Chapter 2. Existing Conditions and Issues, Opportunities, and Constraints
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Downtown Monterey Park Mixed-Use and Pedestrian Linkages Plan Chapter 2. At the outset of the Mixed-Use and Pedestrian Bicycle circulation Linkages project, an Existing Conditions Transit service and stops Existing Conditions and Memorandum was compiled on December 10, Parking Issues, Opportunities, and 2003 based on meetings with stakeholders and Vehicular traffic Constraints City staff, site reconnaissance and inventories, Signage/wayfinding analysis of relevant census and parcel data, Urban design features traffic/pedestrian/bicycle counts and analysis, Streetscape improvements What is Downtown Monterey Park like land use and urban design analysis, and review today? of existing plans. The Memorandum serves as 2.1.2 Private Realm ¾ Diverse and family-oriented the baseline for the recommendations, standards, Features of the private realm which effect future ¾ Known for Asian restaurants and guidelines recommended in this Plan. This development potential include: ¾ Competition from neighboring cities chapter summarizes the findings of the ¾ 5 major supermarkets memorandum, with an emphasis on the issues, Existing land uses ¾ Over 8,000 housing units in walking opportunities, and constraints detailed at the end Character of existing development distance of the corridors of the document. The full Existing Conditions Lot and building size ¾ Many small shops with independent Memorandum is available for review from the Proposed projects owners City of Monterey Park. ¾ Not much recent development 2.1.3 Relevant Plans ¾ Small lots difficult to develop Plans which are relevant to the study area ¾ Older development lacks parking 2.1 Elements of the Existing include: ¾ More than half the City’s population Conditions Analysis lives Downtown City of Monterey Park General Plan ¾ High transit-use in the population Existing conditions in Downtown were Garvey/Garfield and North Atlantic Specific ¾ 2 to 4 million square feet of catalogued in terms of both the public and Plans development potential, including private realms, including its regional setting, Monterey Park Zoning Ordinance mixed-use opportunities current socio-economic data and a review of Downtown Parking Management Program ¾ A City population of approximately relevant policies of existing plans which have 60,000, a 3 mile trade area population jurisdiction within the study area. By drawing on the above information as well as of over 204,000 and a 5 mile trade area input provided in interviews with local population of over 386,000 2.1.1 Public Realm ¾ 68% of the City’s population earns The public realm includes those features of the stakeholders, including business owners, $75,000 to $250,000 per year built environment which are primarily within the property owners, and community members, ¾ Nearly twice the national average of publicly owned rights-of-way, such as: issues, opportunities, and constraints for future Generation Y (median age of 16), development and investment in Downtown whose spending pattern is 3 times their Pedestrian circulation along the sidewalks Monterey Park were developed. number Pedestrian street crossings 13 Chapter 2. Existing Conditions and Issues, Opportunities, and Constraints 2.2 Regional, Socio-Economic, and Table 2-1: Key Demographic Characteristics of the Downtown Study Area, Market Setting Compared to the City of Monterey Park and Los Angeles County Study Area1 City of Los Angeles The City of Monterey Park is located in the Monterey Park County western San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles 2000 Population (Census) 25,300 60,000 9,519,300 County. Although situated in the northern part 2025 Projected Increase (SCAG) 2 27% 28% 23% of the City, the Downtown study area is the 2,3 City’s civic heart and a major commercial 2025 Estimated Population 32,100 76,600 11,708,700 2 destination. Also, Downtown is bounded on the 2000 Employment (SCAG) 9,100 13,800 3,951,800 north by the San Bernardino (I-10) Freeway, 2025 Projected Increase (SCAG) 2 11% 13% 18% putting it within reach of major population 2025 Est. Employment (SCAG)2 10,100 15,500 4,663,100 centers, the regional target markets for Total Housing Units (Census) 8,167 19,500 3,133,800 Downtown Monterey Park. % Zero-Vehicle Housing (Census) 18% 12% 13% % Using Transit, Walking, or Working at 11% 9% 13% A review of socio-economic data shows that the Home (Census 2000) Downtown study area is unique within the City % Rental Units of Total (Census) 66% 45% 52% of Monterey Park in several ways (see Table 2-1). For example, a substantial percentage of Median Income (Census) $33,300 $43,900 $48,300 households do not own a car in the study area % Age Under 21 (Census) 27%4 26% 32% when compared to the City as a whole. Almost % Age 21 to 49 (Census) 44%4 41% 45% two-thirds of housing units in the study area are % Age 50 and Over (Census) 30%4 33% 23% rental units, compared to less than half in the Source: 1997 SCAG Regional Transportation Plan Projections and 2000 Census Data City as a whole. In addition, average income in 1 – The study area is illustrated in Figure 1-1. Some demographic information was available only in block groups or census tracts. Where these spatial units overlapped the boundaries of the study area, the entire population of the spatial the study area is substantially lower than in the unit was used. Census data used from 5% sample long-form census which may vary slightly from 100% census results. City as a whole. 