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Florissant To Reduce Size For Parking Lots
By Carol Arnett
Newly elected Councilmen Gerard Henke and Tim Jones were sworn in to the Florissant City Council Monday night. Their first council business was a public hearing in which the council heard from City Engineer Tim Barrett about parking in the city.
Barrett and his staff have studied the parking situation in the city and are preparing an ordinance that would reduce the parking requirements in the city. Barrett said changing the requirements could help the environment, developers, residents, and businesses.
Currently, Barrett said, the city requires an average of five or six spots per 1,000 square feet. The requirement varies based on the type of business. The new proposal would be an average of three spots per 1,000 square feet. The requirements would still vary based on type of business. The three per 1,000 square feet conforms to national standards for parking.
“Why now?” Barrett asked. He said that the Clean Water Act has affected how cities view parking requirements. Excess parking requirements result in excessively large parking lots, which affect water quality.
“Runoff from parking lots is a source or flooding, contamination, and erosion,” Barrett said. The easiest way to reduce runoff, he said, is to make the parking lots smaller. “If you have too much parking, you jeopardize the environment with no benefit.” He said this problem was magnified in large developments.
New standards would benefit developers, Barrett said, because they would not have to build and maintain unused parking lots. He said that developers have to satisfy MSD requirements regarding runoff, and these requirements can be difficult to meet with larger lots.
The standards will help residents, Barrett said. He noted that if you drive by a center with a huge empty lot, you many wonder if the businesses are doing well. Fuller lots, as well as more green space, will be more inviting.
Existing businesses would also be helped, Barrett said. “Many existing businesses are non-conforming,” he said. They have been grandfathered in and cannot change without meeting existing parking requirements.
Councilman Mark Schmidt asked if a business like Lowe’s, that has a lot that seems excessively large, could put an outlot in and potentially put a small business there. Barrett answered that it could happen. The existing business would have to meet the new parking requirements. If they had excess parking under the new requirements, the business could use the area in a different way, including adding green space or putting in other businesses.
City staff is preparing an ordinance for council review on the proposed changes.
In other action, the council passed an ordinance authorizing a new development at the site of Leslie’s Pools at 3024 N. Hwy. 67. The development will have retail space, a dental office and a drive-through and sit-down coffee shop.
