Laguna Beach Decides to Increase Parking Fees to 75 Cents an Hour

Hoping to make tourists pay for some of the problems they create, the Laguna Beach City Council voted, 4-0, Tuesday night to raise parking fees in the city’s central business district from 50 cents to 75 cents an hour.

The city staff initially recommended an increase from 50 cents to $1. But when Councilwoman Martha Collison objected that the proposed 100% increase was too much, council members Neil J. Fitzpatrick, Robert F. Gentry and Dan Kenney compromised at the 75-cent fee. (Councilwoman Lida Campbell Lenney was absent).

The $1 rate increase, recommended by city staff members to be effective June 1, had been expected to generate $772,000 more a year and cover parking meter enforcement, finance a new parking lot and provide services for Laguna Beach’s 2 million tourists a year, such as beach cleaning and litter pickup.

As approved, the 75-cent fee would still be among the highest imposed by any Southern California city.

In a recent Laguna Beach survey of 10 Southern California cities, only Los Angeles charged parking fees of up to $1 an hour. Other cities such as San Diego, San Clemente and Redondo Beach charged from 10 to 50 cents an hour.

Give City Negative Image

Some merchants objected to the proposal, contending that the high fees would drive tourists away and give the city a negative public image.

But Don Black, president of the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce, said he may back the plan--but only if all the new revenue is allocated to build parking lots.

Any other use for the money would be unacceptable, Black said.

“Do it now, plan it now,” he said, urging the council to use all new revenue to build a parking garage. “If you don’t, we’re just going to be downright mad.”

Rex Brady, a Laguna Beach resident who is manager of a newly formed committee to recall the City Council, concurred: “I don’t believe money generated for parking funds should be used for anything other than parking.”

But Laguna Beach businessman Charlie Moore said he believed that a $1 parking fee was too much to charge. He said no parking fees are charged in San Juan Capistrano, Corona del Mar or South Laguna.

The shortage of parking in Laguna Beach, he said, probably results from inadequate parking enforcement. He noted that the city has just four parking enforcement officers to ticket cars in six sectors of the city.

City staff had calculated that a $1 fee would raise about $1.8 million a year, compared to revenue of $1,028,000 a year from the current 50-cent-an hour parking fee.

Splitting New Revenue

The staff had recommended that new city revenues be split among four areas: $700,000 for parking maintenance and enforcement; $600,000 for new parking facilities; $150,000 for tourist-related services such as beach cleanup, and $375,000 for such capital improvements as repairing worn beach stairways and putting utility lines underground.

Also discussed was a proposal to benefit Laguna Beach residents who now pay $20 a year for a “shopper’s permit,” allowing them to park in metered areas without further charges. The $20 would buy a two-year permit, under the proposal.