FROM PARKING PAGE 1 Parking near Samohi a problem
BAY STREET Steve Short and his wife will be celebrating their second wedding anniversary today, but rather than getting out of town, the couple plans to visit City Hall to ask elected officials for some parking relief.
Residents like the Shorts who live just south of Santa Monica High School are calling on the City Council to approve more stringent parking restrictions in their neighborhood to prevent teen drivers and their parents from overtaking the streets.
“It is our anniversary, but we’re going to be (at City Hall), because that is how important this is to us,” said Short, who grew up in Ocean Park and remembers when most students walked to school instead of driving. “Parents are the worst. It’s out of control entitlement issues all over the place.”
For years, residents along Bay and Sixth streets have complained about high school students gobbling up all of the available parking spaces. Students and their parents often drive recklessly in search of a spot, according to the residents, running over family pets and ramming into other parked cars. Some have even hit people.
In addition to the dearth of parking, residents said they have spotted students using their cars to smoke marijuana or drink alcohol. Others are rude, playing loud music early in the mornings and leaving trash in the gutters.
In the past, petitions for preferential parking have been denied, leaving the area south of Pico Boulevard and west of Lincoln Boulevard unrestricted, while other neighborhoods were successful in pushing student parking out of their area, city staff said.
The petitions, some of which were filed in 2001, were denied because the area is located in the California Coastal Zone — a strip of land 1,100 miles long, running from the northern border of California to its southern border with Mexico. The Coastal Commission, which protects beach access, indicated that additional daytime restrictions on parking would not be approved.
However, commission staff recently informed residents that preferential parking could be approved if city staff clearly stated that the parking demand is from the high school, and not related to beach access.
With more than 3,000 students attending Samohi and only 40 parking spaces available on campus, it is easy to see why a problem has surfaced. Students who cannot or chose not to walk to school or take the bus have few options for parking. They can park at the new Civic Center Parking Structure on Fourth or the Civic Center surface lot and pay a daily rate of $8, or they can park for free in nearby neighborhoods, much to the dismay of residents.
The problem was bad enough for the council a few years back to dedicate 60 spots on Ninth Street, between Michigan Avenue and Pico, for residents. Previously, residents shared the spots with students and local businesses, although surrounding streets were restricted for residents only.
Samohi students at the timerallied before the council for more parking spaces, but council members refused to raise by one level the Civic Center structure, instead directing the students to take their message to the local school board.
A task force was created during the 2003-04 school year and meetings staged with school board members, students and Council members in efforts to find solutions. But, apparently, that’s as far as it went.
Adding parking at the high school was recently discussed as part of the facilities master plan process. A draft proposal currently in circulation shows several places where parking could conceivably be added, including underneath the football field, underneath the tennis courts or on top of the current parking at North Lot next to Interstate 10.
Currently, students must participate in a lottery each semester for parking on campus.
Officials with the high school and the PTSA could not be reached for comment.
The proposals to be considered tonight by the council include creating a “no parking” zone on Bay Street, between Lincoln Boulevard and Sixth Street; and parts of Sixth Street. The restriction would apply from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday — standard school hours — except by permit.
Also under consideration is a two-hour parking limit for the remainder of the neighborhood, including streets like Pacific, Strand, Grant and Fifth and Sixth, as well as Kensington Road between Seventh Street and Beverly Avenue.
The new zone would be referred to as Preferential Parking Zone U.
By creating the zone, City Hall could see an increase in revenue of approximately $1,620 per year from permits sold. Permits cost $15 each, according to a city staff report.
“I think (the proposed restrictions) are fair,” Short said. “We are not asking for full time, only during the day and during the week.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 10, 2007. Read the original PDF.