Update on the Promenade Phase I – Club Sport Building and Parking
The Planning Commission held a special study session tonight to discuss a few items related to the Club Sport building and parking garage at phase I of the Promenade, including the:
- Adequacy of the proposed number and mix of parking spaces; and
- Updated Club Sport Dublin Boulevard elevation design proposal.
Parking at the Promenade
The most colorful discussion was about the proposed parking at phase I of the Promenade. Commissioner Doreen Wehrenberg reiterated her concern about the number of parking spaces planned to support guests of Club Sport and the Mercantile Building. Here are the key facts:
- The City of Dublin’s Zoning Ordinance calculations requires that the developer provide 541 parking spaces.
- The developer is requesting to use a “shared parking” calculation which equates to a parking space requirement of 453 parking spaces.
- The developer is proposing to provide 486 on-site parking spaces and 14 street parking spaces, for a total of 500 parking spaces.
- The developer is requesting to provide 41 fewer parking spaces than is required by the City of Dublin’s Zoning Ordinance.
Commissioner Wehrenberg’s concern was that the “shared parking” calculation wasn’t necessarily applicable for this project because it’s difficult to predict how long customers will stay at Club Sport and there is a good chance that many residents of the Dublin Ranch Villages will want to use some of parking spaces in the parking garage.
While commenting on the parking crisis at the Dublin Ranch Villages, Commissioner Wehrenberg went on to say that, “I’m trying not to promote a parking issue when we can fix it now”. When questioning the assumptions used in the “shared parking” calculation, Commissioner Morgan King drew an analogy between the number of life boats on the Titanic and the number of parking spaces proposed for Club Sport and the Mercantile Building – the Titanic had the correct number of life boats required by law, but it still ended up not being sufficient to save all the passengers. In response to this comparison, Mike Porto of the Planning Department mentioned that the developer is looking to potentially install a gate to the parking garage that would let visitors out at night, but would not let drivers into the garage (to prevent some of the overnight parking).
Commissioner Wehrenberg alluded to a potential solution for the parking concerns – to add a level of underground parking so that the project could meet the City of Dublin’s Zoning Ordinance requirement. However, Chairman Bill Schaub wasn’t in favor of this proposal noting that ‘the parking issue in the Dublin Ranch Villages and potentially the Promenade is not a design (i.e., Planning Commission) issue, rather it is an enforcement issue’ and that tenants will “take care of” any parking issue.
In a straw poll at the end of the parking discussion, the Planning Commission voted 4 to 1 in favor of the proposed parking at Phase I of the Promenade (with Commissioner Wehrenberg the only dissenting vote).
Club Sport
The Planning Commission was unanimous in their support of the developer’s re-submitted conceptual drawing for the Dublin Boulevard elevation of the Club Sport building (please click on the image above) as long as the architect could draw in some additional landscaping in front of the opaque glass that borders the pool area to show a break in the long stretch of opaque glass.
Next Steps
Please feel free to email the Planning Department Manager with feedback at planning.mgr@ci.dublin.ca.us. Additionally, the Planning Commission will be having a public hearing on Phase I of the Promenade on either 11/25 or in early December.
10:15 PM on November 12th, 2008
Good Lord! With the exception of Commissioner Wehrenberg, all the other commissioners are guilty of dereliction of duty. Have they not learned from the Dublin Ranch Villages parking crisis courtesy of Bill Schaub? Why are they allowing the developer to underplan parking again? I understand Commissioner King may have great disdain for East Dublin and Dublin Ranch Villages, but I think comparing us to the Titanic is just going too far. By his ludicrous logic, why should we bother making sure we have enough resources in case of emergency, if people are expected to die anyway? If Charter is underplanning the parking at the Promenade, how can we believe that they will make sure there is enough parking at the Grafton Plaza? This reckless and irresponsible city planning is just another example of how our current leadership is in the pocket of the developers. Schaub and the other old white men on the commission have failed us again as they put the developer’s interest before the community’s.
12:04 AM on November 13th, 2008
Thanks John for the update. Since the planning commission approved the drawings is the next step to build it? Just curious when we can expect the project to be completed.
