Local News in Brief : Parking Permits to Cost More

The Hermosa Beach City Council voted this week to raise residential parking permits to $25 a year from $20.

The annual permits are sold to residents and employees of businesses in the preferential parking district who may park for free at designated meters--those with yellow poles--for up to 72 consecutive hours.

There are about 1,300 designated meters in the preferential district, which is bounded by Loma and Morningside drives on the east, the beach on the west and the city borders on the north and south, said Michele Tercero, administrative aide. Those boundaries encompass about one-third of the city’s geographic area and half its population, she said.

The city usually issues 8,500 residential permits each year, she said.

The permit fee was last raised in 1984, when it was $10, she said. According to a staff report, it costs the city $212,029 a year to maintain the preferential parking district, or $24.94 for each permit issued.