COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Department of Public Works

DATE:

April 12, 2005

BOARD MEETING DATE:

April 26, 2005

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None, but second reading required

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Neil R. Cullen, Director of Public Works

SUBJECT:

Revisions to Chapter 7.44 (Disabled Parking) of Title 7, Vehicle and Traffic, of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code

Recommendation

1.

Adopt an ordinance:

a.

amending Section 7.44.010 of the Ordinance Code to define disabled parking zones and provide that said zones will be established by Board resolution; and

b.

repealing Sections 7.44.020 through 7.44.180 of the Ordinance Code which will eliminate the listing of disabled parking zones in the Ordinance Code.

2.

Adopt a resolution designating disabled parking zones at five (5) locations in the unincorporated area that meet the policy for establishing said zones as adopted by your Board.

Vision Alignment

Commitment: Responsive, effective and collaborative government.

Goal 20: Government decisions are based on careful consideration of future impact, rather than temporary relief or gain.

Your Board’s adoption of the proposed ordinance and resolution will allow us to:

a.

streamline Ordinance Code Section 7.44 et. sec.; and

b.

maintain an alphabetic listing of approved disabled parking zones that can be easily updated every two years consistent with the renewal date for disabled placards as provided by Section 22511.55 of the California Vehicle Code.

Background

Previous Board Action

Adopted Resolution No. 57991 establishing a policy for considering applications for disabled parking zones (DPZ).

History

DPZ requests by individuals are evaluated using the policy adopted by your Board. The policy requires that:

a.

the proposed DPZ not compromise the safety of the public at large;

b.

there are no available areas off of the public street that could be used for disabled parking; and

c.

the applicant possesses a valid State disabled persons’ placard or license.

Approved DPZ’s are currently codified in chronological order in Section 7.44 of the County Ordinance Code. However, Section 7.44.010 of the Ordinance Code also provides that DPZ’s “sunset” after one year if not extended by resolution of your Board.

Discussion

We are recommending that DPZ’s no longer be listed in the Ordinance Code and that they be approved by resolution and then brought back to your Board for confirmation every two years. The two year review is consistent with the Vehicle Code requirement that disabled licenses or placards must be renewed on June 30^th every two years.

We reviewed the seventeen (17) disabled parking zones currently listed in the Ordinance Code and determined that twelve (12) are no longer used as they are not identified by visible curb painting or signing. These twelve (12) DPZ’s were originally approved between 1981 and 1999. The remaining five (5) DPZ’s are currently identifiable either by curb painting, signage or both.

We contacted the property owners at the five (5) DPZ’s and notified them that the ordinance establishing the zone had expired, and the procedures for requesting renewal.

Four (4) of the property owners adjacent to the remaining five (5) identifiable DPZ’s provided us with the necessary documents pursuant to your Board's policy and we are recommending that the DPZ’s be renewed. The location of the DPZ’s are:

Ø

415 88^th Street, Broadmoor

Ø

33 Garden Lane, Broadmoor

Ø

626 Second Avenue, Redwood City

Ø

603 Warrington Avenue, Redwood City

The fifth (5^th) DPZ that is currently identifiable is located in front of a residence where the occupant does not currently possess a disable parking placard. The resident plans to apply for a disabled parking placard through the Department of Motor Vehicles, and we will return with a recommendation to approve this DPZ once the resident meets the requirements of your policy.

A DPZ was previously installed in front of the El Granada Post Office and we are recommending that this DPZ also be approved, as providing a DPZ in front of a post office is consistent with parking configurations at post offices throughout the County.

Your Board’s adopting a resolution approving the five (5) DPZ’s does not preclude other property owners from requesting a DPZ in the future.

An ordinance and resolution have been approved as to form by County Counsel.

We will maintain the list of approved DPZ’s on the Public Works’ web site.

Fiscal Impact

The cost of the staff time involved in evaluating and processing a request for a DPZ is part of the administrative costs associated with evaluating traffic related requests involving the County maintained road system and is financed with Road Funds. The cost of signing and striping a DPZ is approximately $500 and this cost is also financed with Road Funds.

Ordinance Code revisions are compiled and published by County Counsel and the cost of this work is financed with General Funds. We believe that there will be a savings of approximately $450 per year to the General Fund as updates to this section of the Ordinance Code will no longer have to be published each time a DPZ is approved or sunsets. The $450 saving is based on this Ordinance Code section being three (3) pages in length and the estimate provided by County Counsel that it costs approximate $150 per page to publish and distribute Ordinance Code supplements each year.