City Passes on Request to Reduce Multi-Family Parking Standards

A request to the Glendora Planning Commission to consider reducing the city’s multi-family parking standards was denied during Tuesday’s meeting, as commissioners were not convinced by the claims of two developer applicants.

The city currently requires the developer to accommodate two parking spaces per unit, with a half a space per unit for guests and a half a space per bedroom of each unit. The two applicants – City Ventures and Olsen Group – are the only two projects currently working under the most recent parking standards.

Bill McReynolds, vice president of development at City Ventures, suggested that parking requirements limited parking at both sides of the road at the site of his current project. The representative of City Ventures – the developers behind the residential project at the future Gold Line station at Ada and Glendora avenues – recommended a modification to the current parking stall standards of 10 by 25 feet. McReynolds pointed to 8 by 20 feet as a more feasible measurement to accommodate both LA County Fire and city requirements.

“Your standard far exceeds any other city in terms of the size of the [parking] stall,” said McReynolds. “We can hit the parking standard of Glendora with an 8 by 20 parking stall . . . I do think we are seeing that cars are getting smaller in the upcoming future.”

McReynolds also indicated that the city’s parking standards contradicted with the company’s green initiatives, adding that more parking spaces and cars contributed to a heat island effect.

“Obviously the city’s proposal increases the amount of permeable surface,” said McReynolds. “For any community we design, we strive for the gold elite standard  and the highest level of development standard on density while maintaining sustainability. “

The members of the planning commission were not sold on the request –  which fell under the New Business section of the meeting and did not require any action from commissioners. However, commissioners expressed their intent on denying the request to reduce requirements should it come back to the commission.

“I think we have our standards for a reason,” said Commissioner Cliff Hamlow. “I don’t think there is any evidence that says our standard is out of line.”

Planning Director Jeff Kugel said the city staff would no longer consider the request given the responses from the commission.

“I think what I’m hearing for these projects and projects for the foreseeable future are going to stay with the standards as they are,” said Kugel.