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The Danville Town Council is set to weigh contributing up to $1 million Tuesday toward helping alleviate the decades-long problem of student-parking availability at San Ramon Valley High School.
“The significant student parking shortfall at SRVHS is a long-standing issue and impact that is adversely affecting the broader community, including SRVHS students, adjoining residential neighborhoods and adjacent downtown businesses,” Town Manager Joe Calabrigo wrote in his report to the council.
“This impact can only be mitigated through construction of additional parking on the SRVHS campus,” he added.
The SRVHS parking discussion will lead a special council meeting and study session called for Tuesday morning (April 14) — an agenda that also includes the Tassajara Parks residential project proposed for outside the town, Danville’s first-ever comprehensive economic development plan and new arts banners for downtown.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. at the town offices, 510 La Gonda Way.
Student-parking availability at the campus, which is operated by the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, has been an ongoing issue since before the town incorporated in 1982, according to Calabrigo.
Located on Danville Boulevard just outside downtown Danville, the high school currently has 272 parking spots for students available on campus, representing about 32% of the estimated overall student-parking demand of 851 spaces, Calabrigo said.
Another 232 spots are available for students on Danville Boulevard and Del Amigo Road, Calabrigo said. The public-street supply for students used to be about 140 spots bigger before the council last year voted to restrict parking hours on school days along Glen Road and Las Barrancas Drive after residents petitioned the town to address their concerns over traffic and pedestrian safety.
The nearby street parking still leaves the area about 350 spots short of the school’s student-parking demand, according to Calabrigo.
Because increasing on-campus parking is a “high priority” for the town, Calabrigo recommends the council consider appropriating $1 million toward additional student parking at SRVHS.
“Although outside of the town’s responsibility, such an action would be consistent with the long-standing partnership between the town and the (school) district,” he wrote in his report.
Finding an area to add parking on or around campus has been a problem, but a proposal being weighed by the school district to replace existing single-story classroom buildings with a new three-story structure could provide an opportunity for new parking, according to Calabrigo.
The resolution under council consideration Tuesday would encourage the school district to increase the on-campus student-parking supply by 200 spots.
The school district is set to host its own community study session on the parking issue April 23 at 6:30 p.m. on the second floor of the SRVHS Commons.
District facilities staff will be on-hand that evening to discuss potential parking options and associated costs with neighbors, parents and the community at large.
In other business Tuesday
* Town staff will present an update to the council on the new Tassajara Parks development proposal, which calls for a 125-unit residential subdivision off Camino Tassajara, near Tassajara Hills Elementary School, east of the town limits in unincorporated Contra Costa County.
The project falls within the county’s jurisdiction, but county planning staff seeks input from the Danville officials as well as other public agencies about the proposal.
In February, the developer submitted to the county a revised project concept, reducing the scope from 152 units down to 125, town community development director Tai Williams wrote in her report to the Town Council.
The proposed subdivision would sit outside the county’s voter-approved urban limit line (ULL), so to move the project forward, the county Board of Supervisors would need to endorse an exception to the ULL as well as approve a general plan amendment and rezone the property, according to Williams. The project area is currently designated agricultural lands and zoned in the exclusive agricultural district.
The draft environmental impact report for the project is expected to be released this fall, Williams said.
The council Tuesday is set to accept Williams’ report and provide feedback to staff about the town’s formal comments to the county on the Tassajara Parks project.
* Council members will receive an update on the progress toward creating Danville’s first-ever comprehensive economic development plan.
The town’s consultant firm, Sacramento-based Economic & Planning Systems (EPS), will lead a discussion on defining economic opportunities and challenges — the first of three phases in the plan-drafting process.
EPS will present an overview of key findings and related dynamics in the local economy as well as factors impacting the retail environment, according to Jill Bergman, town economic development manager.
The firm will also share stakeholder feedback received at business and retail forums hosted by the town as well as discuss the preliminary framework of the comprehensive plan, which will focus on four main areas, according to Bergman — fiscal drivers, small and home-based businesses, economic development and marketing, and placemaking.
The council is set to hear the research findings from Phase 1 and provide input to staff and EPS.
Phase 2 of the project focuses on identifying economic development strategies and the final phase is creating the final five-year comprehensive economic development plan.
* The council will consider designs for proposed banners to add to light poles on Front Street to market the corridor as an “Arts District.”
The banners, at 2 feet by 4 feet, would remain unchanged throughout the year and would promote the Village Theatre and Art Gallery along with other community facilities on Front Street, according to recreation services manager Henry Perezalonso.
Perezalonso will ask council members to review and support the banner design option recommended by the Danville Arts Commission.
* The town manager will provide an update on the project to bring a new downtown parking facility to town-owned property on Rose Street.
Clearly parking at SRVHigh is a problem but so is parking in Danville in general. The town council and planners have done a poor job in addressing this ongoing and soon to be worse problem when the Danville Hotel project is completed. When will they ever learn? I guess they don’t expect people to want to drive and park where they shop or visit friends in the new condos that are being built right in the center of a retail area. Again, very poor planning. The residents who live nearby will just have to get used to people parking on the side streets and walking to shop. Check out the area around Trader Joe’s during most hours. It is congested and the parking is terrible or hard to come by! Many avoid the area all together and shop elsewhere (San Ramon), or go after hours if they can.
