Supervisors Raise County Park Fees

Patrons of Ventura County parks can expect to see a slight increase in fees.

Overnight fees will increase $2 at each of the county’s popular beach parks under a plan unanimously approved Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors in an attempt to trim losses.

Meanwhile, supervisors are set to vote next week on a plan to allow campers to make 30-day reservations at county campgrounds during the off-season, from November through March. Currently, reservations are limited to two weeks.

Under the fee increases approved Tuesday, beach camping will increase from $20 a night to $22 at Faria and Hobson beach parks, where drinking water, flush toilets, showers and concession stands are available. Rates will increase from $16 to $18 at Rincon Parkway, which offers only portable toilets.

The $14 rate for inland camping at Foster and Steckel campgrounds will remain unchanged, because park officials want to encourage more campers to visit those sites, said parks manager Andy Oshita.

The penalty for canceling park reservations will be doubled, to $10, throughout the county’s 23 parks.

And for $35 per night, a new option is being offered for campers with recreational vehicles: full hookups, including electricity, water and sewer; a concrete pad and cable television and telephone service.

Already an option at many state and federal parks, the full-service hookup is new to the county’s parks, said John Johnston, director of the General Services Agency.

Johnston said four campsites at Faria Beach now have the full hookup capability, and 10 such sites are expected to be available at Hobson Park by May.

The cost of readying those 14 sites is roughly $100,000, but the investment could be recouped within one year through the combined fee increases, he said.

Johnston said the fee increases could bring in as much as $100,000 extra annually, which is about 6% of the parks department’s revenue from gate receipts.

That added income alone won’t change the economics of county parks, which are not profitable, Johnston said. “We still have like a half-million-dollar deficit each year,” he said.