Willow Glen Resident

News

Downtown parking regulations may ease on Lincoln

By Mayra Flores De Marcotte

Willow Glen's Lincoln Avenue business district will be included in San Jose's plans to change citywide parking.

The parking ordinance would affect nine business districts in San Jose, including downtown Willow Glen, and could make it easier to attract new businesses to Lincoln Avenue.

According to San Jose senior planner Carol Hamilton, the city and the Willow Glen Business and Professional Association shared the same concerns over the existing parking ordinance and met earlier this year to discuss possible changes.

San Jose parking requirements have been in place since the early 1960s, and Willow Glen's older buildings were not built with sufficient parking. The situation has turned into an ongoing headache for retailers and restaurant owners who want to locate to Lincoln Avenue but are unable to meet city parking requirements.

The parking ordinance that was proposed in April would have eliminated parking requirements for new businesses. Under existing regulations one space is required for every 250 square feet of commercial space. The business and professional association supported the change; however, Willow Glen Neighborhood Association members said this drastic change could have unintentional consequences for the community at large. The association feared parking would overflow onto neighboring streets, and a compromise was needed.

The business association requested input from the North Willow Glen and Willow Glen neighborhood associations and the Palm Haven Restoration Committee, and on Aug. 9 after a meeting, the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association board approved a letter outlining its concerns.

The San Jose planning department decided to schedule a community meeting to gauge resident interest in changing the downtown parking requirements.

At an Oct. 23 meeting, city planners discussed the proposed modifications. Hamilton told residents and business owners the ordinance would be modified from zero restrictions in the business district to one parking space for every 400 square feet for new businesses. This new requirement would be the same for commercial, retail and restaurant use. Businesses benefiting the most from the change would be restaurants.

The current parking ordinance requires one parking space for every 250 square feet of commercial use, one space for every 200 square feet of retail use, and one space for every 40 square feet of dining-area use.

For example, a typical site on Lincoln Avenue is an estimated 2,000 square feet and would require seven parking spaces if it was used for commercial purposes, nine spaces if used for retail and 25 spaces for restaurants, Hamilton said.

After reviewing this revise plan, the Willow Glen Neighborhood and Business and Professional associations decided to be included with the eight other business districts in the citywide ordinance.

"This is an interim decision in order to make sure we are on an even keel with the other districts," said Willow Glen Business and Professional Association President Tom Trudell, who owns the Bergman building. "If we don't join them, then we can potentially lose potential businesses to the Alameda business district."

However, the parking ordinance is not a done deal, said Willow Glen Business and Professional Association Executive Director Norma Ruiz .

"The city council will have the final say," she said. Until then no changes will be made.

Ruiz pointed out, however, that the lack of parking spaces isn't the real issue. It's availability of these spaces.

Business owners present at the meeting, including Willow Glen Fitness Group's Ron Manicki, said business owners need to cooperate with each other and share their parking.

"My busy times are before and after work," Manicki said, "but there is down time in between, and others can use my parking."

Willow Glen Books owner Cathy Adkins asked if there was a chance for Bank of America to modify its designated open parking to all-day parking instead of two-hour parking. She said this would enable employees working downtown to park there, and customers could park closer to where they want to shop.

Not all residents at the Oct. 23 meeting were convinced this new ordinance would work. Many still have concerns that traffic will overflow onto their neighborhood streets.

Residents on Blewett Avenue, which runs parallel to Lincoln Avenue and has ongoing speeding problems, were concerned about increased traffic on their street.

"We want a vibrant downtown, but we want to make sure that our neighborhoods are protected," one resident said.

Others at the meeting said residents have to keep an open mind.

There will always be traffic on neighborhood streets, said Aqui's Cal-Mex Grill owner David O'Mara.

"The traffic will be either leaving Willow Glen for Campbell or Los Gatos shopping or coming into Willow Glen for shopping," O'Mara said. "People do vote with their dollars, and Willow Glen needs to retain that money."

He said the gains in the long run make the decision worthwhile.

"It gives independents a fighting chance," he said.

The ordinance will go to before the San Jose Planning Commission Nov. 15, 6:30 p.m., and before San Jose City Council Dec. 5, 7 p.m., at the San Jose City Hall Council Chambers, 200 E. Santa Clara St.