TITLE
Recommendation to refer the matter to the Planning Commission and Planning staff for a study and recommendation related to amending Chapter 21.41 of the Long Beach Municipal Code in order to facilitate the use of automated parking in the City.
DISCUSSION
The City's current parking regulations provide standards for the construction of parking lots and structures where motorists drive directly into and out of individual parking spaces. These regulations do not recognize the evolving technology of automated parking where motorists drive into loading bays, exit their vehicles and have their vehicles parked by a variety of automated processes.
Automated parking offers several potential benefits for the City.
1. A given number of vehicles can be parked in structures with significantly smaller footprints and significantly smaller volumes than conventional parking structures.
2. Automated parking structures are potentially less costly to build than conventional parking structures.
3. Automated parking structures are less costly to operate than conventional structures because they require less energy, and because they require no human operators.
4. Automated parking structures reduce environmental impacts because a) vehicle emissions generated by drivers searching for parking places in a conventional structure are eliminated, and b) as a result such emissions do not have to be discharged into the area surrounding the parking structure; in addition c) the elimination of high powered electrical ventilators and high lighting levels reduce energy consumption.
Suggested revisions to the Municipal Code are attached as well as an example from Los Angeles.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
ROBERT GARCIA, COUNCILMEMBER, 1ST DISTRICT
SUJA LOWENTHAL, VICE MAYOR, 2ND DISTRICT
GARY DELONG, COUNCILMEMBER, 3RD DISTRICT
RAE GABELICH, COUNCILMEMBER, 8TH DISTRICT