Parking Fee Driving Some Away

A new $4 weekend parking fee at Ventura Harbor has proven so unpopular with merchants and patrons after only one week that restaurant owner Avena Campbell has launched a campaign to have it repealed.

Campbell, owner of Tucks Point Seafood, said she is collecting signatures from harbor employees, fishermen and tourists for a petition she plans to present to harbor officials.

Her list already includes 240 signatures, and she plans to gather more this weekend before taking it to the port board, she said.

“Everybody is enthusiastic to fill it out,” said Campbell, who said she noticed a 60% drop in her restaurant’s business last weekend. “I’m doing the petition to show that people out there don’t approve.”

The Ventura Port District, which runs the harbor, began charging the fee last weekend. Money collected from the fee will be used to cover the cost of a 60- to 90-day survey to determine daily parking trends at the harbor, General Manager Oscar Pena said.

The study will determine how many visitors come to the harbor and beaches, how long they stay and when the lots are full, he said. The data will help with future development plans.

Whether the fee will become permanent is still unclear, Pena said. About 95% of the people visiting the village last weekend did not pay because they had validated tickets, Pena said.

“We are trying to improve the system so we can be more effective in the future,” Pena said. “We are not trying to discourage people from coming, we are determining if there is adequate parking.”

With validation, harbor parking is free for three hours. If a visitor stays longer, there is a $1 surcharge. Without validation there is a $4 fee.

Also, there is a new, flat $4 parking fee charged to beach-goers seven days a week.

Besides upsetting merchants such as Campbell, the new fees have raised the ire of some beach and harbor visitors.

“Some dudes flip me off. Some guy drove by and called us communists,” said Shannon Burdick, who runs one of the parking stations.

Campbell hopes her petition will convince Pena to end the parking survey sooner. She plans to give Pena a copy of the petition soon while continuing to get more supporters.

Several harbor and beach visitors said this week they will stay away from the area to protest the new parking fees, while others said they don’t mind paying.

Ventura resident Anna Smith, who comes to the harbor once a month with her husband and two children, signed the petition and said she was going one step further.

“I won’t come down period, just to protest,” she said.

And that is exactly what the general manager at Andria’s Seafood Restaurant & Market said he doesn’t want to happen.

“My biggest fear is people boycotting us,” Randy Gravelin said. “That’s not going to help any of us.”

Some locals come to the harbor just to hang out, which is part of what gives it a family feel, said Casey O’Neill, 17, who works at Coastal Cone Ice Cream & Yogurt. People should not have to spend money to come, he said.

But Norma Campanaro owner of the Village Visitor Center and Gallery, said the new parking fees are beneficial for the district’s study.

With free validation, it’s worth it, agreed shopper Richard Cavallero of Oxnard. He wants the parking money to help expand the harbor.

Ventura resident Ellen Marshall, who visits the area for a daily walk, said she will find an alternative parking space so she can spend time at the harbor she has frequented for the past 12 years.

“It’s the principle,” she said. “I’ve come too many years when it’s been free.”

While Oxnard resident Francine Ward said she is not happy about paying for parking, it won’t keep her away.

“I love boats and the ocean,” she said. “We’ll still come.”