ARLINGTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA County Board Agenda Item Meeting of December 10, 2005 DATE: December 2, 2005 SUBJECT: Ordinance to amend Section 33. Automobile Parking, Standing and Loading Space, Subsection A. General Requirements, Sub-subsection 8., and Section 36. Administration and Procedures of the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance to amend, reenact, and recodify the Zoning provisions, to permit secondary use of parking lots that are accessory to places of worship or lodges and that are not operated primarily for commercial gain, as a matter of right, by off-site users when such use is for a period of thirty (30) days or fewer and does not occur more than once in a one-hundred eighty (180)-day period; and to permit, by use permit, the regular use of said parking lots for a period that exceeds thirty (30) days. C. M. RECOMMENDATION: Adopt the amendment to Sections 33 and 36 of the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance to amend, reenact, and recodify the Zoning Ordinance provisions, to permit secondary use of parking lots that are accessory to places of worship or lodges that are not operated primarily for commercial gain, as a matter-of-right, by off-site users when such use is for a period of thirty (30) days or fewer and that do not occur more than once in a one-hundred eighty (180)-day period; and to permit, by use permit, the regular use of said parking lots for a period that exceeds thirty (30) days; to address parking congestion; to encourage orderly and efficient land use development; to facilitate the creation of a convenient, attractive and harmonious community and for other reasons required by the public necessity, convenience and general welfare, and good zoning practice. SUMMARY: The proposed Zoning Ordinance amendment addresses the issue of underused accessory parking lots in the County. Many parking lots in the County are accessory uses to the primary use of the site. Only the occupants, employees or visitors to the primary use are permitted to park in the lots. Consequently, when the primary use on the site is closed, those accessory parking lots cannot be used by off-site users and stay vacant. The proposed Zoning Ordinance amendment would permit secondary use of parking lots that are accessory to places of worship or lodges that are not operated primarily for commercial gain and are located in R or RA Districts. The use of the parking lot by off-site users would be allowed, as a matter of County Manager: County Attorney: Staff:: Sakura Namioka, Angie de la Barrera, Colleen Connor, Rasheda DuPree, CPHD/Planning Division Sarah Stott, DES/Traffic Engineering
right, when such use is for a period of thirty (30) days or fewer and does not take place more than once in a one-hundred eighty (180)-day period. A use permit would be required either when the use of the parking lots exceeds thirty (30) days, or when the use has occurred more than once in a one-hundred eighty (180)-day period. The proposal has been revised, incorporating community input received after the original advertisement of May 9, 2005. A community forum was held on September 21, 2005, as recommended by the Planning Commission and the Transportation Commission. The revision also adds a provision to Subsection 36.G.2.j. to establish a fee for the use permit application. Therefore, it is recommended that the County Board adopt subject amendments to Subsection 33.A. and Section 36. of the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance. BACKGROUND: Parking congestion on streets, demands for off-street parking spaces, and inefficient use of existing parking lots are growing issues in the County. Many parking lots in the County are accessory uses to the primary use of the site. Only the occupants, employees or visitors to the primary use are permitted to park in these lots. Consequently accessory parking lots stay vacant when the primary use on the site is closed. This under-use of existing parking lots is common with places of worship and lodges that frequently have large parking lots, while the hours of primary uses are relatively limited. In some cases these lots are being leased to provide additional parking for off-site users. The current Zoning Ordinance, however, does not allow this practice in R or RA Districts, unless it is specifically permitted by site plan or other means. Some members of the community believe that, in some circumstances, the secondary use of the parking lots may be appropriate, and have requested staff to study a Zoning Ordinance Amendment permitting the secondary use of parking lots. The proposal would permit the County Board to consider approving secondary parking uses on R and RA zoned sites either by right or with a special exception use permit. The current Zoning Ordinance requires places of worship and lodges to provide accessory parking spaces. These accessory parking spaces are permitted to be used by any on-site users of the facility on the main site. For instance, many places of worship provide space for community or instructional uses, such as meeting spaces for civic associations, Boy Scouts, and Alcoholic Anonymous Program; spaces for the Food Pantry, the Meals