynolds asked -John Hammerschlag about the financial ability to add
additional levels to garages years after then have been constructed. Mr.
Hammerschlag stated that garages can be added onto if they were originally
designed for that. A brief discussion followed about the difficulties in adding
construction once the original crane has been dismantled, the increased costs
versus original costs, and the fact that the two portions will be different ages and
have different life spans.
Alderman Newman asked if staff could calculate the number of spaces that will be
needed by the remaining areas to be developed in the Research Park. Alderman
Newman added that the TIF ends 2007 and that he things it important to try to get
into that to gain more capacity.
David Jennings stated that without knowing what kinds of uses will be constructed
it is very difficult to try to come up with a computation of the amount of parking
that will be needed. He pointed out that shared parking must be considered since,
as we know from the theater development, those stalls required for the specific use
at nighttime could be used by employees, commuters and others during the
daytime.
Discussion continued from various members that, perhaps it would be possible to
have Marc Mylott (Zoning Planner) to come up with some parking estimates using
a computer model.
Alderman Newman said that prospective developers (for the hotel -theater
complex) will be presenting revised proposals, including number of parking
spaces anticipated and parking rates. David Jennings indicated he would provide
this information at the next Parking Committee meeting.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of October 22, 1997
page 4
David Jennings displayed a map and explained the surfacing improvements which
had recently been completed on Sherman Avenue, between Greenwood and Lake.
He pointed out that there is a small residents parking district on this block and that
the majority of the surrounding streets have a two-hour time limit. Mr. Jennings
and Alderman Bernstein have received requests from the building on the NW
corner of Greenwood and Sherman Avenue to allow their employees to obtain
parking permits for the area. Alderman Bernstein said that this is really a policy
issue regarding whether the City should favor workers in the CBD versus
commuters who are leaving their cars in the area to take the trains into Chicago.
Alderman Wynne pointed out that the Dempster Street CTA station is one of the
locations that has been cited for possible closure and that the City should not take
steps which might reduce ridership and subsequently result in closing this stop.
The question arose about making Sherman Avenue one-way and creating angle
parking. David Jennings indicated that developing a one-way pair is being
evaluated.
Alderman Bernstein asked about the availability of parking in the lot at Dempster
and Elmwood; and Jean Baucom advised that this lot is sold out and has a waiting
list. Ms. Baucom identified that parking permits are available in the Holiday Inn
lot, which is 2 % blocks north, and that all -day meters are available in Lot 60 on
Chicago Avenue, just south of Dempster, which is 2-3 blocks away. She further
commented that she has received calls from the construction company in this
building, but they did not want to pay $69 per month for spaces in the Holiday
Inn. Alderman Newman indicated that he walks 5 blocks in downtown Chicago
and sees no reason why these people can't use available spaces. Alderman
Bernstein said he felt there was reasonable parking available and that no action
should be taken to revise the policy to allow these workers to be issued residential
permits. He asked that this information be provided to the building.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of October 22, 1997
page 5
David Jennings redistributed copies of the summaries from three parking studies
which had been performed during August. The gist of these studies is that there is
good turnover in the metered spaces in the various outlying business areas, that
the majority of parkers use spaces for less than 2 hours and that there is very little
long-term parking in these spaces.
(1) David Jennings distributed a copy of a letter received from the Midwest
Montessori School at Kendall College requesting special permission for their I 1
staff members to be able to purchase residential parking permits. Discussion
followed about the lack of parking in the neighborhood, the demands from
Kendall, Roycemore, and Northwestern. It was decided that special permission
cannot be granted at this time; and Alderman Newman asked to keep the matter on
the agenda and to invite Alderman Engleman to the next meeting.
A Report on Parking Ticket Collection prepared by the Finance Department was
distributed. The committee questioned why the high number of "boot eligible"
vehicles versus the low number of "booted" vehicles. Jean Baucom pointed out
that one problem inherent in this is the dates during which cars accumulated the
tickets. Many of the cars have not received tickets in years, which suggests they
belonged the students who have graduated and left the area. The likelihood of
booting many of these vehicles is nil and keeping on the boot eligible list tends to
skew the picture.
Alderman Newman said he wants the City to send bi-monthly or monthly or on
some regular basis lists of ticket holders to Northwestern University and get them
involved in collection these tickets as well as issuing tickets on Orrington Avenue.
David Jennings advised that Lt. Mangas has been working with Northwestern to
gain their support in identify plates and allowing the City to go on NU properties
to look for these boot -eligible vehicles. Alderman Newman said that while he
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of October 22, 1997
page b
appreciates the efforts of Lt. Mangas he believes the City needs to be more
aggressive in getting NU's cooperation in identifying who the out-of-state
vehicles belong to and providing us with local addresses.
Next Meeting: David Jennings said he hoped that the Committee would be able to
begin addressing policy issues at the next meeting. Alderman Newman said he
believes the most important issue right now is the Sherman Avenue Garage and
that policies will have to wait. Alderman Newman reiterated his desire to have
copies of the rates for the new garage, which will be presented at a meeting on
October 23rd by the two developers, provided for discussion at the next Parking
Committee meeting, which is scheduled for Wednesday, November 19th.
Respectfully submitted,
Jean Baucom
Parking System Manager
DRAFT - NOT APPROVED
The Parking Committee
A Sub -Committee of the City Council of Evanston, Illinois
Alderman Newman called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m.
Members Present: Alderman Newman, Alderman Bernstein, Alderman Wynne
Reynolds, Remen (6:30 P.M.), and Perman (7:20 P.M)
Associate Member - Hammerschlag.
Members Absent: Giddings
Staff Present: Jennings, Baucom, Mangas
Visitors: Jim Repsold, Katarzna Lyson (NU journalism student)
A graphic report was distributed and special note was made that approximately 1,000
more tickets had been issued during October 1997 than had been in October 1996. Lt.
Mangas commented that all positions are filled and basically everyone had been working
during the entire month. He also commented that a Northwestern student had been
quoted in the "Daily Northwestern" as stating that "Evanston Police write us all the time
for everything, " is reflected by the number of tickets and various types of violations
issued during the last month.
Sherman Avenue Garage - Second Oanion on Structural Conditions
Jean Baucom advised that the second opinion on structural conditions had been received
earlier today, and David Jennings distributed a copy of the report from Wiss, Janney,
Elstner & Associates (WJE). Ms. Baucom briefly reviewed the report as having
confirmed the conditions found and identified by Desman Associates. While Desman
recommends making minimal repairs at this time, WJE recommends making significantly
more repairs at this time and continuing to maintain the building for another 20-30 years.
Ms. Baucom pointed out that the WJE report incorrectly stated that Desman had said the
life of the building was 3-5 years. She quoted from the Desman report which had been
Minutes from Parking Committee
Meeting of November 19, 1997
page 2
previously distributed that the Desman recommendation was to only perform those
limited repairs which would extend the life of the building for 3-5 years. Desman had
indicated it was not possible to actually predict the life of this building and had expressed
is verbal concern that the City should consider whether it wanted to put large sums of
money into this 30 year old building or whether it would prefer to put the money into
constructing a new facility which would have a longer life, possibly in some other
location.
Discussion followed among the members about the nature of the repairs recommended,
the possible life of this building into the future, costs of repairs, initial desire of the City
to reconstruct the elevator and stair towers to make them more user-friendly and inviting
and financial impact of investing large sums into this structure and later not having
sufficient funds to construction a new garage if that became necessary due to the post
tensioning and other concrete repairs required in future years. John Hammerschlag
explained that, while the WJE estimate of broken tendons is 100, this does not indicate
where or how many others will require repair in the near future or in other years. He said
it is his understanding that there is more sophisticated equipment which can be used to
identify exact locations of problems, but sinking a lot of money into a facility which is
already as old as this one does not make good sense. Chuck Remen asked if there were
any statistics on the number of similar garages and their life space. Jean Baucom and
John Hammerschlag both advised there are none because at the time the Sherman Ave.
Garage was constructed it was state-of-the-art construction. Mr. Hammerschlag pointed
out that some similar garages in the Chicago area have already been torn down, primarily
for redevelopment of the site. Discussion continued regarding what future structural
maintenance costs would be required in addition to those recommended by WJE; and
David Jennings, Jean Baucom, and John Hammerschlag all indicated that it is impossible
to predict, but based on past experience costs of over $1 million for concrete repairs plus
costs for replacing the waterproofing membrane would be required once if not twice
during a 20 year period.
The general consensus of the Committee was that only limited repairs should be made at
this time to keep the building going another 3-4 years and that consideration should be
given to developing another parking deck to replace this one. Alderman Newman said he
believes it is important to start trying to come up with creative ways to finance a new
structure.
Minutes from the Parking Committee
Meeting of November 19, 1997
page 3
Alderman Bernstein posed several questions for thought: Should the City replace parking
in the existing location? Should efforts be made to increase the size of the Holiday Inn
garage or construct parking elsewhere in the downtown? Alderman Newman pointed out
that the location determines how it would be funded and what kind of funding options
would be available.
Staff will bring back a proposal to the next meeting to perform and fund the
recommended repairs identified by Desman and WJE.
David Jennings distributed 3 reports: (1) a copy of the 1996 and 1997 Parking Lot
Surveys which identifies the number of permits issued for each lot within the Research
Park area and categorizes the types of parkers using these spaces; (2) a graphic copy of
the Parking Demand Analysis for the Urban Entertainment Complex; and (3) Table 1
Parking Demands Analysis prepared by KLOA regarding the Hill proposal. Mr. Jennings
noted that the last item is virtually the same now for both the Hill and Buck proposals.
Discussion followed about the various number of spaces in the Research Park now and
the demand for spaces by existing buildings in the Research Park; future demand for
spaces by future Park buildings; how spaces are used (daytime versus nighttime demand),
etc; and the related costs for constructing new parking as well as adding parking later to
an existing garage. Several members asked what would be the feasibility and cost for
adding additional floors in the future to a garage build at this time. John Hamrnersehlag
advised that the initial build costs would be higher because construction would have to
anticipate future expansion. The entire structural system would have to be beefed up to
support the future load; the elevators would cost more: because the penthouse could not be
positioned on top of the car and preparations would have to be made for the car to go to
the higher floors; and the costs for building the additional floors would cost more per
space than if building from the ground up. David Jennings said that the KLOA study
concludes that 1000 new spaces will be sufficient to meet the needs of the new
development and the displaced parkers. Mr. Jennings reviewed the various graphs which
he had distributed and displayed large maps of the downtown area which identified the
existing parking lots and the boundaries used by KLOA in forming their opinions.
