No more compact spaces

DOWNTOWN BURBANK ? Anyone who has ever tried to squeeze into a compact parking space flanked by two SUVs, or driven somewhere in an SUV only to find compact spaces, the City Council has a solution: eliminating the pint-size spots.

The council approved a new law Tuesday that does away with compact parking spaces in any new development.

For real estate developers, striking compact parking provisions in commercial and industrial zones will likely result in added costs for new projects.

“I’m all for eliminating [compact parking] as a person ? I don’t like the tight fit,” said Brandon Varon, a developer with Bar Enterprises. “But as a developer, I love compact parking because I can get more parking into it.”

The increased expense will vary depending on the type of project, Varon said. But if a developer were forced to dig a subterranean parking structure in order to meet city code, that would mean sizable additional expenses, he said.

In spite of the new development challenges the ordinance poses, the changing demographic of vehicles on the road makes compact parking impractical, said Mayor Jef Vander Borght, who works as an architect. “Compact parking doesn’t work as the pendulum swings to larger cars.”

Until now, Burbank’s municipal code allowed developers to designate 45% of commercial and industrial lots as compact parking, with stall size at least 7-feet 6 inches wide by 15 feet long.

Wiping out compact spaces in new projects means developers will have to have all standard full-sized parking spaces, which are 18 feet long by either 9 feet or 8 feet 6 inches wide depending on the rate of parking turnover in the lot, said Tracy Steinkruger, an assistant planner in the Community Development Department. Existing parking facilities will not be required to convert compact standard parking spots.

Vander Borght also asked staffers to consider the feasibility of extending the width of all full-sized parking spaces to 9 feet because “width is the main problem.”

But Councilman Dave Golonski said 8 feet 6 inches is suitable for general office and industrial areas.

“Nine feet imposes unnecessary burdens on developers,” he said.

Burbank had already eliminated compact parking allowances for multi-family residential areas in April 2004, and the city joins Glendale and Pasadena, which have already eliminated compact parking for commercial and industrial zones.

QUESTION

Do you agree with the council’s decision to eliminate compact-car spaces in new developments? E-mail your responses to burbankleader@latimes.com; mail them to the Burbank Leader, 111 W. Wilson Ave., Glendale, CA 91203. Please spell your name and include your address and phone number for verification purposes only.