OCEANSIDE — The city of Oceanside is seeking input on residential coastal parking standards south of its downtown, and asking residents to complete an online survey.
City Council gave direction to city staff to look into updating residential coastal parking in December.
The request was sparked after council reviewed several vacation rental renovation projects that proposed adding additional bedrooms, and potentially impacting parking.
Russ Cunningham, city senior planner, said in those cases parking requirements was determined on a case-by-case basis.
In order to streamline parking regulations and simplify enforcement residential parking rules are getting an overhaul.
The survey is aimed to get a temperature reading on what residents prefer.
A key survey question is whether to measure parking requirements by dwelling square footage or bedroom count.
Cunningham said since beach homes often have open floor plans, a bedroom count would likely give a better picture of how many occupants live in a dwelling.
“With there being some concern in Oceanside over the parking impacts of homes with upwards of 10 bedrooms, staff is exploring the prospect of parking standards based on bedroom count,” Cunningham said.
Another survey question asks if a requirement for an additional parking space for each bedroom over five is too lenient or excessive.
A minimum of two parking spaces is currently required per dwelling unit.
The survey also asks for feedback on tandem parking and lift parking.
Prior discussion by the Planning Commission supported these innovative solutions, while Council discussion opposed them.
Survey questions also ask for input on guest parking requirements for condominiums and apartments in the area.
Cunningham said the City Council did not direct staff to conduct an empirical study of parking conditions in the coastal zone, so no study has been done.
The coastal zone parking survey is available on the city website.
Cunningham said within two days of posting the survey there have already been 75 responses.
Community input will be collected through April 30.
Prior to the feedback deadline a community workshop will be held to review potential parking standards. The workshop will be held at 6:30 p.m., April 23 at the Beach Community Center, 300 N. The Strand.