Minutes of the Parking Committee
Meeting of November 19, I997
page 4
Jonathan Perman arrived at 7:20 P.M.
Alderman Newman led a discussion about the various parking rates in City lots in the
downtown and said that he did not want to see the City increasing meter rates again to
pay for new garage spaces. Discussion followed about revenues versus operations costs
identified by the developers for a new 1000 car garage. As a result of a question from
Chuck Remen, Jean Baucom, explained that the Parking Fund is a user -supported fund
and that revenues from space rentals, parking meters, and garages are needed to pay for
the debt services for the garages. She pointed out that the Church St. Self Park depends
on the entire Parking Fund to meet its debt service because it does not generate enough
revenue on its own to meet debt and that it is unlikely the new garage will be able to
cover its operations costs as well as its debt service.
The Committee discussed the possibility and reasonability of having various rate
structures in the downtown garages; whether the rates in the Church Street Self Park and
in the Sherman Avenue Garage should be increased when the new garage is opened; and
what amounts of "free" parking should be provided by these various garages. Concern
was expressed that free parking would be necessary for theater -goers if this portion of the
project is to be successful. It was also pointed out that many members of the community
are concerned that the developers and their consultants have over -estimated the viability
of a large theater complex and that such over -projections may eventually hurt the entire
project. Due to the time, the Committee decided to keep the issue of rates on the agenda
for its next meeting.
The next meeting will be at 6:00 P.M. on December 10th or 17th. David Jennings will
verify this date based on the EDC schedule and send out a memo to each member
regarding the exact date.
Respectfully submitted,
Jean Baucom
Parking System Manager
DRAFT - NOT APPROVED
The Parking Committee
A Sub -Committee of the City Council of Evanston Illinois
Minutes from the Meeting of Decembgx_ 16. 1997
A Special Meeting to Discuss the Parking Analysis
Prepared by KLOA for the Proposed Urban Entertainment Center
Alderman Newman called the meeting to order at 7:15 P.M.
Members Present: Alderman Newman, Alderman Bernstein, and Alderman Wynne,
Giddings, Perman, and Reynolds
Associate Member: John Hammerschlag
Staff Present: Jennings and Baucom
Consultant: Neil Kenig of Kenig, Lindberg, O'Hara, Aboona, Inc. (KLOA)
Visitors: Jim Repsold, Bob Horne, Ben Page, Frank Koppelman, Michael
Peshkin, Cate Brinson, Arthur Hill, and Alderman Joe Kent
David Jennings, City Traffic Engineer, distributed copies of an Updated Parking Analysis
regarding the Proposed Urban Entertainment Complex. He stated that KLOA had been
asked to revise their original analysis calculations to reflect the most recent proposals
from the two developers and that fie had performed a Friday and Saturday night peak hour
parking demand study over the recent weekend of December 12-13th to address the
concerns that the July study figures might reflect a lower than normal demand.
Mr. Jennings summarized the parking demand on Friday night (Dec. 12) at 8PM was 2 M
cars parked in the Sherman Ave. Garage and 192 cars parked in the Research Park, for a
total of 406 space demand. The higher parking deficit from the two project proposals has
been calculated at 700 spaces. These two demands (406 current + 700 future) represent a
need for 1106 spaces. Mr. Jennings pointed out that the current demand for 406 spaces
does not reflect the actual demand that will be required in addition to the new
development and is an inflated demand because it includes the parking demands
generated by Dave's Italian Kitchen and The PineYard, both of which are located on
parcels that will be redeveloped. If either or both restaurants are relocated within the
retail/restaurant portion of the new development, their parking demands have been
included in the proposed project calculations.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of December 16, 1997
page 2
Mr. Jennings displayed a map of the entire Central Business District which identified
parking lots and garages as well as several major landmarks. He pointed out the location
of the proposed developments and the boundaries of the parking study area. He identified
that the parking supply which will remain in the Research Park lots as 428 spaces plus the
Sherman Ave. Garage's 651 spaces plus 28 recently created spaces on the former Ward's
Mfg. Property plus 48 on -street spaces along Oak Avenue and University Place, which
had not been formerly included, for a total parking supply of 1155 spaces. Based on a
1106 space demand, lie summarized that there will be a sufficient parking supply to meet
the total demand within the Research Park area And the Sherman Ave. Garage. He further
pointed out that there is an undeveloped parcel at Oak and Emerson which could provide
an additional 80 parking spaces.
Alderman Wynne expressed doubt that people would park at Oak & Emerson to walk
down to the theaters at Clark and Maple (2 blocks). John Hammerschlag stated his
experience has been that people are more likely to park on a flat (surface lot) and walk
than to park inside a garage. David Jennings concluded his summary by pointing out the
proposed project parking deficit of 700 spaces can easily be met within the Research Park
and the Sherman Avenue Garage and that additional spaces are also available in other
downtown lots, including the Church Street Garage, which are within reasonable walking
distance of the proposed projects.
Theater Pnrkine Demnud
David Jennings introduced Neil Kenig of KLOA, who reviewed his letter dated
December 12th, beginning with the theater component.. Mr. Kenig said that he had
applied the standards formulated by the Urban Land Institute studies regarding theaters,
hotels, restaurants, and mixed-uselsharcd developments in preparing his analysis. He
indicated that for theaters, he had applied the factor of 0.33 parking spaces per theater
seat. He indicated that the ULl Studies indicate a 50 percent reduction should be applied,
but more recently studies indicate only a 10-20% reduction should be applied. As one of
the authors of the original ULI studies, he believes the smaller reduction percentages
should be applied and used the conservative I0% reduction factor. I-Ie explained he also
applied a 25% reduction factor to the theater calculations to account for a "captive
market," which refers to those people and autos which are parked elsewhere in the area
for other trip purposes and "stayed over" to go to the theater. The "captive market"
reduction does not include cars belonging to area residents who walked to the theater.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of December 16, 1997
page 3
When asked how the 0.33 spaces per theater seat was arrived at, Mr. Kenig explained that
counts had been taken at numerous theaters to determine the peak attendance. The study
was able to identify the number of cars present for the theater users and thus the formula
was number of seats divided by the number of parked cars, which provided a ratio of 0.33
cars per seat. Mr. Kenig noted that theater space in a mixed -use area generates more
people per car than a stand-alone, isolated theater because there are more shopping
opportunities in the mixed -use development. Frank Koppelman questioned the
application of a 25% reduction for a captive market for people who were already in the
area when they actually parked their car earlier and never removed it, meaning the space
is still occupied. Mr. Kenig responded that, at the peak time, if the person is already
there, then they are already part of the demand and cannot be counted a second time.
Discussion followed on the meaning of "captive" market versus shared parking. It was
explained that shared parking refers to use of parking spaces by different groups of people
during different times of day. An example of which was employee parking during
daytime hours and restaurant/theater parking in the same spaces during nighttime hours.
Alderman Newman asked Mr. Kcnig if these ratios had been applied before on other
projects, and Mr. Kenig replied they had. Alderman Newman asked if Mr. Kenig if he
had reevaluated the theoretic demand versus actual demand (for theater parking) once a
project is completed and in full operation. Mr. Kenig said lie has on some; however, he
has received no complaints from theater chains lie has represented and that he continues
to represent most of the major theater chains, which suggests there are no problems.
Alderman Wynne asked if Mr. Kenig could provide the names of other sites who have
had similar captive rates. She explained that she was not questioning his reputation but
was trying to determine the names and Iocations of other similar projects because she see
Evanston as unlike many other areas. Mr. Kenig responded that the ratios and captive
rates had been determined through actual interviews of patrons going to theaters in
shopping centers. These patrons were asked specifically if they would have come to this
center if the theaters were not located there.
Alderman Newman stated that, if the numbers are based on stand-alone facilities which
have a greater dependence on cars, it is reasonable to assume the same or less demand
will result in Evanston. Mr. Kenig concurred, explaining that the 0.33 spaces per theater
seat is a standard ratio which was does not consider external uses that might impact
model split. It was based on peak time of year based on actual attendance. The captive
rate is a "low end" as a result of responses of people actually interviewed on site as to
whether or not they would have come to the center if the theaters weren't there.
Parking Committee Meeting
Minutes of December 16, 1997
page 4
Michael Peshkin suggested that another way to evaluate the need is to count the number
of people in the theater and the number of people in the retail center and then determine
the number of people per car to calculate the actual number of spaces needed. He stated
he did not believe the walk-ins who are parked outside of the counting area (captive
market) will be as high as 25%. David Jennings said it is unrealistic to use a free-
standing model because many people live in the downtown and parking several blocks
away from their homes. Mr. Kenig said he believes the (demand) numbers are
conservative and that the actual number of spaces required has been over -estimated.
Cate Brinson questioned the 25% reduction for captive market, the 0.33 spaces per theater
seat, and the 4 spaces per 1000 square feet of retail used at Old Orchard. She provided an
example of the theaters at the Old Orchard Shopping Center and a mathematical
calculation of the spaces required for that center. Mr. Kenig advised that calculation
described by Ms. Brinson had not been the methodology applied to determine the number
of parking spaces required for Old Orchard as lie had been a part of this project. He said
zoning requirements and codes applied by the Village of Skokie are not the same as those
in Evanston, that the number of spaces had been based 1.8 million square feet of retail
with no consideration separate types of uses, and that other allowances had been added
and subtracted in the total formula to come up with the number of parking spaces.
Michael Peshkin said he feels there should be some reduction for walkins, but he does not
agree with the 25% for captive market because walkins are not the same as "captive" rate.
Mr. Kenig advised that he had applied the 4 spaces per 1000 sq. ft of retail development
formula determined by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the International Council of
Shopping Centers (ICSC) to determine the various demands which are reflected in the
Table 1 - Parking Demand Analysis. Frank Koppelman advised he had used 4.70 spaces
per 1000 sq. ft., which is the rate identified by Weant (Parking by the Eno Foundation,
1990), another noted resource; and questioned KLOA's logic and calculations for the
retail component. Mr. Kenig stated that the ULI and ICSC studies form the most
comprehensive studies of shopping centers and believes their figures the be quite
reputable. He further stated that one must start somewhere with calculations and that
some centers have less than 4.0 spaces/1000 sq.ft. while others are greater.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of December 16, 1997
page 5
Alderman Newman asked for examples of shopping centers and their calculations; and
Mr. Kenig advised that the standards are for 10,000 - 400,000 sq.ft. = 4.0; 400,000 -
600,000 = 4.5; 600,000+ = 5.0; and 1.5 million and greater reduces to less than 5.0. Mr.