Brian
12:30 AM on November 13th, 2008
I attended this evening's Planning Commission special study session on "Club Sport at The Promenade". On the bright side, I'm pleased to see that Club Sport is planning a reasonably-attractive, upscale facility at The Promenade. On the downside, I'm concerned about the reduced number of parking spaces and I'm sorry that the side of the building fronting Dublin Blvd is essentially a dressed-up expanse of non-utilitarian facade (no ingress or egress, frosted windows with no view in, nothing to attract or promote pedestrians).
I was very disappointed with the callous dismissal of the parking problem at Dublin Ranch Villages, with the exception of Commissioner Wehrenberg. Cmr. Schaub blames the entire parking problem on the failure of the homeowner associations to force tenants to maximize the use of assigned parking. I don't know the history of the commission decisions, but based on Schaub's posturing, I have to assume he was on the commission when the decisions were made about parking spaces in the Dublin Ranch Villages. It's a convenient way to let yourself off the hook if you blame all current and future parking problems on residents rather than on inadequate planning. I'm no expert, but I'd be willing to bet that the parking problem at Dublin Ranch Villages is a combination of several factors, including insufficient spaces, inefficient use of individual garages, and tenants with more cars than assigned spaces.
Cmr. Wehrenberg seemed to be reading my mind when she recommended the addition of an underground level in the parking garage. I think underground parking is a great solution for a "main street shopping village" like The Promenade to avoid large expanses of asphalt or tall parking structures. Underground parking is used at Sorrento, The Terraces, and possibly other developments in Dublin Ranch Villages, so why not for The Promenade?
By the way, in defense of Cmr. King, I believe he was using the Titanic lifeboat example to point out that simply "meeting code" may not provide sufficient parking spaces. Too bad he caved on the issue and sided with the majority.
I live on the far side of the Sorrento development, but still within walking distance of The Promenade, so the lack of parking at The Promenade will probably not affect me much. I am glad that I live far enough away from The Promenade that overflow parking is not likely to impact my area, but that doesn't mean I'm not concerned about the bigger picture when it comes to city planning & parking.
On a side note, the drawings presented at the study show parallel street parking on Grafton. I'd like to know why diagonal parking is not planned for Grafton, just like in many traditional main street shopping districts. Diagonal parking is easier & quicker for drivers and it allows more parking spaces per block. I suppose it requires slightly wider streets, but the trade-off is more than worth it, in my opinion.
Tim Hall
Dublin, CA
tiger650@comcast.net
12:30 AM on November 13th, 2008
As expected, City Leader bowing to developers. We love the project but please do the parking right. The Village’s parking situation is flawed by design, not by lack of enforcement as Schaub put it. How can you enforce when there are twice as many cars as parking spaces. Are you going to tell residents to leave their cars at the office at night and walk home? Are you going to knock on doors every night and do spot inspections to insure all garage spaces are used for cars? Unrealistic!! It is not like we have a BART station next door where people have the option of not owning a car or two. Thus another flawed policy of building high density away from major transit.
Don’t know where these people learned about City planning. Grade school?
5:29 AM on November 13th, 2008
Please don’t put down our intelligent grade-school kids by associating them with the bad planning perpetrated by Bill Schaub and his good OLD boys in any way. I am tired of people blaming the parking challenge in Dublin Ranch Villages on the residents alone. People like to use garages for storage, and good planning, no matter the home product type, should begin with that premise. Simply saying that people should be using their garages is not a solution and is definitely not based in reality.
Oh, and comparing Dublin Ranch Villages to the Titanic is just too rich. I suppose Commissioner King would know from personal experience, since he must be old enough to be a passenger on the Titanic. Still, I concede it’s not a bad comparison upon closer inspection. Bill Schaub would like to tout Dublin Ranch Villages as a Smart Planning success story, and Dublin Ranch Villages is, in reality, nothing but a parking nightmare manufactured by the grotesque collusion between him and the developers. The Titanic was supposed to be a crowning monument that celebrated humankind’s triumph over nature…well, we all knew who got schooled there don’t we?
Thank you Commissioner Wehrenberg for being the lone voice of reason and wisdom. I only wish the others could have followed your example, but I suppose that may be asking for too much.
5:49 AM on November 13th, 2008
Hi Brian – the next step is for an official public hearing in front of the Planning Commission. This could be held as early as November 25th.
Phase I of the Promenade will hopefully be completed sometime during 2010 (fingers crossed).
