Public parking in downtown east Dearborn is underutilized, and a proposed public parking exemption would remove a significant barrier to opening new businesses in the area.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN – With east Dearborn public parking spaces exceeding demand, the City Council moved Dec. 10 to create an exemption that would remove a startup barrier to new businesses in the area.
The amendment, proposed by the Economic Development Department and approved by the Planning Commission, would create a public parking exemption in the east Dearborn downtown district that would mirror the exemption created in the west Dearborn downtown district.
A recent study showed that with 2,750 public parking spaces in east Dearborn, only about 36 percent are occupied on average, which means the supply exceeds the current demand.
Implementing the change will require two public readings.
By allowing property owners to utilize existing public parking lots to meet parking requirements, as opposed to having to create separate private lots, new business barriers are eliminated, parking nodes are established, and the east downtown becomes a more walkable area.
In many areas, offices are converting to retail use, but the parking requirement remains a hurdle. Variances have been approved in the past because of the existence of public parking.
Streamlining the procedure could increase the occupancy of existing businesses in the east downtown and help support a more vibrant, walkable district.
It was noted that banquet halls and multiple family housing, which would have an increased parking demand, would be classified as a special land use, and would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the planning commission.