Update: Blaine Planning Commission unanimously approved its parking recommendation during the May 15 special meeting.
Blaine Planning Commission made revisions to its downtown residential parking recommendation for city council during its May 9 meeting and planned to hold a special meeting at 5 p.m. May 15 to vote on the changes.
The most significant change the commission made was deleting a section in the proposal asking for additional parking relief for developers on the west side of Peace Portal Drive in the downtown core. The original proposal had suggested developers in that area could opt for a 50 percent reduction in residential parking on top of overall reductions proposed throughout downtown.
Commissioners Don Kruse and Kevin Owens said they wanted to support residents who have been opposed to the parking reductions. Commissioner Jennifer Plombon said Blaine didn’t need big development. Plombon, along with commissioner James Bring and chair Calvin Armerding, said waterfront properties were becoming a rarity and developers would eventually come without zoning changes.
The core of the proposal remains the same as it provides an opportunity for developers to reduce residential parking to .5 stalls for a studio, .75 stalls for a one-bedroom unit, one stall for two- and three-bedroom units, and .5 additional stalls for each bedroom over a three-bedroom unit.
If developers decided to use the minimum parking requirements, they would need to pay a fee to the city for downtown transportation improvements. City council would set the fee and could adjust it annually.
The previous proposal changed language to include that parking meters may be considered for downtown (the city of Blaine has no immediate plans to install parking meters). If parking meters were installed in the future, the commission added that an annual residential parking pass would allow residents to more easily park downtown.
The new proposal states the city of Blaine will need to consider parking mitigation in the future and council should consider the cost of providing that mitigation when creating an in-lieu parking fee.
Planning commissioners were in favor of the changes and appeared likely to approve them, but the special meeting was scheduled after press time. After the commission approves a parking proposal, it will go to Blaine City Council, which can take action on the proposal in several different ways, including voting without a public hearing or sending the proposal back to the commission.
