“It’s absolutely a quality-of-life issue,” Drayman said.
After the city got complaints about parking, staff created a report to look at what Glendale’s existing zoning code said about residential and commercial parking.
They found that city code prohibits landlords from renting spaces to non-tenants or using spaces for uses other than parking, but landlords can still rent out an apartment without a parking space even if spaces are available.
“One of the issues that seems to be out there is how to deal with those parking spaces being assigned equitably to tenants that are out there, especially in buildings that were built years ago where the parking supply doesn’t match the parking demand of the building,” said Sam Engel, the city’s Neighborhood Services administrator.
The practice of assigning parking spots to residents and giving available spots to residents is not common, Engel said. Traditionally, he said, tenants are left to find their own places to park.
“It tends to be a lot more pragmatic, and what can be worked to the best advantage of the property owner and tenant at the time of rental,” he said. “It is nowhere near as systematic.”
Residential parking is also regulated by the development standards that were set during the time of construction, which imposed the number of parking spaces at a residential property.
In the past, the city approved parking areas being converted for uses other than parking, Engel said. At some residential buildings, units were illegally built over parking spots, and the city is now ordering them to be taken down, he said.
