OCEANSIDE — The Planning Commission recommended city staff’s beach parking plans and added tandem parking as a solution on Aug 10.
The City Council directed staff to come up with a beach parking plan to address the impact of multi-bedroom vacation rentals on beach parking in December 2014.
Staff’s plan requires guest parking for condominiums and apartments, and one additional parking space for each residential bedroom beyond four.
Lift parking is not allowed to count toward required parking, at the City Council’s request.
City planning staff used workshops, an online survey and field studies to gather input.
The downtown area is not included in parking requirements because it is not experiencing the same impacts.
Community input showed a guest parking requirement and tandem parking allowance were highly supported. There was also close to 50 percent support for lift parking.
Most residents saw a shortage of beach parking. Suggestions included instituting a residential parking permit and enforcing the 72-hour on street parking limit.
Field studies found off-street parking was underutilized. Some was used for storage, workshops and living space. Other off-street parking was difficult to access due to narrow alleys.
The initial staff recommendation limited tandem parking to discretionary reviews.
Commissioners questioned the restriction on tandem parking.
“I’d like it more black and white, yes or no for tandem parking,” Commissioner Louise Balma said.
The commission voted unanimously to add tandem parking as an option to fulfill parking requirements.
The commission also supported alternative parking solutions in February discussions. At that time commissioners said it would be impossible for homeowners to accommodate parking without tandem parking, lifts and other creative solutions.
The city 1986 zoning ordinance, which was reinstated in 2009, permits tandem parking through discretionary review. The interim 1992 zoning ordinance does not allow tandem parking to fulfill requirements.
The commission’s recommendations will move forward to the City Council.