Kenig added that more often than not, the community wants more parking than is needed.
In suburban areas, major retail base stores want 5.0 spaces/1000 ft and typically reduce
the number based on trhnsit and other modes.
When questioned about the theater demand in a retail shopping center, Mr. Kenig said
that the 0.33 spaces/theater seat includes those people in the theaters plus those parked
and waiting for the next show at the peak time. He added that the number of seats in a
single theater generates more demand than those in a multiplex. Bob Horne said that
Sundance says they have lower demand because occupancies are lower for art (films. He
further noted that films in these theaters tend to have longer runs and fewer people per
show, particularly for second -run films, than first -run films which have large crowds and
run for short periods before moving on. He suggested a ratio in the range of 10 to 6 for
first run versus art/2nd run shows.
Alderman Bernstein asked what number of seats do theaters request. Bob Horne said
General Cinema has looked at the numbers (KLOA figures) and seems satisfied with
them. Neil Kenig said most theaters do not want to provide any parking - they want
restaurants in the lots and developers to provide the parking so that they don't have that
expense and so that the restaurants will generate traffic for the theaters.
Hotel Parkine Demand,
Mr. Kenig reviewed that they had used a base demand of one space per occupied room
with summer as the peak season. At 8PM, they assume 90% of the peak will be occupied.
He added they have assumed no reduction for hotel guests as part of the captive market.
Alderman Bernstein asked about the impact if there were a major conference center, and
Mr. Kenig advised that only the daytime demand would increase unless there was to be
banquet center. Several people responded that the current plans do not include a major
conference center and that there will only be a few small conference rooms in the hotel.
Jonathan Perman asked Frank Koppelman about his calculation using 100% occupancy.
Mr. Koppelman responded lie had used recommended zoning requirements.
With regard discussion about peaks in uses, Mr. Kenig said studies indicate higher
retail/lower hotel usage in December and higher hotel use/lower retail demand in July.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of December 16, 1997
page 6
Mr. Kenig explained that his firm had applied the ULI concept of20 spaces/1000 sq.fl.
during peak usage and that his firm had assumed a conservative 25% interaction figure
based on recent studies of shopping centers. He said he believes this is a conservative
figure because of the number of downtown residential units as well as the proximity to
Northwestern University and that many people will walk to the restaurants. Mr.
Koppelman stated he used 22 spaces/1000 sq.R. which is similar to the number used by
KLOA. He indicated that he believes a reduction is reasonable to account for those
walking in from the surrounding area, but does not agree with a 25% reduction. He said
he will review his calculations and look at including some kind of reduction.
Mr. Kenig concluded his review by commenting that the peak parking deficiency of 700
spaces can be met by the available empty supply in the Sherman Avenue Garage and lots
in the Research Park. He added there may be other possible parking available at night if
arrangements could be made to use the lot at Shand Morahan or garages at Rotary and
First Chicago. John Hammerschlag said he finds the concept of using the Shand Morahan
lot interesting, but does not think it realistic to consider Rotary and First Chicago garages
because both are basically hidden and poorly visible to the public. Mr. Kenig responded
he agreed with Mr. Hammerschlag and was only pointing out that these facilities exist.
Paul Giddings asked Frank Koppelman if he had included any reductions or if he had
used 100%. Mr. Koppelman advised his base numbers do include less than 100% and
that he made reductions in retail due to the lower demand in evenings.
Michael Peshkin stated he feels the theater footage ration to be much higher than retail.
Neil Kenig, Alderman Newman, and Jonathan Pcrman responded that the retail of the
Central Business District must be taken into consideration and not simply just the retail
planned in the new development.
Alderman Joe Kent expressed concern about additional traffic impact that may occur or
be perceived by residents. His main interest is the quality of life in these neighborhoods
late at night. Alderman Newman said the Parking Committee had gotten a letter and
report from the Coalition regarding parking and, in response to these, had set up this
meeting to address only those concerns. He said he too has some traffic concerns;
however, it has not been the focus of the Parking Committee to deal with traffic issues.
He wants to see the traffic issues reviewed and addressed and believes this Committee
would be the best place. Consequently, he intends to go to the Rules Committee to see if
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of December 16, 1997
page 7
there would be a problem if the Parking Committee assumed the review of the traffic
components of this project. Alderman Kent expressed his support for taking the matter to
the Rules Committee and his belief that the Parking Committee is good place to deal with
traffic issues because there are few opportunities to be able to have the expertise of both
David Jennings and Neil Kenig.
Alderman Newman asked for a consensus of the Parking Committee to bring back Neil
Kenig and David Jennings and to subsequently take a report Council. The consensus was
unanimous. Alderman Newman suggested a special meeting be held sometime in
January. Ben Page said he had come to the meeting hoping to be able to ask some
questions about traffic and asked if he could submit some questions he had prepared to
David Jennings for KLOA. Alderman Newman indicated this would be allright, and Mr.
Page distributed a copy to each member of the Committee.
Alderman Newman asked if members of the Committee are interested in going to see the
impact of traffic at various locations in the City. Alderman Kent suggested they also try
to actually cross streets in major areas, such as Emerson at Ridge and Greenbay.
Alderman Newman said he also feels it important to see how traffic works at the
multiplex in Northbrook Court. Alderman Wynne suggested members could visit
Northbrook Court on their own.
Alderman Bernstein asked about Prank Koppelman about his position on "captive" and
"shared" parking. Mr. Koppelman will respond in writing.
Neil Kenig pointed out that the parking and traffic numbers in his analysis were based on
the original proposals and should be revised based on current, more scaled down
proposals. Alderman Newman asked David Jennings to discuss with him and other
Council members and advise what additional funds might be required for KLOA to
provide addition studies. Mr. Kenig said he believes that rather than provide more
studies, it would be better to look at the project: accept that the project will result in an
increase in traffic, look at problems that will likely occur, and figure out options.
Respectfully submitted,
Jean Baucom
Parking System Manager
Draft - Not approved
The Parking Committee
A Sub -Committee of the City Council of Evansron, Illinois
y ' 28. 1998
AIderman Newman called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m.
Members Present: Alderman Newman, Bernstein, Wynne
Perman and Associate Member HammerschIag
Members Absent: Giddings, Reynolds
Staff Present: Jennings, Baucom
Visitors Susan Leslie, Lee Katz, Kevin Barker, Kathy Rintz, Peggy McArdle,
Cheryl Hudson, Dawn Nelson, Jim Repsold, Frank Koppelman,
Michael Peshkin, Alderman Rainey
Alderman Newman asked for approval of the minutes from the December meetings. David
Jennings pointed out that at this time only the minutes from the December 16th meeting were
prepared. The Committee approved the minutes from the December 16th meeting without any
changes or corrections.
Greenwood & Sherman Area Park
Alderman Newman asked to place this item first on the agenda and called for a representative
from the visitors to describe the problems as they see them. Lee Katz said he sees two problems:
( 1) lack of turnover in the unrestricted spaces and (2) need for employee parking. Mr. Katz noted
that 80% of his employees come to work by bicycle. because when they come by car they have to
constantly go Out and move their cars since there is no turnover in spaces on their block that
would allow them to park all -day. Ele believes that the spaces which should be available to them
on 800 Greenwood and the two blocks of Sherman Avenue are used by commuters who come
early and stay until 6-7 Pht. Mr. Katz further said that the 12-hour meters on Sherman are never
used by commuters. Mr. Katz believes there are underutilized spaces available in the cut-out in
front of his building and that employees should be allowed double-park this area without tickets
being issued all the time by Parking Enforcement Officers. David Jennings and Jean Baucom
both said that their experience is that the all -day meters on Sherman are being used. While these
spaces may not be 100% full everyday, they are not empty all -day as Mr. Katz states,
a
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of January 28, 1998
page 2
David Jennings explained to the Committee that the cut-out had been a designated loading zone
for General Printing. Alderman Newman asked staff if spaces are available in the Holiday Inn
garage. Jean Baucom reported that there are. Kevin Barker said that someone who works with
him previously had a space in the lot and was terminated because he did not renew on time and
had been told spaces were not available. Jean Baucom responded that this likely took place in
October because at that time there had been a waiting list. At the present time, there is no
waiting Iist and spaces are available. Jonathan Ferman asked if permit spaces could be made
available in the Dempster/Elmwood lot for employees. David Jennings and Jean Baucom
indicated that permits in this lot are sold out and a waiting list exists. There are a few metered
spaces which are primarily used on weekends that could be changed to permit parking, if needed.
Jean Baucom said that, based on the comments she was hearing from Mr. Katz, the issue seems
to be that employees don't want to pay for permits in lots or to use the all -day meters on
Sherman.
Kathy Rintz of New England Builders said she does not feel she should have to ask her
employees to pay $80 for monthly parking and would consider moving her business out of
Evanston. AIderman Wynne asked how many employees need spaces. Mr. Katz indicated his
business needs daytime parking for only a few employees. His primary need is for visitor
parking as he has out-of-town visitors with rental cars who need to park all -day and that the
architectural firms also have need for longer than 2-hour visitor parking as clients frequently
need to be in these offices longer than 2 hours. Mr. Katz said that there is a large vacancy on
Elmwood due to the 2-hour restrictions and believes these spaces could be utilized by his
employees and visitors. Alderman Newman acknowledged Nis. Rintz's desire to have free
parking, but explained the Council's premise behind the 2-hour Residents Exempt Districts to
provide parkins; for residents and retail/business visitors while moving local employees and
commuters from the residential areas into off-street facilities. Mr. Katz expressed concern that
there was so much available parking on the 2-hour blocks of Elmwood and questioned whether
the district needed so much underutilized space. Jean Baucom explained to the Committee that,
when District F had been established, only one side of Elmwood had the 2-hour restriction and
that the residents had returned to the Council to make both sides 2-hour time limited because the
street was still impacted with commuters. The Cite Council had reviewed the matter and
approved their request to make both sides 2-hour time limited.
Alderman Newman said that there are many businesses in the downtown area whose employees
park in City lots and garages. He said lie wishes parking could be free for everyone, however,
someone has to pay to build the lots and garages and that in order to be fair and consistent, the
Council policy does not provide free parking in neighborhoods for some local employees while
denying it to others.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of January 28, 1998
page 3
Kathy Rintz and Peggy McArdle said they feel parking should be revised because commuters
supporting Chicago business get there early and park for free while the employees to these
businesses on 800 Greenwood don't have a place to park when they arrive for work at 9AM. Ms.
