SAN CLEMENTE : Residents Ask City to Enforce Parking Law

More than 50 residents and property owners urged the city Planning Commission this week to move forward with plans to strengthen the city’s parking requirements for future apartment or condominium projects.

Current parking requirements, which are considered too lenient by some, have led to congestion on many streets, city officials said.

“We have the sins of the past that we have to pay for today,” said Commissioner Steve Apodaca. “But we also have to look at what new development will cause as far as parking problems in the city. I am convinced that there is a need for some changes.”

Commissioner Bob Burleson complained that the city has a parking policy that is too liberal and is largely responsible for the congestion problems.

“We have the issue of new construction and what to do with that and also the cleaning up of old problems,” Burleson said. “I don’t think we can totally clean things up, but there is no point in letting the situation fester.”

While some of the residents spoke in favor of stricter parking codes for future development, many stated that the city should work harder on enforcing current parking laws.

City law states that while residents can use their garages for storage, they must also have room in the garage to park a car, said Leslie Davis, coordinator of the city’s Neighborhood Pride program.

“Most people who live in residential areas don’t even use their garages to park,” said property owner Larry Wohlfarth. “I own 11 units and not one of my tenants uses the garage to park. We might want to look at cleaning up some of the laws that we already have.”

Resident Karoline Koester agreed.

“If we just observe our code regarding illegal use of garages, I think we’d do much to improve the situation and make the city more comfortable,” Koester said.

As a part of the Neighborhood Pride program, which was initiated by the city to upgrade deteriorating neighborhoods, letters will be sent to residents next month in designated areas warning of a crackdown on illegal parking, which includes using a garage exclusively for storage, Davis said.

The commission will hold a second public workshop at 6 p.m. on March 3 to give residents and property owners another opportunity to express their views on the subject.

During the second workshop, commissioners will address questions from residents concerned about how changes in parking requirements would affect existing buildings if owners choose to remodel or rebuild.