SAN CLEMENTE : Study Says Firms Pay Too Much for Parking
Downtown businesses are paying too much in parking fees, a new study of the area concludes.
A report by Irvine-based IBI Group, which conducted the study for the city, recommends a reduction of so-called in-lieu parking fees, which new businesses must pay to the city when they do not have enough parking spaces for their customers. The money goes to help pay for city-maintained parking spaces.
New businesses now pay $11,616 in in-lieu fees for each parking space they fail to provide. Under a proposal now being reviewed by the Planning Commission, that could be cut by more than half, to about $5,000 a space, for companies in the North Beach area and the downtown business district.
“The present payment in-lieu fee is too onerous and prohibits the private sector from developing,” City Planner Jim Barnes said.
A public hearing on the issue is set for Sept. 5.
The study also concluded that there is an overabundance of parking in downtown and in North Beach, but a need for more parking spaces in the Pier Bowl area.
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