The least bashful block of residents in all of Culver City – the perennially unhappy home-owning neighbors of Grace Lutheran Church – has returned to the news today.
A decades-old parking-oriented taffy pull between residents of the 10700 block of Farragut Drive and the leadership of Grace Lutheran has consumed a huge swath of communal oxygen, especially in the last couple years.
Presumably the breathing rate among homeowners has increased as judicial rulings against the petitioners have begun to stack up.
The latest study of traffic patterns pitting Grace Lutheran and 10700 neighbors was due a month ago.
For answers to vexing matters that have been hanging around so long that their hair has faded to gray, we turned to Gabe Garcia, City Hall’s venerable and congenial traffic manager.
* What has been the purpose, the stated objective, of the Farragut Drive Parking Study?
Mr. Garcia: To determine if the City Council’s adopted criteria for parking occupancy and non-residential parking intrusion are met on the 10700 block of Farragut Drive, to justify permit-only parking restrictions on the block.
This determination is based on the parking experience on the block during 20 different study hours, which take place over the span of a three-week period. The criteria are contained in the Procedures and Regulations for Residential Permit Parking Districts, adopted by Resolution 2013-R071 on Nov. 12, 2013.
They are the following: (1) More than 75 percent of the legal on-street parking spaces shall be occupied by the combined total of resident and non-resident motor vehicles; and (2) More than 50 percent of the legal on-street parking spaces shall be occupied by non-resident motor vehicles.
* When did the parking study originate?
Mr. Garcia: The City Council authorized the parking study at its meeting of March 14.
* Is it correct to say 10700 block neighbors opposed the study?
Mr. Garcia: I would prefer you hear from the residents directly, rather than presuming to speak for them.
* It was to be presented to the Council a month ago. Why the delay? Is it tentatively scheduled to go before the Council later this month?
Mr. Garcia: The final study was not ready in time to meet staff’s originally intended timeline for presentation to the City Council, late June or early July. It still is not complete. Also, one resident on the 10700 Farragut block requested the city allow the residents at least two weeks to review the final study before this matter is presented to the City Council for consideration. In response to this request, the matter is tentatively scheduled for the Sept. 12 City Council meeting, in order to give the residents sufficient time to review the final report.
* Process: Is it correct to say present ruling will be compared to previous parking study findings, and then presumably final conclusions will be drawn?
Mr. Garcia: The consultant will compare the parking study findings to the criteria in the Regulations. The consultant will make recommendations based on this comparison. The report will provide the City Council information it will then use to inform their discussion and decisions on this issue.
* Can you identify the main findings of the parking study?
Mr. Garcia: The specific findings of the parking study will be made available at the time the Final Parking Study is released to the public.
* Who conducted the study?
Mr. Garcia: KOA Corporation, an on-call professional engineering consultant to the city.