Town Manager Joe Calabrigo believes the only solution is to add more parking spaces. No, this is not the only solution. A much cheaper solution is to encourage kids to walk to school. I know some do, but many more could and should be walking. (Granted, some cannot for various reasons.) Those of us over a certain age (40?) remember when walking was the only way we got to school. It certainly was for me. I lived in an area with a lot of rain and a little snow, but still walked the three miles to and from school almost every day. If kids of yesterday did it, kids of today can also do it.
Folks let’s remember this is a school. Not a shopping mall. They have enough parking and we can do better with the million dollars.
Read on and see the town is looking at Ty Williams report on Tassajara Parks development of 125 homes placed outside the Urbin limit line ULL that the voters passed but the Planning commission can change without voter approval if the change to the ULL is less than 30 acres. Once the ULL veil is pierced the whole Tassajara valley will look like the Dublin end of Tassajara south of Wendemere.Go look at it and cry out loud. The valley is already a 580/680 commuter bypass. Look out a 4 lane Tassajara Road is coming.
Water will come from a Central Valley project contract. That is very fishy. It can be used for transfer or exchange and/or wheeling. Since when are we in the Central Valley? The project maybe annexed into the local water provider (EBMUD) who won’t give any water to homes in Tassajara today going dry on well water. The water will probably come from zone 7 which seems to have unlimited amount of water allowing a water park to be built and tons of new homes in Dublin.
The Tassajara Valley is going to disappear into sub-divisions 30 acres at a time unless we stop the Contra Costa Board of Directors from approving the change on the table right now.
When will bikes become cool again — excuse me: “when will dudes and dudettes be down with two-wheelers?” The Iron Horse trail could not be more convenient for many, and when I was a mere sprite of a lass, I rode 6 (count-em) miles to school each way, through snow and ice, uphill both ways! Beat THAT, Paul.
I too would like to see bikes come back in vogue with high school kids, but even so there are times when the weather won’t be agreeable.
Poster Louise and I rarely agree about anything having to do with politics, but I think her parking gripes up above are dead-on.
Regarding parking in general downtown, I have a question for Geoff Gillette to forward either to Steve Lake or one of the planning commissioners.
It seems the owners of the property Basil Leaf Cafe sits on (and possibly the area behind Yo’s as well) have applied to cover over their small existing parking area with yet another development. And apparently our fine city officials decided that would be a swell idea.
So here is my question Geoff: Given the dearth of parking along Hartz & Railroad Avenues, how can they even consider this? Is it even legal to remove ADA parking spots at all, because there are a couple of those of course.
Another question: Hypothetically, should a vacant downtown lot mysteriously become available (say, from a meteor impact), and I want to erect a structure for my business, can I cover the entire lot and to heck with any parking?
If the city’s answer to this question is no, how exactly are the two owners of the 501 Hartz avenue parcel getting a building permit?
I await my answers.
Did we (Danville taxpayers) pony up a percentage of the Monte Vista lot north of the hight school?
Good afternoon,
Thanks for the comments on this. We always appreciate the feedback and discussion. I spoke with Town staff and wanted to share some info with you regarding the parking issue.
As far as parking in the 500 block of Hartz Avenue: Those areas are zoned Downtown Business District (DBD) Area 1. Parking requirements vary depending on which of the 13 zoning districts the business resides. The DBD 1 zoning area requires that parking for retail or restaurant uses be (at minimum) 50% to 100% accommodated off-site within Town municipal parking facilities. The owners of the businesses are required to pay parking in-lieu fees for each off-site parking space. These payments are used to develop and maintain municipal parking facilities.
The idea behind the zoning ordinance is to see the core downtown area continue to develop consistent with the character of Hartz Avenue while also encouraging pedestrian flow and shopping and entertainment opportunities.
We are mindful of the needs for more parking spaces in and around the downtown and with that thought there are two different Capital Improvement Projects (CIPs) in the pipeline. The first is (as mentioned in the article) contributing to the school district’s efforts to provide additional parking on-site at San Ramon Valley High School. This would open up an additional 200 parking spaces at the north end of the downtown by allowing more students to park on-site.
The second CIP is the creation of additional parking facilities near the intersection of Linda Mesa Ave. and Rose St. This project would provide another 200 spaces for visitors to the downtown.
As to the question regarding the parking at Monte Vista High School, my understanding is that the school district entered into an agreement with a developer to provide the student parking facility.
We encourage an active downtown and understand that parking is part of that equation. As such we will continue to study this issue and will be working to provide adequate parking for our downtown visitors.
Hope this helps.
Have a great afternoon.
Geoff
Geoff Gillette
Public Information Coordinator
Town of Danville
(925) 314-3336
email – ggillette@danville.ca.gov