Support proposed Wayzata Mill Street Parking Ramp

We are writing to ask the Wayzata City Council to vote to approve construction of a City-owned, grade +2 parking ramp on Mill Street and to authorize staff to proceed with the project and develop a design.

We need to build a grade +2 ramp because:

• It offers flexibly for future needs.

• The Lake Effect project will enhance Wayzata by providing a welcoming venue for visitors, which will increase the demand for parking beyond the City’s current parking capacity. Additionally, if the City builds this ramp providing parking outside the Lake Effect’s Signature Project area, it will ease the burden of providing additional parking within the project area, thereby allowing greater opportunity for a more enhanced lake front.

• Most of the Carisch ramp is currently available for public parking but as of 2017 these stalls may not be available for public use.

• A grade +1 ramp would provide a net increase of only 26 stalls (after Beltz and Lake Effect) at the cost of $7,020,000 That makes little financial sense. Such a large expenditure for so little gain ($270,000 per stall) would be very difficult to justify. Additionally, while a 26-stall increase might provide some short-term relief to the parking problem in the City, it will not provide meaningful long-term relief given the forecasts of additional resident and visitor traffic in the future. And, the idea of constructing a grade +1 ramp now in such a manner as to allow it to be added on to and converted to a grade +2 ramp at some future date really just means more construction expense and inconvenience both now and later.

• A grade +2 ramp with a net increase of 145 stalls (after Beltz and Lake Effect) is still significantly below the need indicated by the parking study.

• The new Beltz property project appears to be moving ahead requiring more parking, as indicated above.

• There is an opportunity to fund the parking ramp with TIF dollars.

• It appears there is very little current enthusiasm or momentum for developing the west end of the Mill Street lot as a commercial property. The Chamber’s membership has had very little to say about that possible component. Plus, it would add more retail space at a time when property owners are working very hard to fill existing space and space already approved for construction. We feel the west side of a parking ramp would be a great location for an aesthetic transitional space between the ramp and Broadway, such as public service amenities like restrooms and bike corrals.