Question 5: Should Seal Beach charge for curb parking in the Main Street area?
Matthew Terry
A few years ago I served on the Citizen-Council Parking Advisory Ad Hoc Committee, so I’ve been deep in the weeds on parking in Old Town, and I came away clear on a few things.
First, whether you’re for or against paid parking, we have to do something different because the parking system on Main Street is broken. Two decades ago a previous council backpedaled on implementing paid parking and left Main Street free while keeping the three adjacent lots paid. That split is backwards and it’s resulted in the underuse of the lots.
Second, the city incorrectly looks at each parking lot from the perspective of how much money it can extract from it. Also, it consistently makes decisions about parking in one area without considering how that affects everything else.
Lastly, the businesses have to be on board with whatever gets proposed, because they’re the ones who have to live with it. Below is what I’d bring to them to start the conversation.
Get rid of in-lieu fees on Main Street. In-lieu fees are what businesses pay when they can’t provide the required parking. They put a burden on anybody trying to open a business or keep one going. For example, the in-lieu fees for a proposed restaurant in the old Bank of America building were going to be $140,000 up front and $4,000 a year.
Make the lots adjacent to Main Street free and Main Street paid. Charge for the parking people want and give away the parking people don’t want but will take. Free parking doesn’t go away. It just moves.
Make the first 24 minutes free for all parking on Main Street to allow for quick grab-and-go trips. This will help the shops that cater to it, because right now there are a very limited number of 24-minute spaces.
Adjust the rates to match demand, so we don’t end up with empty parking stalls on slower days.
Reinvest all the money paid parking brings in back into Main Street.
I know no one wants to hear this, but Main Street is the poster child for paid parking because parking on Main Street is nearly full every day. Sometimes when every parking spot on Main Street is taken, it feels like there are more parked cars than people. That’s not good. Paid parking ensures the people in those spots are there to shop and dine.
Perla Mendoza
As I have walked through our community and talked with residents and merchants, one thing has become increasingly clear: the future of Main Street should not be decided by a small group of people.
Paid parking affects far more than parking spaces. It affects nearby residents, our businesses, visitors, and the character of Main Street itself. Because the consequences are shared by the community, the decision-making process should be shared as well.
We already have reports, consultants, and a Business First group. What we are missing is a meaningful process that brings the broader community together, allows different interests to hear one another, and works toward consensus.
The question of paid parking should be part of the larger discussion about revising the Main Street Specific Plan. The existing plan is outdated and needs to be brought into compliance with current state requirements. Rather than making an isolated decision about parking, we should decide together what we want Main Street to look like and how we want it to function in the years ahead.
That process should include representatives from across the community: Old Town residents, merchants, the Historical Society, the Tree Committee, the Seal Beach Chamber of Commerce, Lions, Rotary, other nonprofits, and the public at large. Business representation should include restaurants, retail, coffee shops, salons, and others because each has different needs and perspectives.
Residents also experience Main Street differently depending on where they live and how often they visit. Someone on 10th or 8th Street may have a different perspective than someone on Neptune or 1st Street.
Those differences are not a reason to divide us; they are exactly why we need to sit at the same table.
Through well-publicized town halls and a representative working group, we can create a Main Street Specific Plan and, within that process, thoughtfully address whether paid parking belongs on Main Street, what problem it is intended to solve, and whether better alternatives exist.
Today, we mostly argue about it. Main Street belongs to all of us, and its future should not be decided behind closed doors without first fully hearing from the community.
This is my opinion, but I want to hear yours. Please reach out at www.perlamendoza.com or call me at (714) 471-8388. Let’s plan Main Street’s future together. Vote for Perla Mendoza!