on Wheels Program, senior citizens exercise classes, community choral groups practice, Children s Closing Exchange, day care centers, and athletic or music school uses. Parking generated by these uses is permitted to use the accessory parking as a matter of right. If a use on a main site is permitted by a use permit approval, such as schools or daycare centers located on the site, the use permit approval would include the use of accessory parking by the attendants and visitors of the school or daycare centers. Staff surveyed and analyzed a total of 116 places of worship and lodges for this proposed Zoning Ordinance amendment. The data include all places of worship and major lodges in the County. The following table shows that approximately 50 percent of parking lots have between 20 and 99 parking spaces, and approximately 25 percent of the facilities do not have a parking lot. Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment - 2
Places of Worship and Lodges; No. of Parking Lots Parking Lots by No. of Spaces Lots with fewer than 20 spaces 14 (14%) Lots with spaces between 20 and 49 32 (31%) Lots with spaces between 50 and 99 20 (20%) Lots with more than 100 spaces 11 (11%) No parking lots 25 (24%) Total 102 Set forth below is a table that lists the number of places of worship and lodge parking lots by type of street access provided to the parking lot. Among the controlled access highways that traverse the County, only Arlington Boulevard provides direct access to some abutting properties and some subject parking lots. Sixty-seven (67) percent of the subject parking lots have access to neighborhood principal or higher classification streets and 56 percent of the subject parking lots have access to Minor Arterials or higher classification streets. Parking Lots With Primary Access from: No. of Parking Lots Parking Lots With Secondary Access from: No. of Parking Lots Controlled Access 3 Controlled Access 1 Other Principal Arterials 27 Other Principal Arterials 7 Minor Arterials 17 Minor Arterials 7 Neighborhood Principal 9 Neighborhood Principal 3 Neighborhood Minor 27 Neighborhood Minor 38 Total 83 56 Chronology of Events: A list of the Chronology of events is as follows: May 7, 2005: The County Board authorized advertisement of public hearings for the original proposal. June 2, 2005: The Transportation Commission recommended deferral to October County Board meeting to achieve community outreach with the Civic Federation and all civic associations. June 6, 2005: The Planning Commission reviewed the original proposal and recommended deferral to the October 15, 2005 County Board meeting. June 18, 2005: The County Board deferred consideration of the original proposal to the October 15, 2005 County Board meeting. July 7, 2005: The Zoning Committee (ZOCO) of the Planning Commission met and reviewed the proposed original Zoning Ordinance amendment for secondary use of parking lots that are accessory to places of worship and lodges. The key issue discussed was the pending case of the Board of Zoning Appeals associated with secondary uses of the parking lot that is accessory to the Masonic Temple. ZOCO requested staff to share the staff report/recommendation with the Planning Commission at its earliest availability. September 21, 2005: A community forum was held for the proposed Zoning Ordinance amendment. Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment - 3
September 29, 2005: The Transportation Commission reviewed the proposal and recommended that the County Board take no action on the proposal. October 15, 2005: The County Board deferred the consideration of the proposed Zoning Ordinance amendment that was advertised on May 9, 2005, and authorized advertisement of the revised proposal for the County Board meeting on December 10, 2005. October 18, 2005: The ZOCO reviewed the proposal again and provided comments concerning duration of time for temporary use and frequency of the temporary uses. The response to the comments were incorporated in this report. November 2, 2005: The Transportation Commission reviewed the proposed revised Zoning Ordinance amendment and recommended the County Board advertise the Zoning Ordinance amendment. The Planning Commission reviewed the proposal on November 28, 2005, and the Transportation Commission will review the proposal on December 6, 2005. Staff will prepare a report responding to the issues raised at these meetings for a supplemental distribution for the December 10, 2005 County Board meeting. DISCUSSION: Section 33.A.8.a. of the Zoning Ordinance restricts secondary use of parking lots that are accessory to any uses located in the R and RA Districts including places of worship or lodges to only on-site users. Its language is as follows: No parking spaces located in a private parking area in R or RA Districts except in RA-H Districts shall be used by any persons other than persons engaging in the use for which the parking is provided such as occupants of the premises, their visitors and employees at the site. Thus, to achieve the proposed intent to permit off-site users to use parking lots that are accessory to places of worship or lodges, an amendment to Section 33.A.8.a. is required. In C, C-O, M, RA-H, or R-C