A 10/15/04 CIR asked whether a metered 30 minute space could qualify for the carpool/vanpool requirements of SSc4.4 on a residential project (relying on the 4/28/03 SSc4.4 ruling). You rejected their proposal because their project did not incorporate parking, and also stated that "in this case, though, the 30-minute parking spaces are not clearly marked as a carpool drop-off and pick-up area." You also stated that the spaces "must be owned or leased by the building owner or tenant(s) to insure their availability to project occupants." Our project represents a variation on that theme with important differences. We propose to put a designated, metered, 30-minute carpool-only space curbside in front of our building, along with a riderboard in the building and possibly a web-based carpool sign-up system. The spaces would be owned by the city, but they would be designated carpool-only spaces, and would be curbside right in front of our building. Because the carpool space is right in front of our building, it would clearly meet the criteria of "insure their availability to building occupants." We do have parking inside the building but we feel spaces curbside are actually more useful for carpool drop-off parking. Please confirm that this approach meets the credit intent, and please confirm that getting a variance from the city to have less parking spaces in our garage than the city code minimum meets the exemplary parking reductions requirement.
It is possible for the project to achieve credit equivalency. Based upon your reference to the 4/28/2003 SSc4.4 CIR Ruling, it will be assumed that this is a multi-family residential project located in a dense urban setting. Credit equivalency may be available for such projects, given their unique circumstances, provided that achievement of the credit intent can be demonstrated by reducing single occupancy vehicle (SOV) use, as stated in SSc4.4 CIR Ruling dated 11/1/2004. One such approach, as you reference, is described in 4/28/2003 SSc4.4 CIR Ruling. This ruling requires that the following combination of features be sufficiently documented: (1) a carpool rider board easily found and viewable by residents; (2) a clearly marked drop-off area (near the building entrance or nearest to parking garage elevator and/or stairs) that allows 30 minute parking for at least one vehicle - dedicated to carpool vehicles only (delivering or receiving passengers); and (3) exemplary parking reductions. In this case, the curbside space(s) must clearly be located in a preferred location and designated for carpooling with signage. Further, since any such space(s) will not be owned or leased by the building owner, documentation must demonstrate that the designated space(s) will remain available to the building\'s occupants. Such documentation might consist of an agreement letter from the City and signage restricting the carpooling parking to 30 minute parking for the building\'s residents only. Regarding exemplary parking reductions: Since an ordinance for parking requirements apparently exists, documentation must demonstrate that the project is providing 50% less parking than local requirements. Applicable Internationally.