Greensburg eyes elimination of off-street parking requirement to spur downtown development

Jul. 30—Greensburg officials are considering eliminating off-street parking requirements for downtown businesses to spur development.

City Solicitor Zachary Kansler is drafting a proposal to change parking guidelines because the requirements are "one of the biggest impediments to development," he said.

The planning commission will review the proposed changes Aug. 23.

Authors of a recently completed downtown Greensburg parking study came to a similar conclusion. The study noted that full development of all downtown properties — to include ground-floor retail and upper-story apartments — would require 5,800 spaces for vehicles under current parking requirements.

That "would take up a land area roughly equivalent to the entire (downtown) overlay district, itself," according to the study.

The city's minimum requirements for off-street parking spaces vary according to the type of establishment involved.

Many citizens have complained that parking in downtown Greensburg is a hassle and that available spaces aren't convenient to their destination.

But the study indicated there is more than ample parking downtown, finding that 24 off-street parking areas generally were only about half full at a peak hour of 10 a.m. on a weekday.

Parking spaces that are leased and unavailable to the general public were excluded when calculating that percentage, city planning director Jeff Raykes said. Some spaces are leased around the clock, others during daytime hours Monday through Friday.

The study also found that 12 of the 24 off-street parking areas had an occupancy rate less than 10% during early evening hours. Enforcement of metered parking fees in the city ends at 5 p.m. on weekdays.

Kansler indicated the city diminished its available downtown parking, leasing more than 100 spaces to Westmoreland County for more than a year "without any issue," during reconstruction of the county courthouse parking garage.

He said parking spaces generally can be found for downtown facilities that attract "in-and-out" traffic, including the courthouse and the post office.

Raykes argued that the proposal to end off-street parking requirements "has less to do with parking and more to do with having a healthy downtown."

"Parking lots don't do us any favors. It's a terribly poor use of space."

Alec Italiano, incoming executive director of the nonprofit Greensburg Community Development Corp., noted a recent review of vacant downtown properties by a team from The Counselors of Real Estate Consulting Corps pointed to city parking requirements as a factor limiting development of a lot at 225 S. Main St. where the dilapidated Advance Furniture building was demolished.

"You could only really do six (upper-story apartment) units there because of the parking," Italiano said.

A multi-story building at 211 S. Pennsylvania Ave. that formerly housed part of the defunct Troutman's department store completely occupies the land on which it sits. As with many other downtown buildings, Raykes said, that leaves no room for off-street parking.

Self-storage units have been discussed as a potential use for the upper stories of that building.

Because of parking requirements, most downtown developers have to obtain a zoning variance from the city before they can proceed with any projects. With attendant fees and the uncertainty of gaining approval, that's an added hurdle that can deter developers, city planners note.

The city parking study cited a growing trend of communities abandoning downtown parking requirements, including York and Zanesville, Ohio.

Amending Greensburg's downtown parking requirements "is a good idea to address," said Lisa Marinelli-Metrosky, a city planning commission member. She said allowance should be made for any major business that might attract a large number of motorists.

"That's maybe something you want to take into consideration," she said.

With three members present, the planning commission was short of a quorum and unable to act on the parking proposal at its meeting this week..

If the commission makes a recommendation to city council at its August meeting, council might consider the proposal for approval in October, following a public hearing and a review by county officials, Kansler said.

Council separately is considering purchase of software that would allow the city to add a grace period of a few minutes before an overtime violation would begin for selected parking meters, potentially on Pennsylvania Avenue and Second Street. If that proposal is approved, motorists likely wouldn't see the extra parking time go into effect until next year.

Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff by email at jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter .