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1993-0302_CALIF, STATE OF_G1a_Agenda Report AGENDA ITEM March 2, 1993 TO: George Scarborough, City Manager FROM: Douglas D. Dumhart, Management Assistant I SUBJECT: Multi-Modal Terminal Parking Deck RECOMMENDATION: By motion, approve the concept of a single level parking deck above the existing Capistrano Depot parking lot and authorize staff to process an architectural control application. SUMMARY: On December 1, 1992, staff submitted for City Council consideration a Caltrans Contract that would provide the funding for the development of a 71-space single level parking deck over the existing Depot parking lot Due to concerns regarding how the parking deck may affect aesthetics of the area, staff was authorized to prepare view simulations of the deck for review by City Council prior to embarking upon the project's development The view simulations have been prepared for City Council consideration. (The simulations are provided in City Council packets only and are on display in the City Council Chambers.) At this time, staff is recommending that the City Council approve the concept of a single level parking deck above the existing Capistrano Depot parking lot and authorize staff to proceed with the project BACKGROUND: The San Juan Capistrano station, located in the heart of the historic district, has long been in continuous operation as a train station and is currently Orange County's most active rail station with approadmiately 280 passengers boarding the commute hour trains each weekday. The San Juan Capistrano station was projected in the 1990 Commuter Rail Study to be mostly an origin station for commuter travel, with almost all passenger activity during commuter hours being boarding rather than alighting. This projection is supported by the amount of residential development within the station attraction area and limited employment and commercial development in the San Juan Capistrano area. In 1983, $300,000 in improvements were completed to the Capistrano Depot developing it into today's Multi-Modal Terminal. In 1990, the Depot again underwent 5500,000 in renovations including new passenger waiting areas and restroom facilities. In the upcoming year, another$300,000 will be spent developing the south platform passenger loading area. FOR CRY COUNCIL AQW4t_' // Agenda Item -2- March 2, 1993 The terminal is an outgrowth of rail passenger service originally provided by the Atchison. Topeka and Santa Fe Railway along its southern coastal route between Los Angeles and San Diego. During the decline of rail passenger service, the Santa Fe Depot was converted to a theme restaurant. The resurrection of rail passenger service by Amtrak has brought a flurry of new passenger activity in the form of daily commuter and tourist traffic. FUTURE RAIL PLANS: In May 1990, legislation was signed by the Governor of California requiring the Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino County Transportation Commissions to develop a coordinated regional transit plan, including commuter rail and bus service. To implement SB 1402, the participating agencies worked under a two-tiered organizational structure consisting of the Regional Commuter Rail Coordinating Council and an interim Joint Powers Agency. In 1991, the interim agencies evolved into the Southern California Regional Rail Authority, a joint powers agency composed of the Orange County Transportation Authority,the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission,the Ventura County Transportation Commission, the San Bernardino Association of Governments and the Riverside County Transportation Commission. The purpose of the agency is to develop, operate, and maintain the regional commuter rail system. As the five agencies of the SCRRA work towards implementing the Metrolink program, San Juan Capistrano will realize a significant increase in rail ridership. Metrolink anticipates having tb,ee trains on-line by the end of 1993 and nine trains by 1995. This is expected to increase _ommuters boarding at the San Juan Capistrano station from the current 280 passengers to as many as 1000 a day. EXISTING AVAILABLE TERMINAL PARKING: The existing parking available in the Multi-Modal Terminal area consists of three off-street parking lots and on-street parking. The main terminal parking lot east of the Multi-Modal Terminal contains 76 parking spaces. This area is for short-term, 4-hour parking intended to serve the Rio Grande Restaurant, Vaquero West and the Capistrano Pbm stores and restaurants. A second long, narrow parking lot is located north of the Multi-Modal Terminal,parallel to the railroad tracks. This lot, known as the"northend"lot, contains 99 parking space of which 39 spaces are designated for long-term rail passenger parking and the remaining 60 spaces are short term, 4-hour parking. The third parking lot, the Franciscan Parking Structure, is located south of the Multi-Modal Terminal, parallel to the railroad tracks. The Community Redevelopment Agency has secured 131 spaces for all day commuter parking as part of the Owner Participation Agreement for the parking structure. On-street parking exists on Camino Capistrano, Ortega Highway and El Camino Real. There are 16 spaces on the east side of Camino Capistrano north of Ortega Highway which are the only on-street parking that allows all day parking and is not time restricted. Thus, the City is providing a total of 156 parking spaces for all day parking. These parking resources do not provide sufficient parking to meet current demand of 280 passengers for Agenda Item -3- March 2, 1993 the Multi-Modal Terminal facility, much less the 1000 passengers expected in 1995. PROPOSED PARKING DECK: The parking facility improvement is a single level parking deck over the existing Depot parking lot. The preliminary feasibility plans that were submitted for TCI funding were prepared by Thirtieth Street Architects in September 1991. Provided as Attachment A is the site plan. The 71-space Multi-Modal parking deck has an access from Camino Capistrano along the south side of the Mission Hacienda Plaza which also acts as an access ramp to the parking lot underneath. The development of the access ramp will eliminate 10 parking spaces in the Depot lot resulting in a overall net gain of 61 new spaces. The access ramp will improve traffic circulation in the area and relieve mounting congestion on Verdugo Street. The Multi-Modal Terminal Parking Deck actually increases