City gives workers some space
CITY HALL — In attempts to appease both residents and business owners at odds over a dearth of parking, the City Council seems to have satisfied no one.
The council voted Tuesday to approve a pilot preferential parking program for employees, allowing 20 permits to be issued for one year to businesses located near 10th Street and Pico Boulevard. Employees in the area report having trouble finding places to park legally because the neighborhoods there are part of a preferential parking zone, meaning only residents with special placards are allowed to park there during the week.
Residents opposed to the pilot program said the council’s decision is the first step towards eradicating benefits reaped from creating preferential parking zones, raising fears that residents will have to park blocks away from their homes and walk with children or groceries in hand.
Business owners who have been pleading with the council for years for more parking for their employees said they were glad City Hall is moving forward with a pilot program, but are disheartened that the council did not approve of an expanded program that would have included more streets.
“I thought it was gutless,” said Charles Donaldson, a resident and chairperson of the Pico Business Improvement District, which is comprised of a group of merchants in the area. “We’re happy for the business owners (the pilot program will affect,) but what about the rest along Pico Boulevard? If we don’t do anything to help them, they’ll go out of business and then we’ll be left with nothing but some empty storefronts, thrift shops and massage parlors.”
Resident Thomas Elias, who opposed the pilot program, said the city staff needs to come up with better ideas for alleviating the parking problem before it recommends changes to the preferential parking zones, which residents have fought long and hard to secure by showing a strong need.
The pilot program, which must come back before the council for a final reading before it can go into effect, would issue 20 preferential parking permits for employees to be used on six blocks in the vicinity of 10th Street and Pico Boulevard, according to a city staff report.
Businesses in the area would be able to enter into a lottery for the permits. If selected, a business can claim up to five permits, at a cost of $120 each. A resident permit sells for $15. The permits could only be used for that business and couldn’t be sold or transferred were that business to close. Employees would only be able to use the permits during normal business hours, said Lucy Dyke, Transportation Planning manager.
Dyke said city staff recommended the limited pilot program over expanded options because of strong opposition from residents and an equally powerful statement of support from business owners. The pilot program is intended to strike a balance while reducing any potential negative impacts.
While the pilot program is in effect, Dyke said city staff will analyze parking occupancies, solicit community input and return to the council with more suggestions on how to solve the parking problem. Some have suggested stacked parking, requiring businesses with permits to institute car pools, or having employees park in underuti-lized beach lots and shuttled to work.
Council members said they supported the pilot program because it was small enough to be eliminated if it did not work, while being large enough to gather strong data to determine its effectiveness.
“We are very anxious to see how this is going to work out,” said Mayor Bob Holbrook. “We are hoping this can be a win-win situation for everyone … The important thing is we need to find out if this works. The goal isn’t to take away parking from residents, but to find a way to use spaces that are sitting there empty during the day. Some residents forget that there are residents who work in Santa Monica and they need parking too.”
Holbrook said businesses play an important role in the community, not only for providing goods and services, but also for the tax revenue they generate, enabling the City Hall to build public projects such as the new Main Library and Virginia Avenue Park.
“I think this will benefit everyone,” Holbrook said. In a related action, the council voted 4-1 to prohibit the establishment of a preferential parking zone on the blocks north of Alta Avenue between Lincoln Boulevard and 17th Street, where employees working on Montana Avenue park legally. The decision was an attempt to stop the spread of preferential parking zones, which business owners and some residents said has exacerbated the parking problem.
The council ordered staff to work with residents on Alta to consider creating preferential parking for only two spaces in front of the few homes whose primary entrance is on Alta.
Councilmember Kevin McKeown voted against this because he felt is was discriminatory to prohibit one neighborhood from creating a parking zone when others have been allowed.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 2, 2006. Read the original PDF.