7:59 AM on November 13th, 2008
I agree completely with the first comment. How are the Promenade and the Grafton Plaza going to be this amazing retail experience, if Charter Properties refuses to plan for adequate parking? I just don’t get it. I was at their Grafton Plaza BBQ, and they were promising more than sufficient parking for everyone (though they were reluctant to give a parking ratio) and parking spaces that can easily accommodate Hummers.
John, did Charter say anything about how big the parking spaces will be at this garage? If Charter can’t even come close to delivering that grand vision they presented at their BBQ — a vision that unifies the Promenade and the Grafton Plaza as one cohesive project — how are we to believe they will be able to come through for us on Grafton Plaza?
8:32 AM on November 13th, 2008
I would guess the reason they don’t want to build underground parking is the cost. It costs a lot to build like they did at the terraces, and if they added another level, then I am sure the city and people at the terraces would be upset that a parking garage was higher than the 4th floor there. Right or wrong, just the logic probably.
6:50 PM on November 13th, 2008
Commissioner Wehrenberg should get high marks for her thinking of the underground parking. The underground parking could be have the handicap stalls so disabled people can get to the gym facilities much easier. Does that 4 to 1 vote mean they won’t change it to add additional parking? Does this mean there are exceptions to city zoning ordinance?
8:52 PM on November 13th, 2008
Hi Anonymous 11/13/08 6:59am –
Charter is proposing to provide 80% full-sized parking spaces and 20% compact parking spaces. This is a very good ratio.
If the City of Dublin ultimately decides to enforce our Zoning Ordinance and require 41 additional parking spaces, then the key will be to ensure that the additional parking spaces aren’t gained by simply converting full-sized parking spaces to compact parking spaces. That would be like slicing thinner slices of the pie instead of baking a larger pie.
9:08 PM on November 13th, 2008
Hi Anonymous 11/13/08 5:50pm – nothing is final at this point. The 4 to 1 straw poll was just to get a general feel for the preference of the Planning Commissioners. The final vote will happen as early as 11/25 at a public hearing. This public hearing will be a great opportunity for residents to voice their opinion regarding the proposed parking. You can also email the Planning Department Manager at planning.mgr@ci.dublin.ca.us with your feedback.
With respect to exceptions, the City of Dublin can issue Conditional Use Permits (CUPs) that allow for exceptions to Zoning Ordinances (like the parking requirement). In most cases, the Planning Commission has the authority to issue the CUPs. However, I think that the City Council will need to authorize this parking CUP as part of the entire Phase 1 project approval.
10:26 PM on November 13th, 2008
Hello All – here is a re-print of a related Contra Costa Times article talking about the parking issue at the Dublin Ranch Villages:
Residents’ parking comes up short: DUBLIN: Condo occupants in the
Cottages circle blocks or wait for spaces to open for their cars.
Byline: Sophia Kazmi
Sep. 16–Many residents of the urban-looking condos and apartments in
east Dublin are also experiencing an all-too-familiar big-city
problem.
Teresa Singleton, a resident of the Cottages condominium complex in
the Villages at Dublin Ranch development, said residents’ days are
often planned around when they have to be home to find parking spaces.
“It’s over-the-top ridiculous,” Singleton said, adding that the
problem has become progressively worse since she moved in two years
ago.
“It’s really unfortunate. People have to pay $500,000 to live here,
and there is no place to park.”
Drivers frequently circle around blocks to find a space, or to wait
for an opening; when a space opens up in front of their houses,
drivers rejoice.
Singleton lucked out Wednesday night and found a spot on Finnian Way,
across the street from her home, where both sides of the street were
solidly lined with cars.
Many say part of the problem is some residents are using their garages
to store other things than their cars. Residents interviewed said they
have room to park one car in their garage, but since all were at least
two-car households, they must take to the street to find a spot for a
second vehicle.
According to the city’s planning department, that area of Dublin Ranch
requires two spaces for each apartment, and for one-bedroom
condominiums, there must be 1.5 spaces. For each two-bedroom
condominium, there must be 2.5 spaces. Usually, the total is a whole
number, but if the final sum has a half a space, the number is rounded
up.
The project has 1,396 units total. So there are somewhere between
2,094 and 3,490 spots in the neighborhood. But, apparently, that is
not enough.
While coming home late could mean walking a couple of blocks home,
James Bell said inviting family and friends over can become a serious
issue.
