Civic Center Employees May Lose Free Parking

In an effort to reduce downtown traffic and air pollution, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an ordinance Tuesday that could take free parking away from about 9,000 employees in the Civic Center.

Under the plan, employees will be granted a $70 monthly transportation allowance to pay for parking, bus passes or other transportation. Employees who choose to drive downtown would be charged a minimum of $55 a month for space in an outlying county lot and a maximum of $120 a month for space under the Hall of Administration.

The ordinance complies with the new regulations of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which initially refused to accept the plan because its parking restrictions still must be negotiated with unions representing county workers. Richard Dixon, the county’s chief administrative officer, told the board that the head of the AQMD, James Lents, has accepted the plan.