Part four of a series.
Paid parking will be back on the city’s 2026 agenda. The proposal was expected to come back to the Seal Beach Council in the first quarter of the year. Keep in mind that any changes to Seal Beach’s Main Street area parking are subject to California Coastal Commission approval.
During the November 2025 Strategic Planning meeting, the Seal Beach City Council discussed eliminating in lieu parking fees—the city policy of having a business pay a fee to make for having an insufficient number of spaces. (See “Seal Beach to review Main Street plan,” at sunnews.org.) That discussion came up between the agenda item for beautification and the agenda item for parking.
Paid parking on Main was the next issue.
Police Chief Michael Henderson, who moderated the Strategic Planning meeting, gave the presentation on paid parking.
“We had a lot of conversation about paid parking on Main Street,” Henderson said.
He said the city looked at paid parking in 2024 as a result of the city’s ad hoc parking committee, which reviewed paid parking on Main.
According to the staff report for the May 29, 2024 City Council meeting, the committee recommended no paid parking at the curb, wayfinding signs, allowing more parking time in the Main Street lots, and expanded bike parking. (For details, see “City Council receives Parking Committee recommendations,” June 5, 2024, at sunnews.org.)
“What’s before you today is to revisit this topic; to look at our options for paid parking on Main Street,” Henderson said on Nov. 8, 2025.
He said the time frame would be in the first quarter of 2026.
“Some things to consider with paid parking on Main Street are having a sensitivity to the residents of Seal Beach and understanding that we’ve asked them to carry a lot,” Henderson said.
Henderson raised the need for communication with residents and structuring paid parking so it would not be burdensome for residents. He also brought the need to understand the merchants on Main Street who would be impacted by this decision.
“Any questions about that?” Henderson asked. “We can talk about parking all day long, but is the smart option something that there is consensus on?”
According to District Five Councilman Nathan Steele, the council needed this proposal during the first quarter. “That’d be great so we can begin the dialogue, begin to deal with the public begin to show them the logic or illogic—quite frankly, it’s logical,” Steele said.
“Paid parking, now that I have a Ph.D. in paid parking over the last couple of years,” Steele said. “The paid parking is good for business,” he said.
“Businesses will never agree with you on that. They will say, no, it’s terrible for business. But paid parking is ultimately good for business,” Steele said.
“That’s why I’m motivated to see something happen here,” Steele said.
“It will help us with funds to fix Main Street as well,” Steele said.
District Two Councilman Ben Wong argued that paid parking was a cornerstone policy that ought to be prior to Main Street beautification.
“This could help fund a lot of the things that we might want to try to do,” Wong said.
Steele said a business development district would allow the land owners and merchants to decide how the money gets spent.
Henderson said that was something the city could discuss next year.
District One Councilman Joe Kalmick said he agreed with Steele.
District Three Councilwoman/Mayor Lisa Landau agreed to bring the subject back to council. “Let’s discuss,” Landau said.
She said the proposed Business First Working Group the council was going to set up should have a voice in the discussion.
“So we have our deliverable,” Henderson said.
Next week: A Business First Working Group.
