Reno: Parking Requirements Are An Outmoded Concept

Reno News & Review reports on a disturbing situation at a CalAve eatery, Voila Cafe and Catering.  After following a City suggestion to turn one of its parking spaces into an outdoor dining venue, the business is now one parking space short of their city mandated parking requirement and as such, has been issued a cease and desist order.  Another unsettling detail mentioned in the article is that the business would have to pay an additional amount in excess of $4,000 to actually use the one parking space they abandoned for outdoor dining, as their business license does not cover outdoor dining.

Parking is rarely a problem in the not-exactly-bustling California Ave district.  A good many buildings and businesses have their own parking lots for themselves and their tenants only, but currently there are no pay lots, which is fine, because street parking is not that hard to come by nearby.

A district like CalAve should depend on its street parking to keep its businesses fed with customers during the day, and to encourage businesses to open, should not have onerous parking requirements for business licensees.  If CalAve is going to see business pick up and transform it into the kind of neighborhood it wants to be, more pedestrian activity is going to have to occur.  This pedestrian activity occurs most naturally in the beginning through the walk from the car to the business and back, a serendipitous time of discovery.

A long-term plan for the district should involve the identification of a site for a pay lot or garage to serve area businesses.  Parking for 20 - 30 cars in a central location such as the dirt lot on the east end of California would be an easy revenue generator for the owner and a boon to nearby businesses and attractions.

In the meantime, Voila's business license should be reinstated with reduced parking requirements.  There's no point in keeping a business closed over parking, with so much nearby street parking generally available.