St. Louis’ Outdated Zoning Mandates Excessive Parking

Last week, while at Penn Station at Gravois Plaza, I look out the window and I’m struck by the massive amount of parking.  Parking so far away from most stores it has likely never seen any use.

When I pulled away I went that direction to get another view:

The excessive parking you see is either mandated by the zoning code or used as filler space by the developer.  Either way it is unnecessary, a waste of land and a bad decision for the environment by causing more water runoff.  From above it is really stark:

For a hint of the excesses required by out 60 year old out of date zoning code let’s take a look at Parking regulations (26.40.030) within the F-Neighborhood Commercial Zone (26.40)

The parking in the “E” Multiple Family Dwellings District, except as modified by Section 26.40.040 shall apply. (Ord. 62588 § 5 (part), 1992.)

26.40.040 Specific parking and loading regulations.

In addition, the following uses shall provide parking space within 1,000 feet of the main building:

A. Retail stores within floor area of more than 3,000 square feet shall provide parking space sufficient to accommodate one motor car for each 700 square feet of floor area in excess of 3,000 square feet which is actually used for the selling of merchandise.

B. Banks and office buildings with floor area of more than 7,500 square feet shall provide parking space sufficient to accommodate one motor car for each 1,250 square feet of floor area in excess of 7,500 square feet which is actually used for banking purpose or for offices.

C. Restaurants, bars, taverns, and exhibition halls with more than 1,000 square feet of floor area shall provide parking space sufficient to accommodate one motor car for each 200 square feet of floor area in excess of 1,000 square feet which is actually used by patrons or customers for such purposes.

D. Theaters shall provide parking space sufficient to accommodate one motor car for each 12 seats.

E. Mortuaries and funeral homes shall provide parking space sufficient to accommodate three motor cars for each chapel or parlor.

I. Private clubs and lodges shall provide parking space sufficient to accommodate one motor car for each one hundred (100) square feet of floor area used for purposes of dancing, assembly or dining. (Ord. 62588 § 5 (part), 1992.)

Did the authors of this code, back in the 1940s, have some great wisdom about parking?  No!  They were guessing.  They were enamored by the “motor car” and wanted to ensure if they gave up the streetcar and bought one they’d be able to park it where they liked.  They wanted to remove on-street parking because they felt they needed all the lanes available.  So for sixty years we’ve been building massive parking lots because guys who are long dead made bad guesses about how much parking would be necessary in the future.

Furthermore,  developers are free to build beyond the too high minimums.  Desco bragged about having more parking than required at Loughborough Commons.  Oh Boy!

The Board of Aldermen need to stop focusing on stop signs and petty “constituent service” and authorize a complete overhaul of our zoning code.  Short of a complete overhaul they need to simply remove all off-street parking mandates.  Developers & business owners will ensure they have the parking necessary to serve their customers.

Rather than parking minimums we need parking maximums.  This would cap the number of spaces provided so land is better utilized.

I don’t expect the Slay administration or the members of the Board of Aldermen to do anything about this aging and destructive code.  Rollin Stanley, the former director of Planning, wanted to update the code to bring it current with all we’ve learned in the past 60 years but we ran him off.

The code was written and adopted we had half a million more people within the city limits.  So much has changed but the city clings to this code like it is etched in stone.  Slay — pretend the zoning code is a treasured historic building and raze it!

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This Day Has Come At Last

We always knew George Bush’s last day as President would arrive.  It just seemed to take forever!  But it is here, at last.

I’m not sure if I’m more excited about Bush no longer being President or of Barack Obama becoming our nation’s 44th President.  I think it is the latter.  President-elect Obama brings with him the optimism of a nation.  I’m hopeful about our future.  Had McCain-Palin won the election I would not be feeling hopeful — I’d be looking for a Canadian husband!

The road ahead is not going to be quick or easy.  President Obama will need citizens to remain active so that Congress knows what we want and don’t want in our policy.

The fact that Barack Obama was born 1961 excites me.  Presidents have always been people closer to my parents age.  For the first time my President will have been born in the same decade as me. Barack Obama is younger than both of my brothers.  I feel more connected to him than past Presidents of my lifetime.

