Santa Ana : Permit Parking Plan May Be Expanded

A permit parking program planned for a Santa Ana residential street could also be implemented in other city neighborhoods affected by nearby businesses, city officials said.

Residents of Greenleaf Street, who say they are inundated by overflow parking from students from a business college and customers from a bank on 17th Street, will be the first in the city to be offered the program. All residents would receive parking permit cards for themselves and for guests, and violators would be subject to fines, according to David Grosse, public services director for the city.

Grosse noted that several Southern California cities operate similar parking programs, including Anaheim and Garden Grove, which have them for streets near the Anaheim Convention Center.

Permit parking plans could be made available for other Santa Ana neighborhoods if the residents request them, Grosse said. These could include the areas around the Civic Center and downtown where the Westdome sports arena and other redevelopment projects are to be constructed. “We would not institute it (permit parking) without a consensus of the residents,” he said.

The costs of such a program are minimal, the biggest expense being salaries for parking control officers, Grosse said. The program would be able to use the additional officers to be hired for an expanded street-sweeping program, expected to go into effect in May, 1986.

Earlier, a number of Greenleaf Street residents had collected about $9,500 and asked the city to use the cash to build a wall at the south end of their street. They hoped the wall would separate them from the bank and business college and prevent customers and students from driving and parking on Greenleaf.

However, a staff report recommended that the City Council reject that plan, and the issue will be discussed at the council’s Nov. 18 meeting. Meanwhile, Grosse and Councilman John Acosta will meet with the residents to discuss the permit plan.