City Hall leases parking spaces for $2,250 each
Apparently metered parking spaces in Santa Monica are for sale.
Busy Bee Hardware workers learned that one morning this summer when three spaces that have been used by their customers for decades were taken away from the public.
They quickly learned City Hall rented the spaces to Santa Monica Mitsubishi for $6,750 a year so the dealership could have valet parking.
“The didn’t give us notice or anything,” said Veronica Tortillo, manager at Busy Bee, which has been a fixture in Santa Monica since 1914. “One day they were just there.”
Owner Don Kidson said his business is suffering from the loss of parking spaces because there is only one metered spot directly in front of Busy Bee, which is located at 1521 Santa Monica Blvd.
Without the three spots, which are located on the westside of Santa Monica Boulevard, many store customers have resorted to parking illegally in the alley, while others walk from blocks away or skip the store altogether.
City Hall officials said by renting the spots to Mitsubishi it actually frees up more street parking because the dealership’s customers no longer use the metered spaces. Citywide, nearly 70 metered spaces have been taken out of the public right-of-way by 28 businesses, said Lucy Dyke, director of transportation management.
The cost for businesses is the same as it is for citizens — 50 cents per chargeable hour — plus a $1,750 annual licensing fee. Most of the rented spaces are used by restaurants, but some are used by hotels and other businesses.
“Any business can request a valet zone and it’s within the city ordinance that it can be granted,” said parking coordinator Bill Bortfeld, adding that the requests are evaluated for safety and traffic concerns, and are often granted within weeks. “The three meters that Mitsubishi uses are in front of Mitsubishi. If they were in front of Busy Bee it would be quite a different situation.”
Tortillo said the small hardware store has 12 accounts with City Hall, from the police and fire departments to the beach maintenance and industrial waste divisions. She added that workers in those departments also have felt the parking pinch and many have resorted to parking illegally in the alley or putting cones around their trucks while inside the store.
“It sucks. We used to park right there. Now we have to go blocks away.” — — RICHARD GARCIA Busy Bee customer
Ed Morga, controller for Santa Monica Mitsubishi — one of the top 25 revenue generating companies in the city — said the dealership needs the valet spots because there is no room for customers to park on site.
“Buying a new car takes over two hours,” he said. “In order to do that, to make it convenient for our customers instead of running out and putting change in the meters, it was very helpful to offer that.
“The city was very attentive to making sure we met all the qualifications,” Morga added.
“The city was very attentive to making sure we met all the qualifications.” — — ED MORGA Controller, Santa Monica Mitsubishi
Morga said Mitsubishi pays nearly $10,000 a month to rent a nearby storage property that is used to park customers’ cars and store extra inventory. In the last month, Morga said Mitsubishi sold about 170 new cars and another 40 used cars, but the dealership’s lot only holds about 160 cars.
“We constantly turn our inventory,” Morga said. “If I could park a 10-speed on that lot, I would.”
But Mitsubishi’s challenges have now created problems for Busy Bee and its customers. They are lobbying City Hall to change the set up, which was approved without their input.
Kidson in August gathered more than 100 signatures in just two days from customers who want City Hall to change its agreement with Santa Monica Mitsubishi and put the valet area on 15th Street. Customers to the small hardware store, which include actors Harrison Ford and Jimmy Smith, confirmed on Monday that the valet area is a burden.
“It sucks,” said Richard Garcia, a parts delivery man and regular Busy Bee customer who parked illegally in the alley to run into the store Monday afternoon. “We used to park right there. Now we have to go blocks away.”
In the meantime, customers and area employees use the five metered spots that are still available between 15th and 16th streets, where two car dealerships and Busy Bee are located. Tortillo said of the 12 Busy Bee employees, only two cars are driven to work and they leave the metered spots open.
Ed Morga
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 16, 2003. Read the original PDF.