Bell, who moved to Dublin from Antioch in November, managed to score a
spot in front of his condominium Wednesday evening. But he knew that
space would mostly likely not be there for him when he returned from
church that night.
This parking anxiety has become part of life, he said. “Most people,
they just deal with it.”
While these East Dublin residents may be ticked off, there have been
no formal complaints about it that the police department is aware of.
Planning Commission chairman Bill Schaub said he’s heard about the
problem from the two council members who live in the area, but he
isn’t sure what can be done. Changing the number of parking spaces per
unit in the future would cause additional problems.
“If we did, we would end up with so much asphalt,” Schaub said. “For
every spot you put a parking spot, you reduce the chances of a
developer making money … You would pay more for your house.”
Parking requirements are more than adequate, Schaub said, and
developers have complained about the number of parking spots they have
to provide.
Congestion, Schaub said, is a sign of a successful area.
Councilman Tim Sbranti, who also lives in the Cottages neighborhood,
finds himself looking for parking as his wife parks her car in the
garage. He said he thinks the opening of a nearby shopping center will
help alleviate some of the parking woes, giving people additional
places to park overnight.
But Sbranti said he will use his frustrating first-hand experiences of
trying to find a spot when that issue — and future housing
developments — are discussed and debated.
“What was the ratio for this project? OK … we need to go much higher
than that,” Sbranti said. “The ratio here clearly didn’t work.”
Sophia Kazmi covers Dublin. Reach her at skazmi@bayareanewsgroup.com
or 925-847-2122.
To see more of the Contra Costa Times, or to subscribe to the
newspaper, go to http://www.contracostatimes.com/.
Copyright (c) 2007, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call
800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to
The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview,
IL 60025, USA.
11:28 PM on November 13th, 2008
john, dude, are you serious? did cmr schaub really say traffic congestion “is a sign of a successful area”?
5:55 AM on November 14th, 2008
John Z.
Thanks for sharing all the great information. I wish more people would take your lead and participate in decisions vs armchair quarterbacking. Please apply for the open seat on the City Council or at least the Planning Commission.
Others should seek to support John as a viable solution rather than spend efforts criticizing current leadership. It might make you feel better but it won’t get you ANYWHERE!
5:53 PM on November 15th, 2008
Hi anonymous November 14, 4:55AM. Since you are criticizing residents who cares about their community and does not have time to physically participate in City Government but do want an avenue to be heard or at least express their concerns or opinions through a wonderful blog such as this, a great tool for the community to learn and be knowledgeable of what is going on in the City they live. Are you an ARMCHAIR quarterbacker too as I don’t see your name, just anonymous just like all us armchair quarterbacks or are you going to lead by example and try to get one of those seats yourself?
12:13 AM on November 19th, 2008
I just hope that the final product does look as good as the drawings. Unlike Dublin Honda which looked good in concept but in reality it looks like a mouse trap with an opening on the end for entry and no exit. Could have used more imagination for that highly visible site. East BART Parking garage is another example. Hopefully city planners won’t make the same mistake and be fooled again by drawings.
Lets not focus though on just the negatives, city planners did hit a homerun with the PAMF Medical Building but did strike out badly with the Ji Liang and Chacon Dental building squeezed in between two light industrial cinder and tilt up concrete buildings near IHOP. That building looks so out of place, can’t blame County planners for this gaft.
4:26 PM on November 25th, 2008
To My Neighbors
It was recently brought to my attention that some folks were sniping Planning Commissioners on this site and as current Chair, I thought it appropriate to respond.
This will be my first and last comment on this blog and I suggest that if anyone in our community wants to discuss “best in class” planning that you reach out to me or the other Commissioners and have a direct dialog. Better yet, come to our meetings and participate in the hearing process by doing your homework, think about what we are trying to accomplish with each project and then, if you have constructive contributions, make comments at the appropriate time.
I would also like to remind everyone that all Commissioners are volunteers who are working hard to balance the needs of the community and City with the development resources brought to us by those who invest in our City. We are not public officials and I would expect my neighbors to be more considerate of our service and intentions.
The majority of the current Planning Commission has been in place for four years now with Commissioner King serving in his sixth year. This Commission had nothing to do with the most of the condos in East Dublin and we had nothing to do with the Villages. We have been responsible for the Palo Alto Medical building, Grafton Station, Sorrento and many of the residential communities that include a multitude of housing types, upscale architectural styles and prices to meet a variety of housing needs. We also are the Commission that demanded that Lowes’ replace the proposed gray concrete tilt-up with the current design. We have also put into place most of the Specific Plans that drive new and replacement development, the new City Design Element to the General Plan and we will bring the new Downtown Core Specific Plan to the Council early next year.