Rintz said she feels her employees are being harassed by the PEO's because of all their chalking.
She said that one of her employees had been told by a PEO that "we know you've been
complaining" and that "it's only going to get worse."
Alderman Wynne asked David Jennings about the status of previous discussions about making a
one-way pair on Sherman Avenue/Sherman Place between Greenwood and Dempster, which
would allow putting parking on these blocks. David Jennings indicated lie has collected data on
this area and is at the point of preparing drawings and layouts to see what, if any, parking could
be possible.
Alderman Newman asked if spaces are created on these areas how would they be regulated.
AIderman Wynne said she thinks I2-hour meters would be helpful but would like to hear from
the Traffic Engineer regarding use of meters.
Alderman Bernstein said that there is also a need in this area for turnover parking for the candle
shop on west Sherman and that Paul Giddings and lie have discussed the need for additional
parking for the businesses in the Chicago/Dempster retail area. Alderman Bernstein led a
discussion about the nature and configuration of the two Shermans, pointing out that the cast
Sherman currently precludes parking on both sides because of the twists and turns as well as the
number of driveways and that traffic problems are created when vehicles try to turn left onto
Dempster.
Alderman Newman asked who would use 12-hour meters if they were installed on Sherman. A
brief discussion followed that some commuters would use them and that spaces would be
available for visitors and employees of area businesses, including those on 800 Greenwood.
Susan Leslie said site thinks the area should be restricted to prevent overnight parking to get rid
orall of the trucks, and said some vehicles remain parked fur months at a time. Jean Baucom
commented that 800 Greenwood provides parking for the residents on the 1400 block of
Elmwood as well as other residents in the area. She pointed out that several residents in the area
drive pick-up trucks, but because Illinois law requires these to be registered as trucks rather than
passenger vehicles. Consequently, they are unable to park on Elmwood and have to park on the
800 block of Greenwood. As far as Sherman Place is concerned, Jean said she had checked these
blocks and found two box trucks - one in each block. License plate checks revealed that one
truck belongs to Allegretti Rug Company on the corner of Lake and Sherman and the other
belongs to the candle shop on Sherman Place. David Jennings reiterated that in commercial
areas trucks may be parked overnight and that both box trucks were parked within the law.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of January 28, 1998
page 4
Lt. Mangas arrived at 7PM.
AIdermen Wynne and Newman asked staff to perform studies and provide information at the
next meeting that identifies how existing area parking is being used, how much traffic exists on
the two Shermans and the feasibility of making portions of these streets one-way, and how many
new parking spaces could be created if a one-way pair was installed. Alderman Newman asked
staff to also provide a summary vacant permits available for the surrounding City lots. Alderman
Bernstein said that the Chicago -Dempster merchants and the 1400 Chicago Ave. Building
should be invited to that meeting. He also expressed concern that the residents on Elmwood
should also be notified and invited to the next meeting.
Susan Leslie stated that in other North Shore towns there are commuter lots at the train stations
where people get permits to park. She does not feel commuters should be allowed to park for
free on streets near the Dempster Street station. Aldermen Newman and Wynne explained their
concerns about the low ridership at 4 CTA stations and the desire of the CTA to close these
stations, that Evanston is a different kind of community from other North Shore towns, and that
there is a need to find a balance so that ridership does not drop and Evanston lose these stations
as many residents depend on them. Lee Katz and Kevin Barker commented they would not have
any objection to having 12-hour meters installed in the area.
Alderman Newman said that this matter will be continued at the next Parking Committee
meeting, which David Jennings reported is scheduled for February 25th at GPM.
IZeauest from Roycemore School for Neighborhood Parkinu Petmits for Teach
David Jennings briefly reviewed the request he had received from Roycemore. Aldermen
Wynne and Newman asked if this had not been previously discussed and the request denied.
David Jennings advised the earlier request had come from the Montessori School at Kendall
College, which is across the street from Roycemore. Alderman Newman asked that this matter
be continued to a future meeting when Roycemore and the Montessori School could each send a
representative and when Alderman Engleman could be present. Alderman Newman expressed
his desire that David Reynolds also be at the meeting duc to his interest in this issue.
Sherman Avenue Garage Renalrs:
Jean Baucom reviewed the draft memo which has been prepared for Council explaining the need
to make structural repairs to the Sherman Avenue Parking Garage and requesting funds be
reallocated from the $2,000,000 borrowed to upgrade the stair towers and outer facades. John
Hammerschlag suggested not spending $200,000 to replace the roof membrane system if the
garage is only to be in existence for another 3-5 years, noting that many garages do not put
waterproofing on their roofs because much of the salt is washed away by rain. David Jennings
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of January 28, 1998
page 5
explained that the roof covering has been coming up for several years and is a tripping hazard
and that the membrane itself has been damaged in some areas. The recommendation would
allow the entire roof level to be restored to a safe condition after completion of the other repairs.
David Jennings asked Mr. Hammerschlag what alternatives he might suggest. John
Hammerschlag, David Jennings, and Jean Baucom briefly discussed the option of scraping the
roof to remove all old wearcourse and membrane and subsequently applying a silane coating to
protect the concrete and past-tcnsioning repairs. John Hammerschlag suggested this work could
probably be performed for about half the cost of replacing the membrane.
The Committee asked that the draft be revised to reflect that its recommendation to perform the
estimated $690,000 repairs plus removing and applying a silane-type sealer on the roof for an
estimated $100,000.
A&rman Rainev's Request for Committee Minutes Be Provided to All Council Members. -
Alderman Newman recognized Alderman Rainey. Alderman Rainey expressed her belief that
copies of the Parking Committee minutes and agenda should be distributed to all Council
members, stating that matters could be considered and the Ward Alderman never have any idea
such matters were being discussed. Alderman Newman said the Committee would be glad to
provide minutes to all Council members and stated that the Committee does not discuss any
matter related to a specific ward without including the Ward Alderman.
Communications with the Cetttral Business District Communitv reeadine Chanae in
Improvements Planned for Sherman &vcaLie Garage:
Jonathan Perman suggested that the City talk with the businesses of the CBD about the change in
plans not to provide a facelift for the Sherman Avenue Garage and instead to make other
structural repairs. Mr. Perman said that, while he agrees that the funds have to be reallocated and
structural repairs made to the garage, the City and the Chamber had basically sold the increased
parking meter rates to the CBD based on intent to provide a newly -updated garage that would be
attractive and encourage increased activity, and he believes it is very important for the City to go
back to the businesses and explain what is going on. Alderman Newman said no one was more
disappointed than him that the improvements program anticipated was going to have to be
abandoned. He said that he feels it is better, however, to wait to discuss this with the businesses
until options can be discussed. Alderman Newman said staff should begin working on possible
options for the site and expressed his hope: that the Parking Committee will begin working with
this project as soon as issues regarding the Research Park project are resolved - perhaps by May.
John Hammerschlag said he wants it to be clear to others that performing the repairs does not
provide any guarantee that repairs will end at the $790,000 point. He emphasized other post -
tensioning can break at any time and will need to be repaired to keep the garage safe.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of January 28, 1998
page 6
Alderman Newman asked David Jennings when the memo regarding the garage repairs will go to
Council, and Mr. Jennings replied it will go to the Administration and Public Works (A&PW)
Committee at the February 9th meeting. Alderman Newman requested John Hammerschlag
attend this meeting along with David Jennings to answer questions which might come from
A&PW members.
David Jennings advised he and Jean Baucom had met with Neil Kenig of KLOA this morning to
talk about some of the factors applied in estimating his parking demands. Mr. Jennings added
that both Frank Koppelman and Neil Kenig are independently putting together terms and
definitions as well as brief descriptions on how their analyses were computed and that a meeting
will be set up so that all concerned can meet to go over the information and hopefully get
everyone on an equal footing so that all are using the same language. With regard to traffic
issues, Mr. Jennings said that traffic data cannot be collected and evaluated in time for the
February 4th meeting and indicated the work could not be completed until February 23rd due to
the amount of data needed, the number of locations involved, and the interrelatedness of many of
the streets and intersections. Alderman Newman said he would Iike to see parking and traffic
issues completed by March 15 and asked that a meeting be scheduled for February 19th at 6 PM
to begin discussions on traffic issues. Alderman Wynne asked Alderman Newman if he expected
to deal with all traffic and parking issues in one meeting, and Alderman Newman said he
believes it will take several meetings and wants to deal with traffic issues first at the February
19111 meeting. Alderman Newman further said he wants to have a video of traffic on all ofthe
streets because he has personally been checking Maple and Church on Friday and Saturday
evenings and sees little traffic at the present time; meaning that the addition of theater traffic will
not have a major impact to this area.
Alderman Wynne asked David Jennings if the reports and information regarding the traffic and
parking analyses could be provided several days ahead of the February 19th meeting so that
members will have an opportunity to read the materials prior to the meeting. David Jennings
said he would try to obtain the materials in time to get them out in advance.
John Hammerschlag asked David Jennings if lie had met with Frank Koppelman and Neil Kenig
outside of the Committee meetings. David Jennings responded in the affirmative. Mr.
Hammerschlag asked if he could attend future meetings with Frank Koppelman and Neil Kenig,
and both David Jennings and Alderman Newman said these meetings are open to anyone. David
Jennings said lie will notify Mr. Fammerschlag when a date and time are set for the next
meeting.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of January 28, 1998
page 7
Frank KoppeIman stated he realizes there is not time to really address the project's parking, but
he did want to bring up 3 brief issues;
a. Regarding the ULI documents Neil Kenig has referred to in the past, he
has been unable to verify which ones these are and asked for additional
information or copies which would help identify these documents.
b. Neil Kenig had used December as the highest demand, but he and Jean
Keneipp feel that June and July would be higher months for total demand.
C. The estimate of parking demand for the downtown has been based on current
occupancy and parking use. Since one of the arguments for the development
is that it will provide increased activity in the downtown and since increased
activity will hopefully reduce the current retail vacancies, the downtown parking
demand should be revised to reflect the demand that will be created by the new
businesses.
Jonathan Perman noted that people tend to perceive and talk about a greater vacancy than
actually exists. He said currently the first -floor retail vacancy rate is about 15% versus a year
and two years ago when it was running 9-10% vacant. Mr. Perman he believes this rate will
come down, but it is not reasonable to assume there will be 100% occupancy.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jean Baucom
Parking System Manager
DRAFT - NOT APPROVED
The Parking Committee
A Sub -Committee of the City Council of Evanston, Illinois
Alderman Newman called the meeting to order at 5:10 P.M.
