§ 13-197. Facility standards

All applicable developments shall be subject to the facility standards as specified in this section and shall provide all the improvements identified in either subsection (a) or subsection (b), as determined by the City of Costa Mesa:

(a) Option A.

(1) Preferential parking for carpool vehicles:

a. At least fifteen (15) per cent of the employee parking spaces shall be reserved and designated for carpool vehicles by marking such spaces "Carpool Only".

b. Carpool spaces shall be used only by carpool vehicles in which at least two (2) of the persons will be employees or tenants of the proposed project, or where a reciprocal preferential carpool parking agreement with other developments has been established.

c. Such carpool spaces shall be located near the building's employee entrance(s) or at other preferential locations within the employee parking areas as approved by the planning division.

(The intent of this section is not to preclude parking agreements for visitors and handicapped, but to provide preferential carpool parking within the general employee parking areas. The factors listed below shall be used to determine the number of employee parking spaces.)

d. The total number of employee parking spaces shall be determined by using the following factors as specified in Chapter VI, Off-Street Parking Standards.

Type of Use	Percent of Total Parking Devoted to Employee Parking
Commercial	30%
- Regional
- Community
- Neighborhood
Office/Professional	85%
Industrial/Warehouse	90%

 

(2) Bicycle parking and shower facilities. Bicycle parking and locker facilities shall be provided in a secure location for use by employees or tenants who commute to the site by bicycle or walk in accordance with the following standards:

a. The number of bicycle facilities/racks shall be provided at the rate of at least one rack for every twenty (20) employees.

b. A minimum of two (2) showers shall be provided, one each for female and male employees.

(3) Information on transportation alternatives.

a. A commuter information area shall be provided that offers employees appropriate information on available transportation alternatives to the single occupant vehicle. This area shall be centrally located and accessible to all employees or tenants.

b. Information in the area shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

i. Current maps, routes and schedules for public transit.

ii. Ridesharing match lists.

iii. Available employee incentives.

iv. Ridesharing promotional material supplied by commuter oriented organizations.

(4) Rideshare vehicle loading areas.

a. The need for, design, and location of passenger loading areas for passengers to embark and disembark from rideshare vehicles shall be reviewed by the transportation services manager.

b. Passenger loading areas shall be of a size large enough to accommodate the number of waiting vehicles equivalent to the rate of at least five (5) spaces per every one hundred (100) of the required parking spaces for the project.

c. The passenger loading areas shall be located as close as possible to the building's employee entrance(s), and should be designed in a manner that does not impede vehicular circulation in the parking area.

(5) Vanpool vehicle accessibility.

a. The need for, design, and location of passenger loading areas for passengers to embark and disembark from vanpool vehicles shall be reviewed by the transportation services manager.

b. The design of all parking facilities shall incorporate provisions for access and parking of vanpool vehicles.

c. Where applicable, vanpool vehicle accessibility shall include a minimum of seven (7) feet and two (2) inches vertical clearance for those parking spaces and ramps to be used by such vehicles.

d. Vanpool parking spaces shall be located near the building's employee entrance(s) or other preferential locations as approved by the transportation services manager.

e. The number of accessible vanpool parking spaces shall be at the rate of at least two (2) spaces per every one hundred (100) of the total required employee car pool parking spaces as determined in subsection 13-197(a)(1)d., Facility Standards.

(6) Bus stop improvements.

a. The need for, design and location of potential improvements at area bus stops shall be reviewed by the transportation services manager.

b. Bus stop improvements shall be determined in conformance with standard traffic engineering principles including, but not limited to, the following:

i. The frequency and relative impact of blocked traffic due to stopped buses;

ii. The level of transit ridership at the locations.

(b) Option B.

(1) Reserved parking spaces. A percentage of parking spaces, located as close as is practical to the entrance(s) of the use they are intended to serve, shall be reserved for use of carpool and vanpool vehicles, as determined by the transportation services manager;

(2) Bicycle parking. Secure, adequate and convenient storage shall be provided for bicycles;

(3) Bus improvements. Bus bays, bus stops and bus shelters shall be provided adjacent to roads and streets traversing or bounding the development project, as determined by the transportation services manager;

(4) Transportation information. A transportation information center shall be provided within each building of over twenty-five thousand (25,000) gross square feet;

(5) Employee locker rooms. A shower and locker room facility for employees of each sex shall be provided in each building of one hundred thousand (100,000) or more gross square feet. For any development project containing one hundred thousand (100,000) or more total combined gross square feet, but which does not contain any single building of one hundred thousand (100,000) or more gross square feet, the final review authority may elect, at its discretion, to require the provision of shower and locker room facilities; and

(6) Sidewalks. Sidewalks or other paved pathways following direct and safe routes shall be provided from the external pedestrian circulation system to each building in the development project.

(Ord. No. 97-11, § 2, 5-5-97; Ord. No. 02-11, § 1c, 6-17-02)