the available off-street parking inventory in the downtown area by establishing more spaces over an existing parking lot. PARKING DECK ALTERNATIVES: Funds have been allocated to the City of San Juan Capistrano to develop 71 parking spaces for intra-city rail use based on the Multi-Modal Terminal Parking Deck proposal. There exists a remote possibility that this funding could be used to secure the same amount of parking by different means. Of course, use of these funds for any other project than specifically approved will require resubmittal to Caltrans and California Transportation Commission for approval. There are four possible alternatives to the development of the Multi-Modal Terminal Parking deck to provide much needed all day commuter parking. The first alternative would be to construct a parking deck over the existing northend Depot parking lot. The second would be to extend the Franciscan Parking Structure to the south over Ms. Oyharzabal's property. The third alternative would be to develop satellite lots in remote parts of the City and run shuttle service to the Depot The final alternative would be to establish permanent improved parking on the existing dirt lots known as the Mitchell and Love lots. The construetkm of a single level parking deck over the existing northend lot will only net an appreodmate gain of 50 spaces The northend deck is estimated to coat the same as the Multi-Modal Terminal Parking Deck and yield 20 fewer parking spaces. This alternative will be more visible to the Loa Rios neighborhood directly to the west and from Camino Capistrano to the east The grade separation between the north lot and Camino Capistrano is significantly less than that of the Depot lot and Camino Capistrano thereby making the northend lot alternative more visible from Camino Capistrano. The narrow and long configuration of the northend alternative means longer walking distance to the railroad platform boarding area. Agenda Item -4- March 2, 1993 The second alternative would be to extend the existing Franciscan Plaza Parking Structure 200 feet to the south. This addition would also be visible to the Los Rios neighborhood. However, multiple levels could be constructed possibly increasing the spaces that could be available for commuters. This alterative would have a high probability for condemnation action in order to accomplish the project. In light of recent conservative fiscal situations, the additional costs of securing right-of-way for this alternative would be extremely restrictive. Also, there has been no archaeological survey on this property and the constraints are unknown at this time. Additionally, Ms. Oyharzabal's property is on the inventory list of historic and cultural landmarks, but the barn located on the property has yet to have its historical significance identified. The third alternative is to develop satellite parking lots in remote areas of San Juan Capistrano and provide shuttle service to the Depot Possible satellite lots include the vacant lot behind Bank of America on Del Obispo, Ortega Properties at the end of Paseo Tirador or lower Rosan Ranch. All of these sites are targeted for commercial uses and a long-term parking lot may not be in the best economic interest of the City. Shuttle service would need to be established and if the City were to utilize the State funding for this alternative, the City would need to demonstrate it has the ability to provide the funding necessary to keep shuttle service going. Again, considering the current Fiscal condition, there is no funding for the City to implement shuttle service. The City's commitment to minimize signage may hinder the commuters' ability to readily find the satellite parking facilities. Remote parking lots also have the tendency to be a security risk with higher theft and vandalism rates which contribute to low usage. The fourth alternative is to develop the existing temporary dirt parking lots behind the Edinger building(the Mitchell lot) and adjacent to the Love House on El Camino Real into permanent improved all day commuter parking. To achieve the 70+ parking spaces, Yorba Street would need to be closed and the Lave House quite possibly moved to a new location. Implementing this alternative would be predetermining the uses or options available to the Historic Town Center. Several parking studies have indicated that parking deficiencies exist in the Historic Town Center area. To use land in the Historic Town Center area for the Multi-Modal Terminal will continue to exacerbate downtown traffic circulation and parking problems. FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS: The California electorate enacted both Proposition 108 (the Passenger Rail and Clean Air Bond Act of 1990) and Proposition 116 (the Clean Air and Transportation Improvement Bond Act of 1990) which authorized the sale of General Obligation Bond funds for transit capital projects. The San Juan Capistrano Multi-Modal Terminal Parking Deck qualified for funding from these monies through the Transportation Capital Improvement Program. This allocation represents the only City funding opportunity to provide the much needed parking at this critical location. Agenda Item -5- March 2, 1993 Additionally, the City completed the necessary right-of-way acquisitions on July 11, 1989, when the Community Redevelopment Agency purchased two parcels at a cost of $314,000 and entered into two 99-year leases. The only remaining issue was the funding for the construction of the Parking Deck which was estimated to be $1,295,000. That funding has been secured now through the TCI program. For these reasons, staff is recommending that the City Council approve the development of the Multi-Modal Terminal Parking Deck. COMMISSION/BOARD REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Not applicable. NOTIFICATION: Adrian Brooks, OCTA Larry Layne, CALTRANS Bob Ross, Amtrak Commuter Association Hans Chua, Mission Texaco ALTERNATE ACTIONS 1. Approve the concept of a single level parking deck above the existing Capistrano Depot parking lot and authorize staff to process an architectural control application. 2. Do not approve the development of the Multi-Modal Parking Deck. RECOMMENDATION: By motion, approve the concept of a single level parking deck above the existing Capistrano Depot parking lot and authorize staff to process an architectural control application. Respectfully submitted, zZ m4 "6601� Douglas D. 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