Email sent to Kim and Christie who work for the City of Lehi, asking them to define gross vs net leasable space

From: William Conley <billhytek@hotmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2016 8:10 PM
To: kstruthers@lehi-ut.gov; chutchings@lehi-ut.gov; rwood@lehi-ut.gov; Bert Wilson; jwalker@lehi-ut.gov
Subject: Gross leasable space vs net leasable space

 

Hello Kim and Christie

I have looked and looked and looked in the Lehi City code and I can't find anywhere it talks about the difference between gross square footage versus net square footage for the purpose of calculating the parking stall requirements.  Could you please show me where in the Lehi City code it defines gross  space vs net square footage and how this is applied for the purpose of calculating the required number of parking stalls? Do you calculate ALL commercial office developments like this?  If I ask other commercial office developers to tell me how their parking stall space requirement was calculated, will they ALL say it was calculated based on net square footage? 

Chapter 39 does not define gross versus net square footage, could you please provide me with a legal definition of these terms as defined by Lehi City Code. Where can I find the method to calculating net square footage?  I imagine this is a very important calculation, where in Lehi City code will I find this information?

Could you please provide me detailed architectural drawings that show both the gross and net square footage of the proposed Thanksgiving Point office building?  I would like to know where they came up with the figure of 98,400 net square feet.

Below you will find language that was included in the application submitted by the applicant for the Thanksgiving Point office building indicating the square footage of the office building to be 135, 000 square feet.  It did not say this was the gross square footage, it said this WAS the square footage of the office building.

Question: How does a 135,000 square feet gross, net to 98,400 square feet for the purpose of calculating parking? How does a building lose 28% of its space for the purpose of determining the number of parking stalls?  How does a building gross 135,000 but net 98,400, what does that even mean?  Again does every single commercial developer in the City of Lehi calculate their parking stall requirements based on net square footage? If not, why not? When they made this calculation, did they back out the Family Search and Discovery Center?  You must have the calculation they made for this proposed development.  They must have showed you how they came up with a net of 98,400 square feet.  I would like to see how they came up with that figure. They could not have just pulled that number out of thin air, You must have that information, please provide it to me or provide me with the minutes of the meeting where this information was presented to the City in one of your DRC meetings.

Here is the language from the application.

ANALYSIS

The applicant is requesting site plan approval for a 4-story, 135,000 square foot office building in the Thanksgiving Point development. 

Although a church building is proposed to be constructed as a future phase, all site improvements, including the parking for the entire project, is being constructed with this phase. As per the Area Plan, a minimum of 4.5 parking stalls are required for every 1,000 square feet of gross leasable space. The proposed building is 98,400 square feet, for a requirement of 443 stalls. There are 494 stalls shown on the proposed site plan. Parking for the future phase will be evaluated at the time of Conditional Use Approval. ( I have a ton of questions and concerns on the CUA which I will forward you at a later time)

Ensign a civil engineering company wrote a letter to whom it may concern.  In that letter, paragraph two it reads, “Phase 1 will consist of one 135,100 s.f. office building with the entire parking lot”. 

Interesting enough the language above clearly states “as per the area plan, a minimum of 4.5 parking stalls are REQUIRED for every 1000 square feet of gross leasable space.” 

 How do you define gross leasable space?  I have built numerous commercial office buildings and have leased multiple office spaces and worked for an organization that leased office space.  Never have I encountered the term gross leasable space, what does that mean exactly?   

Will the LDS Church be leasing space to anyone but themselves?  

 It then goes on to say “the proposed building is 98,400 square feet, for a requirement of 443 stalls.” 

How did they come up with that figure?  

 It does not say that the 98,400 square feet is the net square footage or that it is the gross leasable space, it merely states that the proposed building is 98,400 square feet which means nothing because it defines nothing. 

It is neither gross leasable space or net leasable space, just that the proposed office building is 98,400 square feet which is in conflict with an earlier statement that it was 135,000 square feet.   

The area plan calls out a requirement for 4.5 parking stalls for every 1000 square feet of GROSS LEASABLE SPACE!!!!!   

The gross leasable space has not been properly identified and the office building is said to have 135,000 square feet. The net leasable space has not been defined and it would not matter anyway.  The area plan calls out 4.5 stalls for every 1000 square feet of gross leasable space.  

 This project needs 608 parking stalls just for the office building.   

This project does not have enough parking stalls for a 135,000 square foot office building.   

This is not a 98,400 square foot office building, it is either a 135,000 square foot office building or it is a 98,400 square foot office building, it can’t be both.

Along with this a civil engineering firm defines the office building as having 135,000 square feet.  Nowhere do they say anything about a 98,400 square foot office building.

I imagine you have all the information in writing from the LDS Church and I am sure that this subject has been discussed on numerous occasions in your DRC meetings.   

So please provide me with answers to my questions and provide me the material I have requested.

I have looked and looked and looked and can't find where it defines the required number of parking stalls for a commercial office development or a LDS Stake Center in the area plan. Could you please provide me with the relevant section in the Lehi City code Area Plan that provides this information? 

  In that section does it also address the gross vs net square footage calculation?

In the meeting the concept of shared parking was discussed, what is the shared parking space code that was referenced in the planning commission meeting on March 24, 2016? Where can I find this code and how is it being applied in this case.  Are there other commercial office building and church buildings that share parking?  Can you really determine the number of parking stalls by when you expect people to be at these two separate buildings?  Has that been done before, if so, who has done that and where are these businesses located? Who will be working at the office building and what are their prescribed hours of operation.  Who will be attending the church building and what are their prescribed hours of operation. How many people are expected daily at the Family Search and Discovery Center?  What are their hours of operation?  Where will these people be parking?  How is their parking requirement calculated in this equation? Do they require more or less parking per 1000 square feet of office space?  

What is the typical number of parking stalls that you would need for a LDS Stake Center?  This building is said to be 22,400 square feet, what if it was a standalone building not sharing a parking lot with a commercial office building, what would be the requirement for parking?  How many parking stalls would they need? Is a Stake Center viewed differently than a standard LDS Church?  Do they require more parking since on numerous occasions, they can expect between 1500 and 2500 people in attendance?

I will visit the conditional use questions I have and I have plenty, so for now, please address my questions listed above.  I am happy to meet with you in person to go over your response, please let me know what would be a convenient time for you to meet.

 

Thank you

Bill Conley  801 867 7227