Districts, Section 33.A.8.c. permits off-site users to use parking that is accessory to any use in these zoning districts, provided that those spaces are made available at all times to on-site users at least at the same rates as to off-site users, and provided that there is no demand for said spaces by on-site users. Thus, off-site users are permitted to use parking lots that are accessory to places of worship and lodges located in C, C-O, M, RA-H, or R-C Districts, as a matter of right, when there is no demand generated by on-site users. The proposed Zoning Ordinance amendment will permit secondary use of parking lots in R or RA Districts, which are accessory to places of worship and lodges by off-site users, as a matter of right, for a thirty (30)-day period and no more than once in a one hundred eighty (180)-day period. In addition, the regular use of those parking spaces for a period that exceeds (30) days may be permitted by use permit, provided that the use of the parking lots will not negatively impact the surrounding area, and will promote compatibility of the use with the surrounding neighborhood. The use permit process could help to mitigate traffic and parking congestion on Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment - 4
the street in the surrounding area. Off-site users are defined as persons who will use the parking lots without engaging in the use for which the parking is provided. Places of worship and lodges are permitted by-right through out Arlington County. Many are located in residential zoning districts and generally have a limited traffic impact because the peak usage is on weekends or evenings. Many such facilities have sizeable parking areas that are not heavily used during other times of the week. One concern with allowing use of these parking areas for off-site users is that the potential increase in traffic could have adverse impacts on the adjacent residential neighborhood. The proposed use permit process for R and RA districts however, would give the community and the County Board the opportunity to analyze potential negative impacts on the adjoining neighborhood and approve conditions to mitigate them. A thirty (30)-day period or shorter is a generally accepted time period for a temporary use. To mitigate potentially negative impacts, the location of the parking lots, the proposed number of the secondary parking spaces, the hours of operation, the access to the parking lots, and the proximity of the parking lots to major streets and other pertinent factors will be considered at the time of use permit application. Use permits would be evaluated on a case-by case-basis, depending on the specific conditions of the proposed parking lots and relative to the standards of Section 36.G. Use permits. CONCLUSION: Parking demands for off-street parking spaces and inefficient use of existing parking lots have been growing issues in the County. Many parking lots in the County are accessory to the primary use of the site and only the occupants, employees or visitors to the primary use are permitted to park in the lots leaving underused lots when the primary use on the site is closed. The proposed Zoning Ordinance amendment will amend this practice by allowing the temporary use of the parking lots as a matter of right and providing a use permit option for the continuous use of the parking lots by off-site users. The Zoning Ordinance amendment is proposed to address parking congestion; to amend, reenact, and recodify the Zoning provisions, to permit secondary use of parking lots that are accessory to places of worship or lodges and that are not operated primarily for commercial gain, as a matter of right, by off-site users when such use is for a period of thirty (30) days or fewer and does not occur more than once in a one-hundred eighty (180)-day period; to permit, by use permit, the regular use of said parking lots for a period that exceeds thirty (30) days or take place more than once in one-hundred eighty (180) days; to encourage orderly and efficient development of public facilities; to facilitate the creation of a convenient, attractive and harmonious community; and for other reasons required by the public necessity, convenience and general welfare and good zoning practice. The proposal has been revised incorporating community input after the original advertisement of May 7, 2005. It is, therefore, recommended that the County Board adopt amendments to Section 33. Automobile Parking, Standing and Loading Spaces, Subsection A. General Requirements, Subsection 8. Use of Private Parking Areas, and Section 36. Administration and Procedures, Subsection G. Use permits of the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance, to permit secondary use of parking lots that are accessory to places of worship or lodges, and that are not operated primarily for commercial gain, as a matter of right, by off-site Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment - 5
users when such use is for a period of thirty (30) days or fewer, and does not occur more than once in a one-hundred eighty (180)-day period; to permit, by use permit, the regular use of said parking lots for a period that exceeds a thirty (30) day time period. Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment - 6
