Ventura Port Drops Plans for Beach Parking Fees

Parking at the harbor is a hassle and a major problem facing the Ventura Port District, but charging visitors to park is not the answer, the agency’s board of commissioners decided Wednesday night.

Port district staff recommended imposing parking fees at the Ventura Harbor beaches to generate money for the bankrupt agency and as a way to help maintain heavily trafficked parking lots.

But commissioners and some business owners criticized the plan and said it would only make the parking problems worse.

The port district now provides free parking at its two beach lots and boat-launching ramp. But the cash-poor agency could earn as much as $300,000 a year by charging visitors to park, port district officials said.

Under a plan discussed Wednesday by the new board of commissioners, the port district would impose hourly fees of $1 per car and $2 for buses or other large vehicles that require more than one space.

Visitors would also have the option of paying a $5 daily rate per car or buying a $50 annual pass. The fees would not apply to parking areas at Ventura Harbor Village.

“I think it is at least something we should look into,” Port District General Manager Richard Parsons told commissioners during their monthly meeting Wednesday night.

But harbor business owners and port commissioners said motorists would undoubtedly park in the already congested Harbor Village lots to avoid having to pay for beach parking, thus exacerbating an existing problem.

“What would prevent somebody going to the beach from parking at the Harbor Village lot for free?” asked Commissioner Jean Getchell Bush, one of three new board members who were sworn in Wednesday night. Parsons recommended instituting fees in the 203-space lot at the end of Spinnaker Drive across from the Channel Islands National Park visitors center. It is the largest of the district’s three parking areas.

The district would install automated ticket machines where motorists would buy a parking pass and post it on their windshield.

But business owners argued that the district should look at valet parking or a tram service to alleviate weekend traffic congestion. And they asked district officials to work closer with businesses to find a solution.

After a brief public discussion, commissioners scuttled the recommendation and asked staff to develop other alternatives.