To: PUBLIC WORKS AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION
From: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
TITLE
title
DISCUSSION OF POTENTIAL REFORMS TO THE CITY’S PREFERENTIAL PARKING PERMIT PROGRAM
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
City staff received a referral from the Public Works & Sustainability Commission (PWSC) to discuss potential changes to the City’s Preferential Parking Permit (PPP) Program. The request stems from a desire to create more flexibility to add and/or remove zones to meet needs of the residents. The current Redondo Beach Municipal Code (RBMC) is highly restrictive and prescriptive as it relates to the PPP Program. Staff reviewed the PPP Program against similar programs in other cities such as Santa Monica, Culver City, and West Hollywood. These cities offer robust permit programs using best practices that reflect various street parking complexities.
BACKGROUND
The City offers a number of parking permit programs for different needs. They include:
• Annual Parking Meter Permits (available to all; bypasses per use payment up to the stated time limit)
• Riviera Village Employee Parking Meter Permits (Riviera Village businesses only, specific meters only; bypasses per use payment and short-term time limits)
• Waterfront area employee permits
• Preferential Parking Permits (discussed in detail below; bypasses stated restriction)
• Oversized Vehicle Permits (required when vehicle exceeds a certain size / dimension)
• Senior Parking Meter Permit (age 62+ only; bypasses payment at 309 Esplanade and Lot 4 that serve a senior center)
This discussion focuses on the Preferential Parking Permits (PPP) Program. RBMC 3-7.17 governs the establishment, revisions, determination criteria, permit issuance, termination, and prohibitions related to preferential parking zones. RBMC 3-7.17 can be found here:
https://ecode360.com/42644496#42644496 <https://ecode360.com/42644496>
PPPs are only available with proof of residency on that particular block or group of blocks. At this time, the City contains 10 PPP zones, shown in Attachment 1. Each zone has a unique parking restriction and may encompass more than one block of a street. Administration of the PPP Program is currently handled by the Police Department Parking Enforcement Unit. At this time, administration and enforcement is largely handled via paper, in-person, and/or mail-based methods. The Police Department is working to transition to an online-based system.
DISCUSSION
Currently, Public Works and Police staff have observed the following issues with the PPP Program. They are shown in the table below. Police Parking Enforcement Unit’s comments can also be found in Attachment 2.
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# |
Issue |
Effect |
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1. |
RBMC 3-7.17 does not allow for the creation of temporary PPP zones in response to large scale public and / or temporary events due to current requirement that parking conflicts occur on “regular and significant daily or weekly intervals.” |
Events such as the Seaside Holiday Lights in Torrance cause undue traffic and parking impacts in Redondo neighborhoods. |
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2. |
RBMC allows only a 2/3 majority of residents to advance consideration to add, modify, or remove PPP zones. All PPP zone changes must go through the same petition process on the subject block. |
Consideration to remove or modify existing PPP zones in consideration of other needs is impeded due to reliance on resident support likely unaware of other needs. Residents on adjacent blocks outside a PPP zone express frustration to City due to unfairness. |
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3. |
Current PPP zones are added and named block by block, with some streets in a single neighborhood containing two zones. |
Current PPP program is difficult to administer. Zone names and boundaries are confusing. |
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4. |
Police Department does not yet have the capabilities to broadly enforce PPPs using automated license plate readers (ALPR). |
PPPs require physical permits that can be easy to forge, hard to transfer. City is not yet able to introduce more dynamic parking regulations in PPP zones. All PPP zones are binary. Parking either allowed or disallowed during posted times. City is unable to enforce unmetered time limit zones or allow visitors to park without going through the permit process with their resident sponsor. |
Some of these issues are due to restrictive language found in the RBMC, while other issues are due to the current administrative systems. For example, changes to the RBMC would be required to authorize designated staff to investigate whether a permit zone could be removed without petition of residents, subject to a public hearing by the PWSC. The RBMC would also need to be changed to authorize short-term PPP zones for public hearing approval. Lastly, some desired changes to the PPP program may require additional parking enforcement resources, such as additional automated license plate readers (ALPR). The Police Department is looking to implement an online permit system and improved enforcement technologies in the next year or so. Improved technologies could allow the City to introduce creative PPP zone regulations that allow short-term (1-2 hour) public parking within the PPP zone, while exempting permit holders from short-term limits. This is common in other cities and reduces the need for visitor permits. Currently, all residents within a PPP zone must apply and pay for visitor permits for any vendors, friends, family, or others who visit their homes during restricted parking periods.
At this time, staff recommends consideration of the following changes to the PPP Program:
1. Clarify and affirm the City Manager or designee’s authority to bring forward the addition, revision, or removal of a PPP zone to the PWSC for consideration via public hearing. (This is the first step to address obsolete zones and the effects of seasonal events zones.)
2. Establish annual limits for one-day visitor permits.
3. Establish a limit on the number of PPPs per address/dwelling unit.
4. Continue transition to an online-based, license plate-based parking permit system as resources allow. (Stickers would no longer be required, but additional funding may be required to implement ALPR more widely across the Parking Enforcement Unit. This change is in the planning stages.)
5. Organize the City into administrative parking districts to simplify the number of PPP zones. Streets that meet RBMC PPP zone thresholds and are approved for preferential parking would join the parking district. The inclusion of PPP zones will allow for permit parking for special events such as Seaside Holiday Lights in Torrance or BeachLife concerts. Each parking district would largely correspond to a single permit type/zone. Some parking districts may contain additional permit types for special circumstances like employee permits. (Santa Monica, Culver City, Inglewood and West Hollywood are among the various cities in the region that are divided into parking districts.)
Staff is soliciting additional input from the public and the Commission as it develops recommendations for reconsideration of the RBMC’s parking permit programs in conjunction with the Police Department and for potential consideration by the City Council.
COORDINATION
Coordination of this report took place within the Public Works Department and with the Police Department.
ATTACHMENTS
1 - Existing Preferential Parking Permit Zones
2 - Police Parking Enforcement Unit Comments