> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Weekend visitors take residents spots - URL: https://www.smdp.com/weekend-visitors-take-residents-spots/ - Published: 2007-01-22T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T23:05:02.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Community, Downtown, #archive-import *Neighborhoods request parking restrictions* STRAND STREET With sunny days hopefully here to stay, residents in this Ocean Park block are becoming wary of the dearth of parking that comes with beautiful weather. Late Sunday morning, Strand Street resembled Downtown Santa Monica as drivers circled the block in a desperate attempt to find a parking spot in an area already crammed with vehicles. Because of its proximity to the beach and Main Street, where hundreds of people flock every Sunday to a very popular Farmers’ Market, visitors here tend to head east for parking where there are no meters, denying residents the opportunity to park in front of their own homes. “On nice days like this, people like to park here and go down to the beach,” Aaron Velick of Strand Street said on Sunday morning. “Weekends are the worst.” The residents in one of the hardest hit areas in Ocean Park — Strand Street between Third and Fourth streets — have taken action, filing a petition to the City Council in March 2006 to restrict parking on their block to residential only. Four of the five residents on this small block, located directly across Hotchkiss Park, signed the petition and will find out in the next year or two if their wishes will be granted. But parking restrictions in Ocean Park and other areas near the beach are complicated because it involves the California Coastal Commission, which does not look favorably upon parking restrictions in streets near the beach. The Coastal Commission has made it clear in the past to city staff that it would not approve any daytime parking restrictions near the beach. If the City Council believes there should be preferential parking on Strand Street, then city staff will proceed with applying for a permit from the Coastal Commission, which could delay implementation up to a year. “In general, they \[Coastal Commission\] oppose preferential parking because they want everyone to come to the beach,” said Lucy Dyke, the city’s transportation planning manager. Finding a parking spot can take as long as 10 minutes on the weekends for Velick who often finds himself parking 200 to 300 yards from his home. If the preferential parking petition is approved, Velick believes it will alleviate his parking headache. But preferential parking, which exists in roughly 33 percent of the city, doesn’t seem to be the best answer for everyone. “I wouldn’t say it’s any better,” said Jose Jimenez on Sunday as he stood at his home on 16th Street, directly across from Santa Monica College. “We get a lot of \[parking\] tickets.” The problem lies in his van, which does not have a parking permit and is forced to sit on a short driveway, partially obstructing the sidewalk. Since the van is too large for the driveway, neighbors often complain to the city, which then sends out a code enforcement officer to cite Jimenez for blocking the sidewalk. Needless to say, Jimenez would prefer if the city did away with preferential parking on his street. “We have too many cars,” Jimenez said. Preferential parking usually exists in areas where non residents interfere with the resident’s ability to park, which is why the streets surrounding Santa Monica College are restricted. Preferential parking is more common in multi-family residential areas, said Ruth Harper of the Transportation Management Division. Parking is usually not an issue in single family zones where many homes have driveways. The exceptions are the streets near the Montana Avenue shopping district, and Adelaide Drive where fitness buffs take parking spots to exercise on the Santa Monica stairs. Residents on La Mesa Way, between 24th and 26th streets, hope to be another exception to the rule. Residents on this small stretch near Brentwood submitted a petition in March 2006. On this quiet block, located immediately north of San Vicente Boulevard, the six large single family homes, five of which have signed the petition, all have long driveways that appear as though it could accommodate at least three cars. In their petition, the residents complain that the employees from the nearby San Vicente businesses park on La Mesa Way. Two hour parking restrictions between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. from Monday to Saturday currently exists on streets south of San Vicente Boulevard, according to a staff report by Eileen Fogarty, director of planning and community development. The staff suggested implementing a similar parking restriction on La Mesa Way, but its residents are interested in permit parking. The residents on La Mesa Way were not available for comment. How to apply for preferential parking Residents who would like to restrict parking in their neighborhood must file a petition with the signatures of 2/3 of the residents on their block. Once received, officials in the Transportation Management Division assess what the implications would be of a preferential parking zone. “One thing council doesn’t want to do is to move a problem from one neighborhood to another,” Dyke said on Friday. “If we put preferential parking on one block and not the next block, people might go park on the next block.” In approving a preferential parking petition for a particular block, City Council could also pre-approve the surrounding areas as preferential parking. If one day residents in those surrounding areas decides they want preferential parking in their neighborhood, they could bypass City Council and have the restrictions implemented by city staff. Approximately 5 percent of the city has been pre-approved as preferential. “We can’t guarantee a parking space for everybody, in particular in neighborhoods where a lot of people live,” Dyke said. “Even with preferential parking, there aren’t very many spaces for people to park.” what do you think? n Send letters to Zapf Dingbats 40, 4 0 4D4 0¬ 1 0 40, Interstate-Bold 40, 8 0 30AA 0¬ 1 30AA , \` ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇW5 < Headline: Default 1 Headline: Default 1 Formata BoldCondensed \` ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ˇˇˇˇ ! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/012207-04_01.jpg) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 22, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/012207.pdf?ref=smdp.com)