Members Present: Alderman Newman, Alderman Bernstein, and Alderman Wynne
Giddings, Hammerschlag, Reynolds, and Perman
Staff Present: Jennings, Baucom, Mangas, Aiello, and Rubin
Consultant: Neil Kenig of Kenig, Lindberg, O'Hara, Aboona, Inc. (KLOA)
Visitors: Frank Koppelman, Jim Repsold, Kevin Campbell, Gail Evers, Debbie
Hillman, Lloyd Idelman, Troy Thiel, Margie Newman, Alan Brunettin
Kathy Burgess, Michael Peshkin, Lee Katz, Kevin Barker, Alderman
Feldman.
Alderman Newman asked for a show of how many wanted to speak regarding the entertainment
project and acknowledged Frank Koppelman, advising that Mr. Koppelman would have 15
minutes in which to present his comments.
Mr. Koppelman distributed several handouts of lus overhead projection charts (Shared Parking -
Comparison of Stand Alone and Multi -Use Centers, Captivity Reduction - Myth or Reality, and
Parking Garage Requirements Comparison, Friday, 8pm; December). Mr. Koppelman reviewed
the numbers in his charts regarding parking requirements and captivity reductions. Mr.
Koppelman also distributed the following handouts which he had prepared: Estimated parking
spaces to serve new UEC demand - Rates and Adjustments (ULI, Dim. Of Parking, 1993) - one
for December, Friday, 8PM and one for June & July, Friday, 8pm) both dated 3/17/98 along with
two text sheets identified as "Parking Issues -------- March 25, 1998". Mr. Koppelman said that he
believes the calculations for the actual parking requirement are basically the same for his
calculations and Mr. Kenig's and that the difference is insufficient to argue over. However, he
believes there is no savings for "captive" market. Mr. Koppelman read from page 2 of the
December 16, 1997, minutes: "He (Kenig) explained lie also applied a 25% reduction factor to
the theater calculations to account for a 'captive market,' which refers to those people and autos
which are parked elsewhere in the area for other trip purposes and `stayed over' to go to the
theater." AIderman Newman asked how Mr. Koppelman accounted for people walking in
because they live nearby, giving his family as an example. Mr. Koppelman said he calls these
people "access" factor rather than captive market. He pointed out the Dec. 16th minutes read,
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of March 25, 1998
page 2
"The `captive market' reduction does not include cars belonging to area residents who walked to
the theater." Discussion followed among various committee members, Neil Kenig and Mr.
Koppelman regarding this issue of area residents with Mr. Koppelman stating a car belonging to
an area resident parked in a private versus public space should not be counted since it will not
require a parking space at the project or in a public facility downtown. However, he believes that
if the car is parked in the Sherman -Benson garage and the person walks over to the new
restaurants and cinema then they are taking up a space. Numerous comments followed
explaining that the issue is not whether the car is parked in private versus public parking facilities
but whether the car is parked in the project versus other facilities and the individuals walk into
the project uses. Mr. Koppelman estimates there could be a reduction of 1 IS spaces due to walk-
ins and transit, but he believes neither he nor Neil Kenig have any basis for coming up with their
reduction figures. Mr. Koppelman said he believes there could be quantitative studies performed
by asking people going to restaurants in Evanston.
Alderman Newman asked Mr. Koppelman if they could both agree that the best judgement
would have to be used in determining the reduction figures, and Mr. Koppelman said he does not
agree and believes there should be a scientific way to do this.
Mr. Koppelman proceeded with his presentation by showing current demand based on David
Jennings' December study and by adding 100 additional spaces because he believes the vacant
space in the downtown could generate this amount of parking demand if they become occupied.
Mr. Koppelman added he also adjusted his figures based on his belief that the plans for the
development now take up more room than previously anticipated and that more land will be used
north of Clark Street, resulting in a smaller amount of parking on Maple and Oak and in the
Research Park lots. Jonathan Perman asked Mr. Koppelman if parking at Shand Morahan had
been used in his calculations of available parking spaces. Mr. Koppelman deferred this question,
stating he had used the figures provided by David Jennings. Mr. Jennings stated that his
calculations had been based on parking in the Sherman Avenue garage and remaining Research
Park lots only - no other off-street parking had been included because there was adequate parking
to meet the peak demand deficit in these facilities. Mr. Koppelman concluded by stating he
believes the deficit will be greater in the June -July period, citing a deficit of 352 spaces in
December and a 458 space deficit in June -July.
Alderman Newman recognized Neil Kenig, the City's consultant for parking and traffic issues
related to this project. Mr. Kenig distributed copies of a document entitled, "ITE COMMITTEE
617-52 - SHARED PARKING PLANNING GUIDELINES: An Informational Report" dated
December 28, 1994. Mr. Kenig said he disagrees with Mr. Koppelman regarding the existence of
a captive market, Mr. Kenig provided two examples; an employee working in the downtown
goes to lunch. His car does not move. That's captive market. At night, you find 1000 cars - all
are there, each person doing different things. If they change purposes - shift activity - the
demand remains the same. Mr. Kenig apologized his earlier definition did not include walk-ins,
and stated walk-ins are part of captive market, but are only one part of the calculation. Mr.
Kenig further said he did not include any reduction for those using transit and believes the 5%
used by Mr. Koppelman is too low. He said Old Orchard Center gets 5% traffic from transit and
it only has buses. From the two trains alone, he believes this percentage will be higher.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of March 25, 1998
page 3
Alderman Wynne asked for clarification of the definitions of captive parking and shared parking.
She explained her understanding of shared parking, stating she had no problem with this concept,
but needed additional information about "captive market". Discussion followed, using various
examples. Eventually, the point was made that the use of specific terms was clouding the issue
and that the real question is determining what number of people coming to the new development
will not require a parking space because they have walked -in or taken public transit.
Mr. Koppelman was asked what method he would suggest to determine an appropriate number
for walk-ins or use transit; and he said that at 8PM stand at doors of retails and restaurants and
ask where they live/came from, what mode of transportation they used, and where they parked.
Alderman Newman recognized John Hammerschlag, who stated from the parking industry
perspective he would never build based on a one time a year peak approach. He said the parking
industry looks at the environment, demand within the area, and relies on its experience and
operating costs to know how much parking to build where. Neil Kenig interjected the peak
demand only occurs 3 - 4 times per year realistically and building to meet that demand is really
overbuilding. Mr. Hammerschlag continued he sees downtown growth, but pointed out this
demand does not necessarily have to be taken care of in this proposed development; asked about
the status of using the parking at the Shand Morahan building lot; and said he has observed
during the warmer summer months people will walk farther. Judy Aiello said she has been
unsuccessful so far in reaching Shand Morahan management, but will continue to pursue this.
Neil Kenig stated he is concerned about this project and does not want to see Evanston coming
back to him later due to a thousand space shortage in the downtown. He said that his
calculations are on the conservative side. He said he would also rather see the City develop
shared parking arrangements with other existing facilities rather than building parking due to the
high costs involved, especially if the spaces are not needed.
Alderman Newman recognized City Traffic Engineer David Jennings. Mr. Jennings advised he
has made new calculations for the parking demand versus existing supply based on the best
numbers now available from the developer and that copies of these calculations (Evaluation of
Parking Supply and Demand After Completion of Proposed Project, dated March 18, 1998)
would be available at the door for anyone who wishes a copy. Mr. Jennings said that the revised
number of stalls in the garage is proposed at 1200 (1187 to be exact). With 250 spaces left on
the lot south of University & Maple, 110 on the site formerly known as Ward's Mfg., 94 in the
lot at the NW corner of University & Maple, plus 24 new spaces on Oak Avenue and another 24
on University Place, plus 651 in the Sherman Avenue garage, the total parking supply for the
area would be 2,353. Mr, Jennings said he used 651 spaces for the Sherman Ave. Garage instead
of 667 because lie chose not to include the handicapped spaces. On the demand side, he said that
the number of spaces for the new project design as calculated by KLOA is 1,642. This number
(1,642) plus the 406 stall demand lie found in December brings the total demand to 2,048, The
result is a surplus of 305 spaces during the peak hour. Mr. Jennings concluded by pointing out
that 2048 total is really over -estimated because there were a number of cars parked in Lot 62 in
the Research Park which were at businesses that will not be in those sites when the project is
finished. Examples include Dave's Italian Kitchen and the Pineyard.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of March 25, 1998
page 4
Neil Kenig interjected that restaurants alone don't usually generate large numbers of people
using public transit. As a further example of captive market, Mr. Kenig pointed out that most of
the hotel guests will be captive market because they will park for the hotel but use the restaurants
and other uses within the downtown.
Brief discussion followed regarding the costs for building parking if one owns the land.
Basically each 100 spaces costs between $1.25 and 1.5 million dollars to construct.
Overbuilding the new garage can be very costly.
Alderman Newman recapped that the current dispute seems now to be about 100 spaces. He
believes any parking demand created by other CBD growth must be met outside of this project.
He pointed out that the Committee and the City Council must consider an array of users and how
they will come to the new project and weigh these against the costs of construction. He said the
task ahead is to determine whether we are going to attempt to balance supply with demand or
look at worst case scenario.
Alderman Newman recognized Kathy Burgess. Ms. Burgess asked whether and what
consideration has been given to the impact and alternatives of losing the 651 spaces in the
Sherman Avenue garage; what happens if an office building is built behind the hotel as indicated
on the more recent plan; and have other use sizes increased since it appears from the plans that
other sizes of have grown? Alderman Newman said the original Research Park plans had two
garages planned. The City is already negotiating with Northwestern University regarding
parking and may have other parking built. David Jennings responded that the addition of office
buildings would not increase the peak demand and pointed out that spaces would be available
during the daytime since the peak use is projected during evening hours.
David Jennings explained that the City is already looking at alternatives for short-range as well
as long-range parking demands. He pointed out that during this summer repairs will be in
progress in the Sherman Avenue garage reducing the capacity during those months. He said that
there are several alternatives: The Church St. Self Park can take 150-200 more cars during the
daytime; the lakefront is also an alternative during the interim period; and finally that there are
some streets in residential areas which could handle all -day parking on one side. Brief comments
were expressed regarding the desirability of allowing all -day commuters to park on the lakefront
and whether or not people would use these spaces. It was pointed out that commuters had parked
on the lakefront streets until just a few years ago because it was free and people will walk if
parking is free. While opinions were expressed supporting both sides, there seemed to be
acknowledgment that this parking is an alternative for the City to consider.
