Artesia Council votes to move forward on city’s downtown parking program

By Jerry Bernstein

The Artesia City Council voted to retain the services of Walker Parking Consultants to prepare a program for the Artesia Downtown Parking Program. The work will be done in five phases and will include two pubic meetings and two staff meetings.
In his report to the council City Traffic Engineer C. Hui Lai said the study will cost approximately $55,000 and will be paid out of the Artesia Redevelopment Funds. Under the agreement the council voted to defer payment based on progress of the work instead of 20 percent up front.
The council also approved the acquisition of property located at 17202 Alburtis Ave. in the Heavy Manufacturing and Industrial [M-2] zone. The property will be used as a City Maintenance Yard for the storage of city maintenance vehicles, materials, supplies and other maintenance items.
The council continued a request for a conditional use permit that would allow a wholesale warehouse [plumbing supplies] on property at 18803 Corby Ave., zoned light manufacturing and Industrial [M-1 to its April meeting. Applicant is MWI, Inc. (Certified Pipe) in the city of Oceanside.’
The council approved a moratorium on new or expanded restaurants in the Old Downtown area that do not provide on-site parking. Purpose of the moratorium is to allow the city time to study changes in the Code to address parking standards in the Old Downtown Area and to develop a parking master plan while at the same time precluding new or expanded restaurants and similar uses in the Old Downtown area that may conflict with the city’s new standards and policies.
The council also approved an ordinance modifying the additional business license tax on service and professional businesses in the commercial general zone and commercial planned development zone effective July 1.The new ordinance will reduce Measure V taxes for business and professional uses on second and higher floors and revise the definition of floor area upon which the tax is calculated.
Under the new ordinance Measure V taxes would remain at 13.7 cents per square foot per month for service and professional uses in the C-G and CPD zones and would apply only to those in use on or after Mar. 2, 1999. Second floor taxes will be 10 cents per square foot. Third and higher floors would be seven cents
The council also authorized staff to draft city ordinance governing the game of Bingo in the city according to state law.