Santa Ana : Higher Rates Urged for Parking at Civic Center

In an effort to discourage daylong parking, county officials are recommending doubling the maximum parking charge to $8 a day in two lots at the Civic Center in Santa Ana.

A report by the county General Services Agency said increasing the rate from 25 cents for each half hour and a maximum charge of $4 a day to 50 cents per half hour and a maximum rate of $8 a day will net the county about $70,000 more a year from its lot next to the Hall of Administration.

The report said the increased revenue from the lot it owns with the City of Santa Ana near the county court complex will be about $560,000 per year. Private contractors operate both lots. The report did not say how much the county share of the profits amounts to now, but it noted that rates have remained constant for more than four years.

“The high long-term rate is intended to discourage long-term parking, and the moderate short-term rate will assure that reasonably priced, convenient parking is available for the general public visiting the Civic Center,” the report said.

The report noted that a study found a scarcity of parking in the Civic Center area, a fact that has been a source of complaints from jurors called to court trials in adjacent buildings. The Board of Supervisors will be asked to approve the increases at its meeting next Tuesday and to make them effective Sept. 1.