Alderman Newman advised the meeting that guests were arriving for a discussion regarding
parking in the Greenwood -Sherman Area and that the discussion on the new project would have
to conclude. He acknowledge Frank Koppelman and stated that he could have a maximum of 5
more minutes to conclude his comments.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of March 25, 1998
page 5
Mr. Koppelman said he was glad to see that the number of spaces for the garage has been
increased; that the numbers are higher in June/July than in December and he believes they peak
more than suggested; and that the City should not plan for 100°lo usage of the garage. Alderman
Newman said people will park in residential areas if there is free parking whether we like it or
not. Mr. Koppelman continued stating that people don't want to park on upper levels of a
garage. Further, since the City is counting on the Sherman Ave. Garage to meet the parking
demand of the project, it will be necessary to deal with the I00 spaces that will be needed from
the CBD growth. He said Ire believes Shand Morahan is a great site but too far away and
visually not conducive to attract people going to the cinemas, etc. He stated that if the hotel
changes from a residential character to a convention hotel the demands for parking will be
different. He concluded his comments by stating that so far no one has challenged his use of the
term "access" parking nor his numbers and that building too little parking impacts all of the
surrounding properties and their values.
A brief break took place at 7:06 p.m. while visitors interested in the Research Park parking issues
departed and those interested in parking issues around Greenwood -Sherman entered. When the
meeting reconvened at approximately 7:10 p.m., there were 8-10 visitors in addition to the
committee members and staff. Aldermen Feldman and Rainey were also present.
Alderman Newman turned the meeting over to David Jennings to review the parking program
and recommendations. Mr. Jennings reported that after the last Parking Committee meeting staff
had performed a detailed parking study of the area and made a block -by -block review of parking
in the area. He said the study did not find a Iarge impact of train commuters based on patterns of
parking and observation of where people were walking. Many of the cars parking all day came
too late and left too early to be train commuters. Employees from the downtown were observed
walking from and back to their cars. Mr. Jennings reviewed the options in his memo of March 2
for adding parking on several streets and possibly changing several blocks to one-way traffic.
The block of Sherman Avenue (west) between Greenwood and Dempster brought out the most
interest from visitors who have businesses in the area. Their concerns included the desire to
increase parking on the block, the impact of delivery trucks if parking is allowed on both sides,
turning maneuvers for wreckers bring cars to the two repair shops, time limits which would
support employees as well as visitor parking needs, and which direction this block should be if it
becomes one-way. The general feeling was that, if the block should be one-way, that direction
should be northbound as this makes it considerably easier to give directions to guests versus
having to route someone around several blocks.
Paul Giddings said he has spoken with the bank management about the possibility of making
Sherman Ave. (East) one-way northbound and they have no objection because most of their
customers come off Greenwood. David Jennings explained that only 6 spaces could be added
on this block if it becomes one-way because of its narrowness and curves. He said that the City's
right-of-way is very small and in some places the sidewalk is on private property.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of March 25, 1998
page 6
A question was asked about adding parking on Sherman Avenue West between Greenwood and
Lake now that this has been paved. David Jennings said the City had checked this area and
found that with 2 cars parked there was barely 10 feet between their mirrors. Since there are
many large delivery trucks using this block, he does not feel it wide enough to allow parking on
both sides. He pointed out that on days when there is snow, there would be even less 10 feet.
Mr. Jennings concluded by stating that there could be a gain of approximately 22 spaces if all of
the streets are left two-way traffic. if the two blocks of Sherman Ave. are made one-way, this
number would increase. A brief discussion followed focusing on how the spaces would be
regulated: signs versus meters, and short-term versus long -term limits. The business/visitors
expressed their desire to see some of the spaces sold as permit spaces for the employees.
Committee members expressed the City's policy with regard to on -street parking in business
areas being dedicated to visitors and then to commuters and that priority cannot be provided to
area employees over other employees for legal reasons.
Due to the late hour and the Economic Development Committee meeting to follow, Alderman
Newman asked if there was a consensus on everything except the one block of Sherman Avenue
west between Greenwood and Dempster. Alderman Newman asked Alderman Bernstein and
Paul Giddings to talk with the businesses in that area and report back at the next meeting.
The next regular Parking Committee meeting is scheduled for April 22, 1998. The Committee
agreed to meet at 5:00 P.M., and that the focus would be (1) the siting of the Levy Center and
Performing Arts Theaters and (2) captivc parking/the number of spaces in the garage.
Respectfully submitted,
Jean Baucom
Parking System Manager
Draft - Not Approved
The Parking Committee
A Sub -Committee of the City Council of Evanston, Illinois
�/ IUTZ 1 1 plu Ti1/ MITIrTIT ETI"MW':
Alderman Newman called the meeting to order at 7:10 P.M.
Members Present: Alderman Newman, Alderman Bernstein, Giddings, Hammerschlag,
And Reynolds
Members Absent: Alderman Wynne, Perman
Staff Present: Jennings, Baucom, Mangas
Visitors: Jim Repsold, Came Warburton, Frank Koppelman (arrived 7:45pm)
The minutes from the last regular Parking Committee meeting were distributed. Approval of
these minutes will be requested at the next meeting.
David Jennings explained that the residents on Leon Place had asked Aldermen Kent to revise
their street from a 2-Hour Residents' Exempt Parking District to a Residents' Only Parking
District because the short-term parking demand from Northwestern University's 2020 Ridge
Ave. Building still impacts their accessibility to parking near their homes during daytime hours.
Ile said that a survey had been sent to residents and 6 of the 7 residents responded. All indicated
they want the change, and Aldermen Kent supports this change and asked that it be taken to
Council has soon as possible. Alderman Newman asked if there was sufficient parking
elsewhere for these visitors, and Mr. Jennings responded that there are 2-hour time limits on
Ridge across from the 2020 Ridge Building, that NU has metered parking on its property as well
as parking on the west side of this building and a lot on the north side of Leon Place.
Alderman Newman asked David Jennings what his recommendation would be regarding this
area. Mr. Jennings responded that he supports changing this block and believes that other
adjacent blocks of Asbury and Leonard Place should be looked at; however, these are in
Alderman Engleman's ward.
The Committee approved the request and directed it be submitted to City Council.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of April 22, 1998
page 2
Alderman Newman asked David Jennings if he had any changes to the Comprehensive General
Plan section regarding Parking. Mr. Jennings responded he had previously reviewed the section
and submitted his comments prior to the published draft. Alderman Newman asked if the
purpose of this section was zoning related of policy related. Mr. Jennings said the section deals
with policy and his understanding is the Plan Commission would like comments from the
Parking Committee. John Hammerschlag asked for information about the Comprehensive Plan -
what is it, etc. David Jennings advised it is an overview of the vision the Plan Commission sees
for the City. The Plan Commission, he stated, is composed of citizens and there are no aldermen
or elected officials on this commission. When asked about the section regarding parking, Mr.
Jennings said that the section is regarding transportation of which parking is one issue. Other
components include traffic circulation, bicycles and pedestrians, signage of lots, and parking in
both residential and business areas.
Alderman Newman asked when a response is expected, and Mr. Jennings said the Plan
Commission wants to publish the completed report by the fall. Alderman Newman said the
Committee should review the comments, but did not know how this is possible in the next month
based on current issues at hand.
Alderman Newman asked David Jennings what this item covers. Mr. Jennings said this issue
relates to the relocation of cars during the restoration work to be performed in the Sherman
Avenue Garage and the short-term relocation of cars during construction in the Research Park.
Beginning with the Sherman Avenue Garage, there will be about 2 floors out -of -service at a time
which reduces the garage capacity about 200-250 spaces. Jean Baucom said that there are spaces
available in the Holiday Inn Lower Level and Church Street Self Park where some cars can be
relocated and that during the summer months the number of permit parkers always drops 50-100
permits and general use also drops, so there should not be any major problems.
Discussion followed about the loss of parking spaces in the existing Research Park lots. David
Jennings held up a map indicating both the location of the lots as well as the number of spaces
per lot. Loss of the old Dominick's lot (Lot 62) plus the lot behind Dave's Italian Kitchen (Lot
65) plus the two portion of Lot 20 south of University Place to the Levy Center results in loss of
804 spaces. In the northwest area, David Jennings showed 110 parking spaces on the Ward
Manufacturing property after it is surfaced, spaces on Oak Avenue and south side of University
Place; and replacement of parallel stalls on the east side of Oak Ave. north of Church Street to
angle parking stalls. He further suggested that spaces in the former Whole Foods Market should
be explored and that spaces in the Englehart Dorm lot also be explored. Alderman Newman said
he felt these were good ideas, and asked Paul Giddings if the Chamber could pursue the status of
the spaces at Whole Foods. He said NU should took at using the Englehart spaces to meet the
Parking. Committee Minutes
Meeting of April 22, 1998
page 3
zoning requirements for BIRL. David Jennings moved to the eastern area and said spaces along
the lakefront which are currently 3-hour could be changed unrestricted to allow, employee
parking, noting a portion could remain short-term to allow for weekday beach users. Further, he
said that changes could be made on Sheridan Road between Church and Greenwood which
would increase the number of available spaces. He added that some blocks in the neighborhood
which have 2-hour time limits on both sides could be revised to allow all -day parking on one
side. John Hammerschlag suggested putting hikers on the 4th level of the Sherman Avenue
garage to park cars in the aisles for the top two floors and possibly the basement. He further
suggested that Shand Morahan do the same think in their lot.
Alderman Newman asked staff to come back to the next meeting with a list of locations and the
number of spaces available at each site.
Alderman Newman said that the City is negotiating with NU to provide parking for their needs
and that the size of the public parking structure is being increased another 900 spaces above the
1160 proposed to meet future demands from some interested in developing other parts of the
Park. Alderman Newman said he plans on spending some time with Judy Aiello and David
Jennings discussing the needs and suggested a sub -committee of the Parking Committee be set
up to work with Jean Baucom and David Jennings and Judy Aiello regarding the needs and size
of the garage the City needs. John Hammerschlag and Alderman Bernstein volunteered to serve
on this sub -committee. Alderman Newman suggested some meetings which begin around 4:30-
4:45pm Alderman Newman said he hopes to see one major garage to accommodate the Park
and Urban Entertainment Center and to see the Sherman Avenue Garage redeveloped with up to
1,000 spaces to serve the center of domitown.
The next regular meeting should be Wednesday, May 27th. There is an EDC meeting that night.
Aldermen Newman said he wanted on the agenda the following:
* Replacement Parking - report of recommended changes
* Traffic Report - providing dollar amounts for improvements and whether improvements
can be paid for under TIF.
