Commercial parking requirements in Newport Beach to decrease

There may soon be fewer parking spaces required at Newport Beach businesses, following amendments to city code approved Tuesday night by the City Council.

In January 2021, council members asked city staff to study potential amendments that could accommodate rideshare and delivery services while also taking into consideration the proliferation of outdoor dining spaces that encroached on parking lots during the pandemic.

Principal planner Ben Zdeba said Tuesday that while the parking requirement amendments principally deal with restaurants, they would affect all commercial businesses.

Zdeba said the amendments will reduce barriers for restaurants to make their outdoor dining areas permanent. The city allowed for outdoor patios to exist without additional parking requirements up until 2021 through emergency use permits before later extending that use through limited term permits, which are set to expire at the end of this year.

Parking code updates are expected to be accomplished in two phases, the first being the options discussed on Tuesday that will receive a final reading on May 23 before heading to the state Coastal Commission for approvals in the coastal zone in June. The second phase, which will address the in-lieu parking fee program, curbside management and parking management districts, is expected to arrive at the dais in the fall or winter.

The amendments, as they apply to bicycles, would allow for commercial properties to reduce their bicycle parking spaces by one for every three parking spaces above minimum requirements. The total amount of spaces would be allowed to be reduced by a maximum of 5%. Property owners could reduce them by an additional 5% if end-of-trip facilities are provided.

The amendments would also allow for a 10% reduction in required vehicle parking for all businesses if there are at least 20 feet of dedicated private curb space or one off-street parking space designated for pick-up and drop-offs for Lyft, Uber and other rideshare operations.

Councilman Brad Avery raised concerns about how “granular” the parking study was in parts of Newport Beach that are chronically impacted by a lack of parking, such as near the piers and the Balboa Peninsula.

“I think we should be providing as much parking as we can for people coming to visit, come down to the beach, particularly in those high-use areas and throw in bike racks as well ... to encourage people to bike. There’s a lot of talk about ... Uber and Lyft, but their prices have gone up significantly since the pandemic,” Avery said, adding people would be less likely to use ride share services and use their own vehicles instead.

Zdeba said the city would contend with problem areas such as in Balboa Village as part of the second phase.

Councilwoman Robyn Grant commended city staff’s response to the issue that she described as being born of the pandemic that the city now needs to respond to. She said that she felt the plan could make a difference in vitalizing the city’s business community.

Councilwoman Lauren Kleiman, who previously served as a planning commissioner alongside Councilman Erik Weigand, said she felt the parking code was “long overdue for a refresh. Our requirements have been somewhat arbitrary. I think onerous parking standards limit the ability for new businesses to come to our cities [and] for existing businesses to thrive to their fullest extent.”