George W. Bush & Bill Clinton were both born in 1946.  George H. W. Bush in 1924.  Ronald Reagan was born in 1911, Jimmy Carter was born in 1924.  Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon were both born in 1913. Lyndon B. Johnson was born in 1908.

We skipped a President born in the 1950s.  Barack Obama is 47.  John Kennedy was 43 when he became President in the year Obama was born.

Barack Obama is a handsome man.  Even the straight guys out there can recognize that.  Michelle Obama is a head turner — as a gay man I can recognize that.  Together with their two daughters they make a picture perfect family.

They will have three generations living in the White House — Michelle Obama’s mother will be joining them in the residence. That is real family values!

Assuming  Obama will have two terms in office we’ll see the 45th President in 2017.  That person will likely be my age or even a few years younger!  Again I’m hopeful.  President Obama will be a tough act to follow.

But that is 8 years away.  An 8 years that will go much faster than the preceding 8 did.  But this day of transfer of the Presidency has, at last, arrived.  The voice of Etta James rings through my head:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADDigK8LwyE[/youtube]

It might be cold out but the skies above are blue!  Happy Inauguration Day everyone!

Patterson on KDHX tonight 7pm

I’ll be on KDHX’s Collateral Damage program tonight (1/19/09) at 7pm.  For those of you in St. Louis tune into 88.1FM or listen live via KDHX.org.  I’ll be talking with hosts DJ Wilson & Fred Hessell about Martin Luther King Jr., Barack Obama and St. Louis’ Spring elections.

The Evolution of St. Louis’ Martin Luther King Drive

Today we remember a great man – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Every year I do something to note this holiday.  Here is a listing of the posts from the last four years — this year marking the 5th King Holiday here at UrbanReviewSTL:

January 17, 2005 – Let Us Turn Our Thoughts Today to Martin Luther King

January 17, 2006 – A Critical Look at St. Louis’ Martin Luther King Drive
January 14, 2007 – a five part detailed post!

• A Look at St. Louis’ MLK Drive, Part 1 of 5
• A Look at St. Louis’ MLK Drive, Part 2 of 5
• A Look at St. Louis’ MLK Drive, Part 3 of 5
• A Look at St. Louis’ MLK Drive, Part 4 of 5
• A Look at St. Louis’ MLK Drive, Part 5 of 5

January 21, 2008 – A Realistic Look at the Question of Progress in the Area of Race Relations

So this year I decided to take a photographic look at the continual evolution of Martin Luther King Drive.  Like most streets, MLK Dr is not static, it slowly changes over time.  Photos help chronicle that change.

What we now know as Martin Luther King Drive was originally two streets – Franklin Ave. and Easton Ave.

So clearly considerable change was happening to the street decades prior to being renamed to honor Dr. King.  Aerial photos are among the best images to understand change that has taken place.  Due to the length of MLK Dr. I could not show all of it so I selected the area between Jefferson & Grand where Easton angled over to meet Franklin.

… Continue Reading

Closed Auto Dealerships Littering Landscape

Auto manufacturers are not the only ones taking a hit of late.  Auto dealerships in cities all over the country are failing.  Residents of these cities will lose jobs while the cities will be left with properties poorly suited to other uses.

The best use for old new car dealerships is as used car dealers.  With auto sales putting on the brakes it is unlikely we’ll see more used dealerships filling up spaces left by closed new car dealerships.

So what do we do with these single use spaces?  In older core cities the properties have great potential for mixed-use development.  Out in the burbs the prospects are not so good.  With too much big box and failing indoor mall inventory already, these may sit vacant for quite a while.

Making use of former dealerships is not a new problem but adapting early dealership buildings is easier and more elegant.  Many from the early 20th century now serve as residential lofts, office space and as restaurant space like The Fountain on Locust (former Stutz showroom) and as a venue space such as Lumen (former Packard showroom), also on Locust.  These early auto showrooms were in fine buildings built up to the sidewalk making them part of burgeoning walkable neighborhoods.  Newer auto rows, however, have cheap low-rise buildings set back behind huge surface parking lots.  Adapting these  properties will necessitate clearing the land and starting over.