* Angle parking on Mapte between Clark & Church, as proposed in the Hill plan
* Sherman and Greenwood - report from Paul Giddings & Aid. Bernstein on their
discussions with businesses.
* Size of the Park garage - Alderman Newman asked to have a presentation made of the
Garage proposal to the Parking Committee to be sure it is done right.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of April 22, 1998
page 4
Alderman Newman asked if the Committee could begin at 5:00 P.M. due to the amount on the
agenda. The committee members appeared to have no problem with the meeting starting at that
time; however, Frank Koppelman said he could not arrive until 5:30 p.m.. Alderman Newman
said the Committee would talk about some other issues prior to Mr. Koppelman's arrival.
David Reynolds asked David Jennings abut the number of rounds that security guards are
supposed to make per hour in the garages. He related that one of his guests at the Homestead had
reported to him that his car had been broken into and that while talking to the guard the guard
had said they do one round each hour. lean Baucom said that is not the agreement with the
security company. She said that the City does not expect the guard to be walking constantly for 8
straight hours, but has made it clear to the security firm that one round is not acceptable.
Discussion followed on the use of guard key stations and the monitoring of these rounds.
Ms. Baucom further commented that the garages have been lucky in the small amount of
problems they have experienced over the last 10 years, noting that the rash of break-ins more
recently have been consistent with other problems that have been occurring on streets. She said
that one employee of Evanston Place had been identified as breaking into cars and has been fired
by apartments and that more recently the Police had captured another person who had been
identified by the security firm staff as causing problems in both garages. Lt. Mangas explained
that vehicle break-ins have been happening all over and that there is not just one person involved.
He said that these crimes are "easy" crimes because there are basically no consequences as the
judges see this as only property and nothing real important. He said that there have been gangs
from Chicago involved who have selected Evanston as their initiation place where members must
break into cars. Lt. Mangas added that some parkers also contribute to the problem by leaving
cell phones and computers in plain sight on car seats and later wonder why their cars were
broken into. Alderman Newman asked if the Council was aware of the judges attitude in these
matters and said that the Council should be made aware if it is not and that it should take action
to talk to the judges to make it clear to them how the community feels about this issue and the
impact of the judges not taking it seriously enough.
Jean Baucom said that to come back to David Reynolds original comments, she would discuss
the number of rounds with the security supervisor to make sure that more than one round was
being made per hour.
Valet Pig
Alderman Newman asked for a report on the valet parking ordinance some time in the future.
Parking Committee Minutes
.Meeting of April 22, 1999
page 5
Alderman Newman asked for an updated report on the number of vehicles being booted and for
information on the flop Ten Scofflaws.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Jean Baucom, Parking System Manager
DRAFT - NOT APPROVED
The Parking Committee
A Sub -Committee of the City Council of Evanston, Illinois
Alderman Newman called the' meeting of the sub -Committee to order at 5:10 P.M.
Members Present: Alderman Newman, Alderman Bernstein, and Alderman Wynne
Giddings, Haritmerschlag, Reynolds, and Petman
Staff Present: Jennings, Baucom, Aiello, Mangas
Consultant: Neil Kenig of Kenig, Lindberg, O'Hara, Aboona, Inc. (KLOA)
Marty Stern (U.S. Equities)
Visitors: Margie Newman, Frank Koppelman, Jim Repsold, Kathy Burgess, Bob
Horne (Arthur Hill Co.)
Research Park - Urban Entertainment Proiect Pronosal
Judith Aiello reviewed the staff memo dated June 30, 1998, which discussed parking requirements
for the existing Shaw and B.I.R.L. buildings, the Hill proposed buildings, and three (3) proposed
buildings as well as a possible fourth building. Alderman Newman stated he had a problem with
the calculation including the needs for B.I.R.L.; their needs should be separate and NU should
provide or pay for development of their parking requirement. Ms. Aiello explained that staffs
role was to determine the demand for the area. Decisions regarding where and how NU provides
parking for the B.I.R.L. is a policy decision beyond staffs authority.
Ms. Aiello summarized the four parking demand calculations described in the memo: A. Zoning
Requirement, B. Zoning/Replacement, & C. Requested Spaces do not included any shared
parkins. D (Calculated Demand prepared by KLOA) is the only one including shared parking,
and Neil Kenig of KLOA would summarize the team and rationales. Mr. Kenig explained the
afternoon is now the peak based on the additional office buildings being proposed and that
previous discussions regarding the percentages are mute due to the time change in the peak
demand to afternoon. KLOA believes the percentages they've applied are still conservative. Mr.
Kenig reviewed the tables and numbers, pointing out that the Hill demand is highest during
evening hours. Alderman Newman asked if KLOA figures included the three or four proposed
buildings, and Mr. Kenig responded their figures are based on four buildings. He further indicated
he has prepared another table which he did not bring which projects lower theater use. He said a
new theater -use distribution count will be taken the week after July 4th which is usually the
highest in summer, because he feels the actual use is much lower than projected.
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of July 1, 1998
page 2
Alderman Newman asked Mr. Kenig what an "average day" would look like. Mr. Kenig said
there should be a vacancy of several hundred spaces and reminded that the plan is for the "peak"
day which only occurs a few times per year. Jonathan Perman asked if parking spaces outside the
development area had been included in the supply, and Mr. Kenig said no. When asked what
number he would recommend the City build, Mr. Kenig said no more than 1800. John
Hammerschlag asked Mr. Kenig what he really thought the theater demand would be. Mr. Kenig
responded 200 or so, maybe less. Mr. Hammerschlag then asked Mr. Kenig for his "gut
thinking" regarding the number of spaces. Mr. Kenig said with two garages you have flexibility to
expand if the development is very successful. He also pointed out that the Hill development
won't be full from Day 1, which also provides some flexibility.
Frank Koppelman questioned the 240,000 sq. ft. of office, what the peak time is, and noted that
there appeared to be a change in the factor used for restaurants and questioned why. Mr. Kenig
said that the 240,000 sq. feet was the number provided to him regarding the larger project build
out, that the peak time is now IPM-2PM, and that the change in the factor for restaurants had
been applied based on the receipt of more recent information from the developer on the type of
restaurants anticipated. Mr. Kenig explained that the original factor was based on "high
generator" types of eating establishments such as Bennigans; however, now it appears there will
be more "white tablecloth" restaurants which generate far less traffic. Mr. Koppelman asked if
there is information available on the kind of restaurant versus the number of spaces required, and
Mr. Kenig responded there is not to his knowledge. He suggested Mr. Koppelman might contact
Schaumburg which has experienced an increase in restaurant traffic or private restaurants for
information. Mr. Koppelman said that in previous meetings and tables the percentages for captive
market were different and now seem to be higher, that he feels the estimate seriously under-
estimates evening demand, that he is glad to see separate adjustments for walk-in and transit, and
that the square footage numbers appear different from those distributed by the City.
Bob Horne of Arthur Hill Co. reviewed the layouts for the various parking garage possibilities.
Figures E1.1 allows for expansion to the north and has approximately 300+ spaces based on grade
plus 2 levels. Construction would be in 2 phases, which allows first phase of 1175 spaces and
later construction of extension using flat bays. Fl.I allows for two hotel configurations. G
allows for two separate structures with two separate ramp plans. Alderman Newman, Bob
Horne, and Neil Kenig discussed the layouts and merits and cons of each. They all agreed that the
best of all worlds would be to have two structures with one on the south end and one on the north
end. Bob Home indicated there is really no other location to build parking except for
underground. John Hammerschlag asked if the extension allows for building an office building
above, and Mr. Horne said yes. Ms. Aiello advised that the shape of the last parcel does not lend
to a building so a fourth building would have to be Above the garage.
Regarding underground spaces, Bob Horne said the soil borings hit water about 3-4 feet. John
Hammerschlag said there would be major inefficiencies in these spaces, which really drives up the
prices. Bob Horne queried if there exists a possibility to work with expansion of the 1800
Sherman project in providing parking alternatives. Discussion followed regarding the original
plans for the 1800 Sherman property, the TIF, possible alternatives using 1800 Sherman and
Benson Avenues, the costs to build and rent underground spaces, proximity of spaces to use,
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of July 1, 1998
page 3
premium fees, and increased square footage to have convenient spaces. Marty Stern asked Neil
Kenig about the entrances/exits required for 1800 spaces. Mr. Kenig said he sees no problem
based on the number of exits/entrances. The problem he sees is having only one internal ramping
(up/down) system John Hammerschlag asked Neil Kenig to walk through each parking garage
design scheme. Discussion followed about the paths cars must take to go up and get down; there
are 5 turns to get to the top; people are don't realize how far they have driven up while looking
for a space, but on the way down they know how far they have to go and are anxious to get out;
impact on traffic flow caused by customers waiting on the lower levels for vacant spaces; large
turnovers occurring at the same time; and using other techniques to push permit parkers into the
upper levels.
Alderman Wynne, Paul Giddings, and Lt. Mangas arrived at 6:10 p.m. It was decided to convert
the sub -committee meeting into the regular Parking Committee meeting and to continue meeting
in the Aldermanic Library rather than relocate to Room 2403 as originally planned.
Neil Kenig continued his review of the parking garage designs and emphasized that no analysis
has been performed of traffic for the new project. He pointed out that the entrances and exits and
the ramping are the same in designs D, E and F - the only difference is an increase of 300+ spaces.
Design G is comprised of two separate garages with two ramping systems with the north building
primarily serving the offices and the south building the entertainment and retail. There are
crossovers at the first and fifth floors with two-way traffic.
Alderman Newman questioned the "convenience" appeal to the customer of a 1500 car garage.
Bob Horne said they have worked with Walker Parking to make the garages as aesthetically
pleasing as possible regarding ceiling heights and lighting, but the cycling is something which
every one will not agree on. He pointed out that on the peak days which will only occur a few
times a year people will have to go to the top. Alderman Newman encouraged spreading, if
possible, so that there is not a monolith and so that parking is more convenient and traffic can be
spread into other directions. Bob Home said he agrees and does not support a single structure.
He said they've studied putting parking with the theaters, but they would have to go up three
levels to provide 325 spaces. He said the area south of Church St. has problems with the shape of
the parcel as well as the ceiling requirements for the live theater. The issue here is inefficiency.
John Hammerschlag asked why parking isn't distributed within each building like 500 Davis.
