City Repeals Parking Loophole for Potential Developers

The Sierra Madre City Council on Tuesday repealed a long-standing portion of the city's municipal code that gave potential developers the ability to build projects without ample parking spaces.

The so-called "Parking-in-Lieu ordinance had allowed potential developers the option of paying per space fee to the city in lieu of providing adequate parking as determined by city planners as part of the building permit application process.

In previous meetings the City Council for the Parkin-in-Lieu program including possibly raising the $2000 per space fee to a level that would further dissuade developers from choosing the option as well as fund future city-owned parking developments.

Following the presentation of these options to the City Council by Planning Director Danny Castro, the council elected to repeal the option entirely with the understanding that they could revisit the issue at a later date and discuss the creation of a new Parking-in-Lieu program.

With the repeal of the city's Parking-in-Lieu program, developers are now beholden to providing an amount of parking deemed necessary for the project in required environmental impact reports and subsequent review by the Planning Commission and City Council.