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.

Comments

[NVMojo]

What kind of idiots are on the Reno City Council that let their high paid assclowns do this to a business in the first place. This is outrageous!

[Justin]

I love Voila. I hope they resolve this issue quickly. I feel really bad for the owners, but if nothing else, this will help draw attention to the issue of Reno's ridiculous parking regulations.

[Justin]

In case anyone missed it, Voila opened up again late last week after resolving their parking issue w/ the city.

[Mike Van H]

Ken! Are you still alive up there in Seattle?

[Marie]

Hmmm... the "idiots" in this case I think are the Viola peeps who blew off the rules and KNOWINGLY ignored the parking requirement. Um, yeah, let's hope they run the business with more respect and attention than they started it with.

[Justin]

Ken,

What's up? I miss your posts!

Marie,

Something tells me you don't know the whole story.

[Ken]

Sorry everyone, writer's block and other assorted maladies. Back in the saddle.

Also, please, I don't like to delete people's contributions, so I'd like to respectfully ask readers not to call people assclowns or idiots here. (You can do it all you like elsewhere, I promise not to say anything then) It just ain't necessary. We're talkin policy here.

[Michelle]

I have to say something about all the people saying that should just park on the street in the nearby residental areas. Have you ever stopped to think that people actually live in all those houses that you are suggesting people park in front of to walk to the stores on Cal Ave? I happen to be one of those residents who have to park on the street, since I have no off street parking for my house. Have you ever thought about how many trips I have to take from my car to my house carrying groceries everytime I come home in the afternoon, with no place to park because everyone else is parked there to go have lunch somewhere on Cal Ave? I'm all for patrons at the local business's, but come on people. I don't want to have to hike a mile just to go home after work. If the business wants to increase revenue, then maybe they should invest in a parking garage, or aquire an empty building to make into a parking lot.