Foothills Sentry September 2021

Foothills Sentry Page 7 September 2021 7540 E. Chapman Ave. Orange, CA 92869 (714) 639-9792 MEAT&DELI, PRODUCE, BAKERY, FRESH FISH, GIFT BASKETS, WINE MON-SAT: 8am - 9pmSUN: 8am - 8pm www.Pac i�i cRanchMarket.com $ OFF Excluding alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. With coupon only. May not be combined with any other offer or discount. Limit one coupon per customer. Valid only at P aci�ic Ranch Market. When You Spend $25 or More * EXPIRES: 9/30/21 5 OC’s Premier ProduceMarket Orange Park Acres resident and OPA Association board member Laura Thomas has been appointed to the Orange County Waste Man- agement Commission by Supervisor Don Wagner. In response to the community’s outrage about soaring increases to manure pickup rates, Wagner promised he would appoint an OPA board member to the waste management commission to provide additional oversight. He did so, July 27. Thomas will represent all county citizens, not just OPA. The commission’s next quarterly meeting is Sept. 9. Photo by Tony Richards Parking in Orange: too much and too little The Orange City Council ap- proved a revision to the Munici- pal Code that would reduce the parking space requirement for retail enterprises from five spaces per 1,000 sq. ft. to four, and of- fice parking from four spaces per 1,000 sq. ft. to three. It also agreed to spend $92,840 for an Old Towne parking study. The parking code update is in- tended to reflect “appropriate” requirements for nonresidential uses. While residential parking codes were updated in 2017, the commercial codes have not been reexamined since 1995. Since then, the city has noted a decline in brick and mortar es- tablishments, as more transac- tions are conducted online. As off-street parking needs have de- clined, the city code has become “antiquated” and has not encour- aged reinvestment in commercial properties. The relaxed parking require- ments, the city says, will provide more flexibility in commercial site planning and design, and al- low more peripheral landscaping along streets and shared boundar- ies with neighborhoods. Under the revised ordinance, restaurant parking rates are based on the establishment‘s mode of service, that is, sit down, fast food or drive-thru. Car wash require- ments are based on stacking ca- pacity. Tandem parking schemes will be allowed when appropriate. Old Towne Orange, on the other hand, is attracting more visitors, shoppers and diners. Familiar antique stores are being replaced with restaurants and re- tail stores that increase parking demands. Residents and visitors report insufficient parking as the number one downside of the Old Towne experience. The city is hiring a consultant to study short- and long-term parking needs in the downtown historic district, including the im- pact of a seasonal Paseo on Glas- sell Street that removes 54 park- ing spaces from the Old Towne mix. In addition, the mechanics and boundaries of a parking district established in the eight square blocks surrounding the Plaza in 1998 will be revisited. Property owners in that district may pay an in-lieu fee instead of adding park- ing spaces if a building expands or tenancy increases. Those fees and the parking they could have created, however, have not kept pace with demand. Developments outside the boundary are unable to participate in the fee option, which, the city believes, hampers reinvestment. The consulting firm will iden- tify parking deficiencies or imbal- ances, determine optimal limits to the in-lieu fee area, analyze fee levels, suggest parking man- agement strategies and “smart” technology that could improve efficiency. The presentation date is yet to be determined.