For those keeping score, to my knowledge, we have never approved a project that was significantly under-parked. In fact, the only project that we have denied in four years was for demanding a 30% parking reduction.
Again, I personally appreciate your concern for the common good of Dublin and suggest that you contact me, another Commissioner, or a City Councilmember if you would like to discuss planning in general, or a specific project. Finally, I suggest that anyone interested in City Planning go to the California League of Cities site for a greater understanding of what we are trying to accomplish and how we do it.
Regards,
Bill
bschaub1@yahoo.com
5:25 PM on November 25th, 2008
Hi Bill,
Thank you for responding, although it sounds like a lecture from the king instead of a chat as fellow neihbors.
I believe residents who care enough to write on this blog are just frustrated with two very bad words “High Density”. Although it is mainly the High Density Residential that we are fed up with but in this case the Commercial Promenade Phase I got called out because of poor planning with the Villages, that Residential component called the Villas and Cottages. Thus Residents are taking shots at whoever that is closest to being involved in City Planning, whether it is City Hall or Planning Commission.
The current five may not have had any say in the General Plan when it was drawn up for Eastern Dublin as it was before your time. Still you are the faces of development in Dublin thus people will take shots as they see more and more High Density Residential shoved down their throats.
If we didn’t have a parking problem in the Villages, a reduction of parking as required by City Ordinance at the Promenade would not have raised an eyebrow as the overall project looks wonderful and very promising for the eventual development of the Promenade. I know most residents can’t wait to see it come to life. They are also deeply concerned though about piling parking shortage on top of parking shortage. Especially when we now have a clean slate with the Promenade, a clean canvas to work on, lets do it right to ease the pain of Residents living in the Cottages and Villas.
You though could explain to us lame Residents what do you do? We just see 4 out of 5 give in to developers once again, this time regarding Parking.
Tim and Kasie came out and explained their position about why they vote against the redo of the housing Density first time around. It was explained in layments terms so Residents could understand why?
The 4 Commissioners that voted for the Developer’s argument of less parking for Club Sport can do the same. Maybe we could get off your backs if understood why?
11:12 AM on February 5th, 2009
I noticed the heavy equipment is moving once again. Any idea if this is related to the Club Sport project?
1:24 PM on February 5th, 2009
Hi Anonymous – yes, it looks like the developer is starting to grade the parcel for ClubSport. It also appears that the developer has started to grade the parcel for Phase 3 of Grafton Station (that huge parcel on the corner of Branningan and Dublin Blvd.).
Thx, John Z.
1:54 PM on February 5th, 2009
Good news in this hard economic times to see dirt actually turning. It means jobs now and future jobs once these places go online. Also impact fees which we unfortunately rely on so heavily in Dublin.
I guess it is likely Sports Authority and Wines & More are still a go. Wonder if they will build just the portion these two retailers will occupy and leave the other half unbuilt or just build all four units hoping someone signs on for the other two. Maybe lure T.J.'s over, that would be wonderful.
John have you heard of any other development for Fallon Gateway "Target"? I know with this current market it is hard to gauge how fast these projects will move along.
7:53 AM on February 6th, 2009
Hi Anonymous on February 5, 2009 12:54 PM – I heard that a pre-application has been submitted for the Fallon Gateway/Village Target store. However, I haven’t heard about the timeline or if they are still planning to build an office building for their corporate staff.
Thx, John Z.
5:50 PM on February 6th, 2009
Thanks John. Hopefully they’ll keep plans for the office building too, this will help diversify the type of white collar jobs we have in Dublin. On the otherhand if the office building was for a Target call center with low paying jobs, then forget it. We have more than our share of low paying retail jobs.
4:41 PM on April 28th, 2009
I am a resident of Dublin Ranch and all I can say is DUBLIN RANCH NEEDS MORE GUEST PARKING, I repeat, DUBLIN RANCH NEEDS MORE PARKING!! Right now, the high density housing and parking situation is an eyesore, devaluing our property values, and a headache for the residents who live here. So, PLEASE, someone have the developer address the parking concerns here.