The city council voted unanimously on Jan. 4 to relax parking requirements for Village merchants for three years in the hope that it would bring in more revenue for everyone. The relaxation of parking requirements is thought to be an effective, low-cost tool to help stimulate revitalization of commercial districts, according to a city staff report.

Community Development director John Livingstone said that the city of Danville relaxed parking requirements in a commercial district for three years, which resulted in seven new commercial projects coming to the city. The Danville City Council recently voted to extend the relaxation for another three years. "They felt that it did promote commercial activity and stimulate the downtown," Livingstone said before the council.

Village businesses have different parking requirements, determined by the square footage of the gross floor area. Restaurants are required to have more parking spaces than retail establishments. Required parking spaces for businesses vary in cost up to $75,000. If a business were to expand its floor space, it would have to pay the city for additional parking spaces.

Fehr and Peers, a consulting traffic-engineering firm hired by the city to analyze downtown parking, determined that there are 93 surplus parking spaces in the Village. In 2005, the city conducted several study sessions and found that relaxing parking requirements was popular with Village merchants.

The planning commission approved the relaxation of parking requirements on Dec. 14 despite the misgivings of Commissioner Jill Hunter. Hunter was concerned that relaxing the requirements might cause change to come too quickly, which could threaten the unique character of the Village. She also disagreed that there are 93 surplus parking spaces in the Village, as stated in the Fehr and Peers report.

Bob and Shirley Cancellieri, owners of the building that houses Tapioca Express and the Saratoga Market, also decried the unfairness of relaxing the requirements at the Dec. 14 meeting. They said they had paid more than $300,000 for parking over 15 years and that new owners could now move in without having to pay the same costs.

However, no one spoke out against the proposed changes to the parking ordinance at the city council meeting on Jan. 4. The decision by the city council means that parking requirements will be suspended for three years or until the sum of all new gross floor area of development, or intensification of use, exceeds the determined parking surplus of 93 spaces during peak demand periods.

It is hoped that over the next three years city merchants will be encouraged to expand floor space, make renovations and possibly add second floors; and that new businesses will find the Village a more attractive location to set up shop.

Gene Zambetti of Zambetti and Associates spoke in favor of relaxing the parking requirements at the city council meeting. "This is a way government can allow for orderly growth without taxes by using ordinance," he said.