Alderman Newman responded that this puts parking north when it is needed south. Judith Aiello
said that the idea had always been not to have each building having its own parking so that the
supply could be shared collectively. Marty Stern said everyone agrees it is desirable to have one
garage on the south end but the inefficiency due to the parcel's shape is what has made them look
at options. Neil Kenig discussed advantages of developing east of the tracks and to follow what
had originally been the plan for 1800 Shern ari/Benson. The lower demand with residential versus
office would allow parking expansion and distribution of traffic. Alderman Newman pointed out
the City doesn't own that land. Further discussion continued that plans for I800 Sherman are not
definite, the area is in the T1F, all won't be built at the same time, and that the Sherman Avenue
Garage provides great flexibility.
David Reynolds arrived at 6:30 p.m..
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of July 1, 1998
page 4
Bob Horne explained that, if constructed, underground parking would be primarily for
shopper/transient use. In terms of staging, they had looked at 1175 in the main garage plus 275
under the main pavilion. An extension of the 1175 garage would be made at the point when other
buildings come on line. Judith Aiello pointed out that TIF requires buildings to come on line 18-
24 months; and Marty Stern added that, if two office buildings don't come on line until after the
Sherman Avenue Garage is rebuilt, the 1175 spaces plus the 275 spaces could meet the needs as it
is doubtful all of the buildings will come at the same time. Alderman Newman asked Marty Stem
when a decision would have to be made regarding adding an extension. Mr. Stem responded,
"Now". Judith Aiello said, if we can financially afford it, it would be best to do the underground
spaces due to their proximity to the eastern part of the CBD.
John Hanunerschlag reviewed the footprint of the subsurface stalls and said he doesn't believe
they'll get the number proposed. He pointed out that the drawing does not indicate the location
of building columns which will be necessary to construct the facility. He suggested the 275
proposed spaces would likely turn out to be 225-250 spaces. Jonathan Perman said it makes no
sense to build underground spaces and suggested shifting monthlies out of the Sherman Avenue
and Church St. Self Park garages to provide short-term parking in those CBD facilities..
Paul Giddings said the merchants' perception is that there isn't adequate short-term parking and
that they fear customers will park in the new 1800 space garage, go to cat and to the movies in
the new project, and then leave without going over to the other shopping/business area.
Alderman Newman said he would like to rebuild the Sherman Ave. Garage first but can't due to
TIF not covering this area and the City doesn't have the finances. Neil Kenig interjected that in
planning for more spaces the City needs to address two questions: Where and The Number. At
the present time, Where is the immediate question.
Judith Aiello commented that if parking demand can be demonstrated and benefit would be
derived to the TIF district/project, Bond Counsel might be able to be persuaded to allow use of
entertainment tax and hotel tax to redevelop the Sherman Ave. Garage. Alderman Newman said
he would like to see the financial people explore avenues to use TIF to build the Hill garage and
the parking revenues to redevelop the Sherman Ave. Garage rather than building underground
spaces. Ms. Aiello asked if they can assume:
a. If it is not possible using the current rates and all revenues, the City would
increase the rates;
b. Redevelopment would be just the Sherman Garage site not the entire blockface;
C. Use 1800 as the number of parking spaces needed.
The response was yes with regard to items a and b. For Item c, it was pointed out that the need is
basically 1200 (1175) + 400 new stalls at Sherman Ave. Garage. Neil Kenig said 1600 spaces are
needed for the total project including new office buildings due to a reduction of 200 spaces
Parking Committee Minutes
Meeting of July 1, 1998
page 5
not needed for daytime cinema and that the 1175-stall building could still be expanded later on, if
needed. Alderman Newman said that rather than build 250 spaces underground, try to divert
dollars to Sherman Ave. Garage to add 400 new stalls. John Hammerschlag pointed out that the
cost to build 250 underground spaces would be $6.2 million. Alderman Newman polled members
of the Parking Committee to determine whether they agree with the concept of rebuilding the
Sherman Avenue Parking Garage as soon as possible as it supports the concept of one downtown
with an interconnectedness between the business areas. All agreed, and added comments that this
is a better use of funds, that underground parking creates an enclosed facility and barrier and does
not look at the CBD as a whole. Neil Kenig pointed out that the day the 1175 car garage opens is
the day to close the Sherman Avenue Garage for rebuilding. Marty Stem reiterated the same
concept as Mr. Kenig. Jonathan Penman suggested it might be timely to investigate a true
Parking Authority and use with T.I.F.
The Committee agreed to schedule its next meeting at 5 P.M. on July 22nd. Ms. Aiello will
return with information about financial options for redeveloping the Sherman Ave. Garage.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Jean Baucom
Parking System Manager
L
e'
Draft - Not Approved
The Parking Committee
A Sub -Committee of the City Council of Evanston, Illinois
Minutes from the Meeting of July 22. 1998
Alderman Newman called the meeting to order at 5: I 0 p.m.
Members Present: Alderman Newman, Alderman Bernstein, Alderman Wynne,
Hammerschlag, Pemtan, Reynolds, Giddings (6:40 p.m.)
Staff Present: Jennings, Baucorn, Mangas, City Manager Crum, and
Assistant City Manager Aiello
The meeting was temporarily adjourned and all visitors were dismissed in order for the Committee
to consult in Executive Session.
The regular meeting reconvened at 6:05 p.m.
Visitors Present: Neil Kenig, Martin Stem, Bob Horn, Marty Norkett, Lois and Clyde Coren
Neil Kenig explained the results of his most recent theater -use study performed at a very
successful Chicago area multi -theater. As he had expected, the demand had been much lower for
daytime demand than for evening demand. He pointed out that the demand factors used in his
previous memos had been based on an old University of Illinois study. The 0.3 figure remains the
same for peak. The percentages of the Chicago multiplex was applied - not the actual attendance
- because the Chicago multiplex is significantly larger than the project planned in Evanston.
Alderman Wynne asked why studies had not been performed earlier and why the number is
significantly different from the number from earlier information used. Neil Kenig explained he had
always advised the number was too high and that the new study had supported his belief rather
than the older studies based on a different type of theater setting.
Alderman Newman asked if the cinema used in the study had been located near two trains. Mr.
Kenig advised it had not. Alderman Newman then said he does not think all of the current
commuters will pay garage rates for daily parking. (Paul Giddings arrived at 6:40 p.m.)
Discussion followed about usage and demand factors. It was noted that at the last meeting Mr.
Kenig had already performed one study and data showed figures were lower and this second study
confirms that first study. Alderman Newman asked Mr. Kenig to walk through the use of transit.
The question was raised if the City builds 2400 spaces, are we overbuilding or comfortable. It
was noted that 2400 spaces includes 1200 for Hill development and 1200 for replacement of the
existing Sherman Ave. Garage. Discussion continued regarding how to calculate the number of
spaces needed beyond the existing number of spaces when replacing the Sherman Ave. Garage,
noting 100 spaces had been vacant when 1253 had been calculated. David Reynolds asked what
Minutes from the Parking Committee
Meeting of July 22, 1998
page 2
would be the demand if the 12% vacancies in the CBD were filled. Jonathan Perman said in the
best years the vacancy rate had been b%. Alderman Newman asked how may on -street spaces
were included, and David Jennings responded there were 4748.
David Reynolds questioned why Scribcor had asked for so much more parking than our zoning
requires. Judith Aiello said she felt Scribcor had considered other suburbs without realizing how
much public transit use there is in Evanston. Alderman Newman said 240,000 sq. ft. is maximum
and doubted it would reach this high - maybe 180,000-200,000 sq. ft. Judith Aiello said she
would anticipate 2 buildings. David Reynolds said marketers come up with figures that will
attract business yet City zoning requirements are lower. Martin Stern said when developers don't
have to pay the number of spaces goes up; however, when they have tp provide the spaces, their
number of spaces required go down
Judith Aiello advised there have been preliminary discussions with bond counsel and that there
appear to be three options:
1. Use TIF funds for number of spaces `related" to the new development -
This puts the burden of redevelopment costs on the City but allows
some funding from the TIF since the garage is contiguous to the new
redevelopment project.
2. Extend the boundaries of the TIF district to include the Sherman Ave. Garage.
This method would allow TIF funds to be used for rebuilding the entire
garage; however, it requires opening the public hearing process and the Joint
Review Board which had been required in 1985. (About 60-90 day process)
3. Extend both the boundaries of the TIF district and the time frame of the TIF.
The Illinois State Legislature would have to approve the extension of
the TIF for additional years. Ms. Aiello said that several communities have
already extended their TIF program. Such cities include Bedford Park, Des
Plaines, Peoria, and Rosemont.
Alderman Newman expressed concern that the extension could be opposed by the schools in the
Joint Review Process.
Ms. Aiello continued by stating that under extension of the TIF time frame the City can declare an
annual surplus of revenues. Although this has not been done in the past, the City could use this
point in stating it anticipates annual surplus and won't divert this money to other projects. Martin
Stern reviewed the financial scenarios of the three options described above.
Minutes of the Parking Committee
Meeting of July 22, 1998
page 3
Alderman Newman summarized that it appears there are two options to accomplish replacing the
garage. Ms. Aiello suggested there needs to be a meeting with the Economic Development
Committee, the Plan Commission, and the Parking Committee to discuss the direction to be taken
in redevelopment of the Sherman Avenue Garage. She pointed out there needs to be a consultant
to evaluate the site; there may be a need to acquire additional land to do 1200 spaces; that
CitiCorp had previously wanted to tie in on any development to provide parking on their surface
lot on Davis Street, which might allow for full street frontage.
Alderman Bernstein asked if Hill would have to build the garage in order to use the TIF. Ms.
Aiello responded, "No."
Alderman Newman asked Martin Stem about having street retail. Mr. Stem said this is the most
desirable, but it would be necessary to look at the coststbenefits regarding acquiring other land.
John Hammerschlag asked if there were any height restrictions for the Sherman Avenue property.
Alderman Newman and Judith Aiello indicated Council would have to give a municipal
exemption. Mr. Hammerschlag said from a consumer standpoint, entrance on Sherman Avenue
would be better than entrance from Davis.
Alderman Newman expressed enthusiasm to have all of the numbers pulled together and
encouraged "full speed ahead". Ms. Aiello said she would be presented the staff memo to the
Economic Development Committee next week.
John Hammerschlag asked about the theater tax. Judith Aiello and Martin Stern said the tax is on
all theaters in Evanston, including Northwestern University.
The next regularly scheduled meeting is August 26th. The Committee decided to cancel that
meeting.
The next regularly scheduled meeting will be September 23rd.
Respectfully submitted,
Jean Baucom
Parking System Manager