ORDINANCE TO AMEND SECTION 33. AUTOMOBILE PARKING, STANDING AND LOADING SPACE, SUBSECTION A. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS, SUB- SUBSECTION 8. USES OF PRIVATE PARKING AREAS; AND SECTION 36. ADMINISTRATION AND PROCEDURES, SUBSECTION G. USE PERMITS; OF THE ARLINGTON COUNTY ZONING ORDINANCE, TO AMEND, REENACT AND RECODIFY THE PROPOSED ZONING PROVISIONS; TO PERMIT SECONDARY USE OF PARKING LOTS THAT ARE ACCESSORY TO PLACES OF WORSHIP OR LODGES AND THAT ARE NOT OPERATED PRIMARILY FOR COMMERCIAL GAIN, AS A MATTER OF RIGHT, BY OFF-SITE USERS WHEN SUCH USE IS FOR A PERIOD OF THIRTY (30) DAYS OR FEWER AND NO MORE THAN ONCE IN A ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY (180)-DAY PERIOD; AND TO PERMIT, TO USE SAID PARKING LOTS BY USE PERMIT, FOR A TIME PERIOD THAT EXCEEDS A THIRTY (30) DAY PERIOD. BE IT ORDAINED THAT; Section 33.A.8. and Section 36.G.2.j. of the Zoning Ordinance be hereby amended, reenacted, and recodified, to permit secondary use of parking lots that are accessory to places of worship or lodges and that are not operated primarily for commercial gain, as a matter of right, by off-site users for a maximum of thirty (30)-day period and no more than once in a one hundred eighty (180)-day period; to permit, to use said parking lots by use permit, for a time period that exceeds thirty (30) days; to establish an application fee for said use permit request, to encourage orderly and efficient development of public facilities; to facilitate the creation of a convenient, attractive and harmonious community; and for other reasons required by the public necessity, convenience and general welfare and good zoning practice: SECTION 33. AUTOMOBILE PARKING, STANDING AND LOADING SPACE A. General Requirements. 8. Use of Private Parking Areas: a. No parking spaces located in a private parking area in R or RA Districts except in RA-H Districts shall be used by any persons other than persons engaging in the use for which the parking is provided such as occupants of the premises, their visitors and employees at the site, unless approved by the County Board by use permit as specified in Subsection 33.A.8.a. (2). b. For places of worship or lodges, not operated primarily for commercial gain: (1) Parking spaces that are accessory to those uses may be used by Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment - 7
off-site users to park non-commercial vehicles, when such use is for a period of thirty (30) days or fewer and does not occur more than once in a one hundred eighty (180)-day period; and (2) The County Board may, by use permit approval, as specified in Subsection 36.G.Use Permits, permit the use of those parking spaces to be leased or used under a verbal or written contractual agreement to off-site users to park non-commercial vehicles, when such use exceed a thirty (30) day period. Such use permit may be approved where the County Board finds that said use will reduce congestion in the streets. Such use may be conditioned to alleviate the impacts of the approved parking and to promote the compatibility of said use with the surrounding neighborhood. The County Board may, through such use permit approval, allow spaces that are required by this Ordinance to be provided for the place of worship or lodge, to also be used for other purposes pursuant to the use permit, if the County Board finds that such use of spaces will not result in parking being unavailable for the primary use of the site on which the parking is provided. bc. cd. Parking spaces in C, C-O, M, RA-H or R-C Districts located in a private parking area, which are provided in addition to those required by this ordinance to serve the premises, may be used by persons other than persons engaging in the use for which the parking is provided. Parking spaces in C, C-O, M, RA-H or R-C Districts which are required by this ordinance may be used by persons other than persons engaging in uses on the site, provided that said spaces shall be made available at all times to persons engaging in uses on the site at least at the same rates as to persons not engaging in uses on the site, and provided that there is no demand for said spaces by persons engaging in uses on the site. SECTION 36. ADMINISTRATION AND PROCEDURES G. Use Permits. 2. Written application for a use permit shall be filed with the zoning administrator. An application for Unified Residential Development approval shall comply with applicable portion of Administrative Regulation 4.11, Unified Residential Development Use Permit Approval Procedure, as amended. Use Permits shall be heard at the first regular meeting of each month, except the county board may Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment - 8
establish, on its own motion, another time for the use permit hearing, which hearing may be at any county board meeting. j. Requests for use permits filed by places of worship or lodges permitting secondary use of parking lots that are accessory to these uses, as specified in Section 33.A.8. of the Zoning Ordinance, shall be accompanied by a fee of two hundred seventy-five dollars ($275.00). Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment - 9