Part two of two.
The proposed update to the city parking code would allow neighborhoods to petition for a local parking permit program.
The City Council updated the Seal Beach parking code last week on April 13. Technically, the council introduced an ordinance to update the parking part of the city code last week. The matter will return to a future council meeting for final approval.
No, the council didn’t approve paid parking on Main Street. (See part one: “City Council updates parking code” at sunnews.org.)
This is a look at the proposal to allow residents of an area to petition the council to set up residential parking permits for the area in question. That proposal was part of the larger parking code update. No specific neighborhood programs were created by the proposed ordinance. The following is not a transcript, but highlights from the parking discussion at the meeting.
Parking consultant Julie Dixon, of Dixon Resources Unlimited, gave the presentation to the council.
The code update, according to one of Dixon’s presentation slides, provides a framework for future parking permit districts (to be set up by the City Council).
Petition program proposed
Dixon said there were no guidelines if residents wanted to have a parking permit program in their neighborhood.
According to Dixon, the proposed code takes practices from other cities and incorporates them into the Seal Beach Municipal Code.
She said the city had basically outlined the requirements for a neighborhood to petition for residential parking permits.
According to the ordinance, the permit would need to be signed by 51% or more of the homes (“dwelling units”) of the area.
“Only one signature per dwelling unit will be considered for a petition,” the ordinance said.
Owners of multi-unit properties could participate, according to the code.
“If the units in a multifamily property are individually owned, each owner would be included in the petitioning process,” the ordinance said.
If there was more than one owner of a property, only one of them could sign the petition, according to the code.
Dixon told the council that the ordinance is a formalization of the permitting process.
She said you want to see a residential parking program come from the community because you want it to be supported by the community.
Public comment
Schelly Sustarisc, of College Park East, a past council member, had questions about neighborhood parking permits.
“From reading, it sounds to me like parking permits are only to be purchased by residents within an improved residential parking area and would not work in another area,” Sustarisc said.
Sustarsic said when she was a Recreation and Parks commissioner, she could purchase a parking permit in Old Town.
“That sounds like that’s not really going to be available,” Sustarisc said.
According to Sustarsic, if the city doesn’t allow outside permits, people might be reluctant to volunteer at the risk of getting a ticket.
Later during the meeting, City Attorney Nick Ghirelli said the California Vehicle Code allowed cities to issue permits in different parts of the city for various groups and officials.
Turning to the requirement for 51% of area residents to sign a petition for parking permits, Sustarisc asked if the residents would get to set the area.
Sustarisc wanted to know if the 70% occupancy requirement referred to daytime or nighttime occupancy.
Dixon said when a neighborhood brings a petition, it’s based on a specific impact.
Dixon said you try to target the occupancy study based on when the impact occurs.
According to Dixon, the 51% requirement was important because you want to demonstrate that a substatial number of neighbors were interested in the program.
“Again because of the fact that there is a cost associated with a parking permit you want to have a majority of the neighbors having a want for this program,” Dixon said.
According to Dixon, rules on parking permits can place limits on having, for example, a Super Bowl party or having guests over.
“You want to design a residential parking permit program so that it serves the neighborhood and basically mitigates the impact with as minimal implications on your quality of life as possible,” Dixon said.
“There are a lot of neighborhoods around us that have to have guest passes, have to get party passes, and all of these rules,” Dixon said.
According to Dixon, those rules create an administrative burden.
“You want to make sure that the recipe is designed so that it works well for your community, but also addresses what the impact is,” Dixon said.
She said after the petition and the occupancy study, the council would vote on a residential parking permit program.
Dixon said the needs in Old Town would likely be different from the needs of College Park East.
Dixon said a typical rule would be a limit of one permit per household.
She said the goal was to have a cost-sustainable program.
District Two Councilman Ben Wong asked Dixon to explain more about the intent of the section that limits the number of parking permits in a neighborhood.
“Currently in Old Town, we do not have a cap on the number of residential permits that a resident can purchase,” Dixon said.
“We do have a cap on the number of guest passes that you can purchase. You can purchase two,” Dixon said.
“Now, in other communities, they’ve actually adopted caps on the number of parking permits that a household can be eligible for. The most common rule that a lot of communities are using right now is that no more than four licensed drivers can be eligible per household. We’re not suggesting any of that here today,” Dixon said.
She suggested that the council could address those issues when a neighborhood parking resolution comes before the council.
Dixon emphasized the importance of designing a parking permit program around a need.
District Three Councilwoman/Mayor Lisa Landau asked if she, as a resident of the Hill, could buy a permit for College Park East.
Dixon said that would be an exceptional permit. She said a volunteer permit could be designed.
Teresa Miller had questions for Dixon.
“What’s the cost? Is there a higher cost for Old Town because of coastal? What’s the timing? How long does it take? That sort of thing,” Miller said. Miller asked if there would be separate designations for areas like College Park East and West or the Hill versus Old Town.
“When do you see this really rolling out so that people can start to have permitted parking in their area?” Miller asked.
Dixon said there were a few blocks that are currently excluded from the current Old Town residential parking permit program.
Dixon pointed out that anything done in the Coastal Zone would have to go to the Coastal Commission.
According to Dixon, Dixon Resources would work with the Seal Beach Police Department to be able to have a parking permit template.
According to Dixon, the requirement for 51% of an area’s residents to buy permits was to identify the cost recover for the one-year time period. She said many cities require a $500 permit fee. (No permit fee was included in the proposed Seal Beach code update.)
District Two Councilman Wong asked Dixon to explain why the proposed code said that once the council takes action, it can’t be considered for one year.
“Ultimately, it really comes down to the cost recovery aspect because of the fact that we want to design a sustainable solution. That model is typically built over one year as well,” Dixon said.
Wong said the council could make some changes.
“Absolutely,” Dixon said.
Wong asked about caps on residential parking permits.
Dixon said that Cerritos only allows a licensed driver to have a permit.
The proposed code does not include a cap.
Seal Beach Police Chief Henderson said the proposed changes created a framework. According to Henderson, College Park West could make rules for their neighborhood if CPW chose to enter the residential parking program.
Dixon said the current parking program charges a fee per permit. She also said the current parking program has not had a fee increase in several years. She said if she brought a program to the council, she would suggest a $25 to $30 per year parking permit.
