Even with a giant new public garage, a shortage of parking near popular restaurants and shops in downtown Morgan Hill is resulting in lost business and more headaches, according to some who spoke to the city council on the issue March 15.
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The recent loss of a handful of formerly public parking areas on the north end of downtown, due to new construction, has had a notable impact on sales. At least one merchant has moved out of downtown recently due to a decrease in customer parking.
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Making matters worse, employees of late-night establishments worry about walking to their cars several blocks away in the dark.
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Others who spoke at the March 15 council meeting are concerned about what they see as a shortage of parking spots for disabled visitors.
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“Parking is just ridiculous,” said Susan Azar Benyamin who, with her brother and sister, owns Noah’s Bar and Bistro at First Street and Monterey Road. “We don’t have any parking for our side of downtown Morgan Hill.”
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The council offered a list of possible solutions for city staff to consider. These include enforcement of posted two-hour parking limits in marked spots (these restrictions are currently not enforced) and implementing a valet parking program in which businesses can share the cost.
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City staff presented the results of a February 2016 parking study that shows there are nearly 1,300 public parking spaces downtown, and at “peak hours” (Friday evenings) the occupancy rate of these and 779 private spots is about 39 percent. The study was commissioned by the city and compiled by Hexagon Transportation Consultants.
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Morgan Hill Economic Development Director Edith Ramirez said this occupancy rate is “well below” the preferred standard of 92 percent, and the overall downtown parking supply is “robust.”
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However, members of the public panned many of the study’s key findings. In particular, they noted that some of the largest lots identified in the study—including the new garage, Community and Cultural Center, and VTA parking on Butterfield Boulevard—are concentrated in areas that are out of the way for customers and visitors to the north end or west side of downtown.
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“Even though we have a healthy supply of parking, that is not the sense we get from the community,” Ramirez said.
Lost sales
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Three siblings who own and operate Noah’s Bar and Bistro pointed out, as the city’s study noted, that an influx of new business and construction in the downtown has decreased parking supplies but increased the demand.
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Benyamin added that the shortage has affected sales at Noah’s. “When people can’t find parking they get disgruntled, and they don’t want to come inside. They want to go somewhere else.”
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Furthermore, while employees of Noah’s and other businesses that stay open late often park a few blocks away as a courtesy to their customers, it can be “scary” walking back to their vehicles at night, Benyamin noted.
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Rich Bergin, co-owner of Rosy’s At The Beach on Monterey Road near Third Street, questioned the study’s validity of assigning a 39 percent occupancy rate to downtown parking inventory on Friday nights. He noted that the study uses a ratio of one parking space for every five seats at a restaurant. It should be more like one space per 2.5 restaurant seats, Bergin said.
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Bergin added with at least six new restaurants and 60 hotel rooms under construction downtown, parking is a “blooming problem” that needs an immediate solution.
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Downtown property owner Nora Monaco used a map from the city’s parking study to illustrate why the problem has grown, especially on the north side of town. A formerly public lot next to Wells Fargo Bank is now leased by developer Frank Leal, who uses the space for valet parking for his newly remodeled Granada Theater. Leal is also building the 60-room Granada Hotel across First Street from Noah’s. That project has already eliminated 50 public parking spots that were behind the Downtown Mall.
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Plus, Monaco said, Wells Fargo has recently employed private security to enforce customer-only parking in its lot on the north end of downtown.
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Monaco’s 5,100-square-foot building on First Street, next to Maurizio’s restaurant, has space for three commercial tenants. One of these—One80 Salon—recently moved out of downtown.
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The privately owned lot now used by Leal was previously leased by the city’s Redevelopment Agency, which was dissolved in 2012, leaving the city without the means to pay rent, Ramirez explained.
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Solutions?
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Mayor Pro Tem Larry Carr said at the March 15 meeting that the council implemented a policy several years ago that exempts new downtown retail businesses from providing their own parking.
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“We wanted to bring more retail. It seems it was successful, but part of the problem is because we took that responsibility away from businesses,” Carr said.
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He added that a “unified valet parking program” could provide some relief. The top level of the new 273-space garage or other “underutilized” lots on the edges of downtown could support such efforts, Carr and city staff suggested.
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“We’ve got to focus on that north downtown area,” Carr added. “There may be some opportunities just north of Main (Avenue) for additional parking.”
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Councilman Rich Constantine asked Morgan Hill Police Chief David Swing what it would take to begin enforcing downtown parking time limits. Swing said he could get one or more of MHPD’s young cadets trained and qualified to issue parking citations, perhaps as soon as September.
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And the downtown’s private sector has offered to help out. The Morgan Hill Downtown Association sent the council a letter offering to help in the city’s ongoing effort to educate visitors and businesses about available parking. They also suggested creating a parking task force to formulate new ideas, such as negotiating with private parking lot owners to allow public uses during off-peak hours.
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City staff will return to the council with more information on these and other recommendations at an upcoming meeting.
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Below are some of the highlights of a downtown parking study, completed by city staff and Hexagon Transportation Consultants in 2016.
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• There are 2,073 parking spaces downtown, including 779 private spots (this includes the South County Courthouse’s 273 spots) and 1,295 public parking spots.
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• New downtown construction projects will cause the permanent net loss of 79 previously public parking spots.
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• Downtown parking supply is projected to increase by 10 private and 61 public spots as the development of four new projects and a public park are complete.
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• The study considered the impact on parking of projects currently under construction, including Barley Place on Depot Street, Granada Theater and Hotel, City Ventures’ Depot Center mixed use and the city’s Depot Street park.
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• Since the study was compiled, more new downtown projects are in development that could impact parking supplies: Edes Gallery (Second Street and Monterey Road), Sunsweet on East Third Street (83 residential units, 7,000 square feet of commercial) and Fourth Street Wine Bar.
