Draft Memo Establishes Parking Fee for Gateway Overlay District

The City Planner for the City of Miami Springs has drafted a proposal that would finalize a fee for on-street parking for developers that don’t have sufficient off-street parking on their own property within the Gateway Overlay District.  The fee uses a graduated scale that starts at $20,000 per on street parking space for the first 10 parking spaces.  It scales up to $30,000 per parking space for the next 20 parking spaces.  And if a developer requires more than 20 spaces, each additional space would be charged at $40,000 per space.

As Chris Heid explains: “As an example, a project needing 28 on-street spaces would pay $200,000 for the first 10 spaces plus $300,000 for the next 10 spaces plus $320,000 for the last 8 spaces for a total parking fee of $820,000.”

According to the Langan Parking Study used for the downtown development at One Curtiss Parkway, it says “The development will provide 94 parking spaces on-site and will use 47 on-street spaces.”  If the fee schedule proposed by Chris Heid had been put in place before the project was approved, the fees would have added up to:

• $200,000 for the first 10 spaces
• $300,000 for the next 10 spaces
• $1,080,000 for the next 27 spaces
• $1,580,000 for all 47 on-street parking spaces cited in the Langam study

We had previously reported that the City may have lost as much as a million dollars by not establishing a fee in advance.  But it appears it could closer to $1.6 Million in uncollected fees.

In the sentence prior stating that the development will use 47 on-street parking spaces, the Langam Study says, “We prepared a shared-parking analysis and found that the proposed mixed-use development will require 121 parking spaces.”  For the record, we don’t believe 51 apartments and 15 retail spots will only use 121 parking spaces, but let’s indulge the City Administration and assume that figure to be accurate.  Take the 121 total parking spaces minus the 94 spots in the garage and you’re still talking about 27 on-street parking spaces.  How much could the City have collected using this smaller figure had they established a parking fee?

• $200,000 for the first 10 spaces
• $300,000 for the next 10 spaces
• $280,000 for the next 7 spaces
• $780,000 for 27 on-street parking spaces 

Whether it’s near $1.6 Million or $780,000, the City of Miami Springs never collected any fees because they never established a fee prior to approving the downtown development project or the biggest project in downtown Miami Springs history.

At the June 12th City Council Meeting, City Manager William Alonso explained that since the on-street parking abutted the project, the developer did not have to charge a fee.

“In many cities, in seemingly, in most cities with a commercial district, on street parking spaces that immediately abut a project’s property lines are counted towards a project’s required parking.  This practice has become customary and is in the book’s in among other places Miami-Dade County, the City of Miami, Miami-Lakes, Doral, Miami Gardens, Hialeah, and other Florida municipalities and counties.” – William Alonso

We reported earlier this month, that it was interesting that the City Manager was citing the code from other municipalities, because there’s nothing in Miami Springs municipal code and Gateway Overlay District that provides an exception for on-street parking that abuts a project.  In fact, it pretty clearly states:

For any on-street parking space(s) counted towards the satisfaction of a property’s requirement, or any spaces otherwise waived as a result of one of the factors listed below, a fee shall be paid to the City for each such parking space, in an amount set from time to time by approved resolution of the City Council.

The key phrase being “any on-street parking space(s)…”  In other words, it doesn’t matter whether the on-street parking abuts the project or whether it’s two blocks away.  It treats all on-street parking the same.

We are happy to see that a fee is finally being established, but make no mistake, this oversight has cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in uncollected fees.

Below is a memo addressing the fees from the City Planner to the City Council:

Meeting Date: June 27, 2022

To: The Honorable Mayor Maria Mitchell and Members of the City Council

Via: William Alonso, City Manager/Fin. Director

From: Christopher Heid, City Planner

Subject: Establishing Payment in Lieu of Parking Fee for the Miami Springs Gateway Overlay District

DISCUSSION

The Miami Springs Gateway Overlay District (the “District”) regulations were adopted on June 25, 2018 by Ordinance 1107-2018 and amended on January 14, 12019 by Ordinance 1111-2019. The regulations are codified in Section 150.070.1 of the City Code.

The District’s parking requirements are set forth in Section 150-070.1(D), which currently provides:

(D) Parking Requirements. The CBD parking requirements as provided in § 150.070(E)(1—3) shall apply to the Gateway District, including, without limitation, the grandfathering of provided parking, if any, for existing buildings and current uses. Additionally, because of the uniqueness of the buildings, configuration of parcels, and road network in the Gateway District, the minimum parking space requirements and design for new construction or alterations to existing structures that expand occupiable space, shall be determined on a case-by-case basis. The City Planner shall have the authority to establish parking requirements for alterations and new construction by counting a combination on-site and on-street parking and other elements identified below. For any on-street parking space(s) counted towards the satisfaction of a property’s requirement, or any spaces otherwise waived as a result of one of the factors listed below, a fee shall be paid to the City for each such parking space, in an amount set from time to time by approved resolution of the City Council. The funds shall be used to fund parking and wayfinding improvements in the Gateway District and the CBD. In determining the parking requirements for non-grandfathered properties, the following shall be considered:

1. Availability of on-site parking;

2. Availability of on-street parking;

3. Provision of bicycle parking;

4. Distance to, or inclusion of, bus and trolley stops;

5. Internal capture of peak traffic trips as a result of mix of uses;

6. Distance to public parking; and

7. Walking accessibility of the site.

All on-site parking shall be appropriately landscape to provide visual relief and, to the extent possible, shade.

Section 150-070.1(D) requires that a fee (the “Payment-In-Lieu-of-Parking-Fee,” hereinafter, the “Fee”) be established by resolution of the City Council to be paid when on-street parking spaces are used to satisfy a property’s parking requirement or if there is a waiver of required spaces based on the factors provided in the District regulations at Section 150-070.1(D)(1-7). The Fee is to be held in a separate account and used to improve or create public parking spaces. This could include improvements to existing spaces, such as restriping, lighting, and improved wayfinding. The Fee proceeds could also be used for acquisition of property to create parking lots/garages.

When the District regulations were adopted, a separate resolution establishing the Fee was not concurrently adopted. At this time, Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution establishing the Fee. In setting the proposed Fee amount, Staff has evaluated several factors, including land costs and the cost of constructing surface parking spaces or parking garage spaces. The typical cost per space in a parking structure today is between $30,000 and $40,000. As an example, Miami Beach currently charges $40,000 per parking space, City of Miami is at $45,000, Coral Gables $42,000 per space, and Bay Harbor Islands is $20,000. The following municipalities do not have a similar fee: Cutler Bay, Pinecrest, El Portal, and West Miami. Accordingly, Staff recommends that the City Council set the tiered Fee structure as discussed below under recommendation.

RECOMMENDATION

Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached resolution establishing the Fee in the District as follows:

*Assuming the proposed revisions to the Gateway District Regulations, which are being considered on first reading on June 27, 2022, are approved on second reading at a future date, a fee for on-street parking spaces will be imposed for all spaces, whether abutting or adjacent to the property or not.

As an example, a project needing 28 on-street spaces would pay $200,000 for the first 10 spaces plus $300,000 for the next 10 spaces plus $320,000 for the last 8 spaces for a total parking fee of $820,000.

The Fee should be monitored and adjusted by the City Council from time to time.