2 – Based on 1997 data which part of the current SCAG Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). 3 – Estimated 2025 population and employment developed from Census 2000 base numbers multiplied by SCAG projection factors. The City of Monterey Park retained a consultant 4 – Reflects 2000 Census data which would not include the effect of senior housing occupied in the study area since to determine the buying power of the City. 2000. Some of the results of this study include: Within the community is a core 68% of the The City has nearly twice the nation average City’s population occupying 66% of the of Generation Y. This young group makes Monterey Park is a diverse city of 60,051 households, the majority working in up 7 percent of the national consumers but with 19,564 households, centered within a 3- management, the professional fields, and they are spending 21% or 3 times of the mile trade area of 204,816 with 63,224 related occupations. These households earn number of total national spending. households and a 5-mile trade area of $75,000 to $250,000 yearly with a net Compared to national average spending, 386,324 with 109.614 households. household worth of $250,000 to $500,000. Monterey Park residents are shopping at 14 GRUEN ASSOCIATES Downtown Monterey Park Mixed-Use and Pedestrian Linkages Plan national tenants not currently represented in In addition to a survey of existing physical uses, the table provides summaries of the scale Monterey Park, from 51% to 280% more – a conditions in the public realm, the inventory also of development in each “subarea” of Downtown huge trade-area leakage. included an analysis of existing pedestrian, along the major corridors of Garvey, Atlantic, bicycle, and auto traffic. The following are and Garfield (subareas, derived from the City’s 2.3 Public Realm Inventory some of the results of that analysis: General Plan, are described explained further in The most congested intersection in Section 2.5). Much of the data is described in The inventory of existing conditions in the Downtown is Hellman / Atlantic. terms of floor-to-area ratio (FAR). FAR can be public realm examines those elements of public The Garvey / Atlantic intersection and understood as the square footage of development property and infrastructure that influence the Garfield at Garfield Hospital have the most divided by lot size in square feet. For example, livability of Downtown Monterey Park (see pedestrian crossings. a two-story building which completely filled its Figure 2-1). Both functions of the public realm Garfield at Garfield Hospital and Garvey / lot would have an FAR of 2.0. – transportation and urban design – are critical McPherrin have the most bicycle traffic. to the success of Downtown as a vibrant, Intercity bus service is every 10 minutes on The FAR data in Table 2-3 gives the reader an inviting livable community. The pedestrian Garvey and on Atlantic. idea of the relative intensities of existing environment is the core of a livable community Local Spirit bus service only runs every 40 development and allows a comparison between because pedestrian linkages knit together the minutes on each of its routes. existing development intensity and that allowed other aspects of an urban area. Pedestrian by the General Plan. Parcel-by-parcel data circulation is the primary means of access to Additional details of the public realm inventory collected to compile Table 2-3 in the Existing most aspects of the community’s daily functions, are provided in Chapter 2 of the Existing Conditions Memorandum. including shopping, housing, parking, transit, Conditions Memorandum, available by request and open space. Figure 2-1 and Table 2-2 from the City of Monterey Park. Based on the data summarized in Table 2-3, provide visual and textual descriptions of the Figure 2-2 illustrates different lots which mostly existing conditions of the public realm in 2.4 Private Realm Inventory likely could support new development in the Downtown Monterey Park. Downtown project area. The parcels highlighted The inventory of existing conditions in the are vacant parcels, residential parcels in Figure 2-1 illustrates the interconnectivity private realm examines aspects of private commercial zones, parcels with an FAR below between each aspect of the public realm. property in Downtown Monterey Park that 0.25, and City-owned parcels.