Sacramento Business Journal - April 20, 07 by Melanie Turner
City's attempts to add parking ignite backlash
Operator threatens to close his lots in response to Sacramento's proposed ordinance
As more restaurants and shops open in central Sacramento, finding public parking in areas of the city core has become an increasing challenge -- and the problem could get worse.
One of the central district's largest parking lot operators has threatened to eliminate some of his spaces May 1 as city leaders consider an ordinance to regulate the limited supply of public stalls.
While some business owners say parking is a minor problem, other say gripes about parking represent "growing pains" of a fast-growing city.
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"The average suburbanite is not used to using valet and having to walk," said Shawn Eldredge, who owns Capitol Painting & Services on O Street in midtown. "We're still suburbanites at heart. We're not ready to swallow that pill yet."
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Restaurateur Randy Paragary hopes customers learn to deal with parking.
"As Sacramento grows ... and people like us are willing to take a chance and make an investment in the downtown, we're hoping that people want the urban experience and that overcomes the hassle" of parking, Paragary said.
As the city gets closer to adopting a surface lot policy, part of a comprehensive parking strategy adopted by the City Council last fall, some business owners say they're worried it will result in fewer spaces.
"I wanted to stay in midtown so bad, but it's almost impossible to find parking," said Debi Hammond, president of Merlot Marketing Inc. She is planning to move to Natomas because her business has outgrown its 4,000-square-foot space at 2220 K St. Merlot has 10 spaces for 15 employees.
"It's a huge inconvenience to not have the right accommodations for your team," she said, adding that an intern just got four parking tickets in the past 30 days.
A 'mini monopoly'
The city proposal, which would require parking lot operators to make basic improvements to continue operating, such as provide minimal lighting to their lots, is set to be considered by the City Council next month. The city ordinance would allow 50 illegal lots to come into compliance with improvements.
If approved, the city hopes the ordinance would encourage development of new buildings on high-profile parcels that now hold parking lots.
Priority Parking has the largest market share of surface lot parking in the central city and would be hardest hit by the ordinance, said Howard Chan, the city's parking services manager.
In many cases, the ordinance's proposed striping requirements for wider aisles and parking spaces would result in a loss of entire rows of parking, Priority Parking president Aaron Zeff said.
"The policy, as crafted, creates a net loss of parking in midtown," he said. "That is frankly a line in the sand that most businesses cannot accept."
But Chan said each lot will be looked at on a "case-by-case basis," and the city will work with parking lot operators.
Priority Parking has taken over a half-dozen lots in recent months, bringing its central city lots to 25, including 15 in midtown. Zeff said the city ordinance and the improvements would exceed his revenue from the lots.
His decision to stop public parking on five lots -- two on J Street, two on K and one on L -- will eliminate 30 parking spaces during the day, and 139 in the evenings and on weekends.
Despite Zeff's decision to eliminate some parking, there are enough stalls to meet demand for the next five years, Chan said. But there are pockets where demand exceeds supply. For example, at J and 28th streets, parking occupancy is more than 90 percent, while the average occupancy citywide is 71 percent.
The cheapest way to create more parking, especially in high-traffic areas, is to convert unused lots into temporary parking lots, developer Mark Friedman said.
"But the people who run the lots make so much money with so little risk that the cost of land goes up significantly and inhibits development," he said.
Friedman said Zeff has created a "mini monopoly," grabbing up lots in busy areas and driving up prices. Concerns over rising prices prompted Lucca's, Mikuni and Friedman's Loftworks to buy a 60-space parking lot for valet across I Street from Memorial Auditorium to control the availability and price of parking for customers.
Zeff denies having a monopoly but agreed prices are rising. He said they've doubled in the past five years and are up 20 percent in the past year. The daily rate is $8 in many lots. "I believe pricing will double in midtown in the next three years because we're not utilizing spaces effectively," he said.
Serving up spaces
Limited parking and more restaurants have led to a surge in valet services in the central city. It's been popular, but some valet operators reportedly have blocked off on-street metered spaces for valet parking.
That practice has prompted the city to consider its first valet parking ordinance. City officials are at least three months from drafting such an ordinance.
Besides the challenge of finding places to put valet services, another issue is changing the mindset of people in Sacramento, some business owners say.
"A lot of people don't want to pay $5 for valet," said Paragary, who owns Spataro restaurant on L Street. The business does not have on-site parking and is served by valet service.
John Turner of Rancho Cordova, who commutes to downtown for his job with the state, said he wouldn't go out of his way to shop in the central city.
"The thought of having to drive around and look for a meter and have enough quarters is a big deterrent for me," he said.
Paragary, president of the Midtown Business Association, said people in bigger cities are more accustomed to searching for public lots or using valet service. In customer surveys at his restaurants, it's common for parking to be listed as an issue, he said.
"We all know we're not going to pull up in front of that little dress shop you want to go to in San Francisco," Paragary said. "I think we are perhaps a little spoiled. ... Most of us live in neighborhoods where parking lots are prevalent."
"The fact that we have parking issues in Sacramento is really a good thing," Chan added. "It just means people want to be here."
I like how the owner of Capitol Painting & Services on O Street speaks for all Sacramentans when he says that "We're still suburbanites at heart. We're not ready to swallow that pill yet." No we all are not.
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