WMODA’s Parking Deal Deserves a Closer Look
As the WMODA project moves forward and agreements between WMODA, the city, and the CRA are finalized, it’s hard not to wonder: Is this really a good deal for Lake Worth Beach?
The project, which includes a 110-unit apartment complex, a 33,000-square-foot museum, and a 117-space underground garage, doesn’t provide enough parking for its residents and museum visitors.
When a developer can’t meet their parking requirement, they must pay $25,000 per missing space into the “community benefits fund.”
WMODA claims to be short of their parking requirement by 51 spaces. To address this, they will design an $8.5 million public parking garage and contribute $1 million towards its construction. The city and CRA will cover the remaining $7.5 million using existing funds and a loan from the developer.
This premature financial agreement will remain in place even if their deficit in parking spaces increases.
So, does the estimate of 51 missing spaces hold up to scrutiny?
WMODA’s Parking Obligation Based on the City’s Code of Ordinances
The city's code has clear instructions on how to determine parking requirements for residential and non-residential uses. Additionally, the city allows a 25% reduction in parking for mixed-use projects through a shared parking provision.
According to the city’s code, here’s how WMODA’s parking requirement should be calculated:
Apartment Complex
WMODA is required to provide 178.5 parking spaces for its residential units based on the numbers they provided in October.
Their underground garage will only have 117 spaces.
Museum
A 33,000-square-foot museum is required to provide 165 parking spaces (1 space per 200 sq. ft. for "Institutional" use).
Total Parking Requirement With Shared Parking Reduction (25%)
Residential Requirement: 178.5 spaces
Museum Requirement: 165 spaces
Total (before reduction): 343.5 spaces
25% Reduction: 343.5 x 0.25 = 85.875 spaces
Total (after reduction): 343.5 - 85.875 = 257.6 spaces
Total Amount Owed
Scenario 1: With Shared Parking Reduction
WMODA is required to provide 257.6 parking spaces after the 25% shared parking reduction. They are only providing 117 on-site and can probably count about 20 of the spaces on S L St and S M St toward their parking requirement.
257.6 spaces owed - 137 on-site and street spaces = 120.6 missing spaces
120.6 missing spaces × $25,000 per space = $3,015,000 owed to the city
Scenario 2: Without Shared Parking Reduction
According to the city’s code, the “shared parking for mixed-use” provision states: "Mixed-use developments typically do not experience peak parking demands at the same time so reduced parking may be provided in these instances."
However, there is a case to be made that this provision should not apply here, because the entire point of the reduction is to account for shared parking. With the residential spaces being private and museum visitors relying on city parking, there is no actual sharing happening. The reduction should not apply here and they should be responsible for 343.5 spaces.
343.5 spaces owed - 137 on-site and street spaces = 206.5 missing spaces
206.5 missing spaces × $25,000 per space = $5,162,500 owed to the city.
Based on the project’s description and the city’s own code, the developer could owe about $3 million in parking fees, or possibly just over $5 million. Yet, they were allowed to settle for $1 million. So why did the city accept such a steep discount? Why is the city borrowing $3.5 million from the same developer instead of having them pay the full amount?
Upon closer examination it appears the taxpayers’ significant investment in the $8.5 million parking garage seems less about fixing Lake Worth Beach’s parking issues and more about solving WMODA’s parking problem.
Please visit our esteemed contributor, Harper Horizen @Transparent Tides
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