The Redondo Beach City Council voted Tuesday night to increase parking meter fees and parking violation fines in an effort to raise a projected $250,000 for city coffers.
Parking meter rates will increase by $0.25 this year and another $0.25 next, and parking meter violation fines will go from $40 to $50. From Oct. 1, the hourly rate for parking in the Riviera Village “triangle” will be $0.75 and city-wide it will be $1.25. Next year, it will be $1 an hour in the triangle and $1.50 city-wide.
“I know it’s gonna be hard,” Mayor Steve Aspel said. “No one wants the prices to go up.”
The Riviera Village Business Improvement District Board was advocating for no meter fee increase and no increase in permit fees, as were many Riviera Village businesspeople and employees.
“I know that the city’s looking for revenues and I understand that,” said Bobby Nayebdadash, co-owner of Sophie’s Place. “I just think that doing something like this is gonna put a roof, ceiling, on the potential down at the Riviera Village.
“I think there’s a lot of potential there and making barriers like this isn’t gonna make it very appealing to people coming from out of town.”
Tom Gaian, who formerly acted as city treasurer, voiced support for the increase.
“When we raised the parking rates on Catalina Avenue in the Village a year and a half or so ago, turnover increased, activity increased, and revenue increased,” he said. “That’s a three-way win. We’re talking about some changes here in revenue that still make [parking in] the Riviera Village 40 percent cheaper than the rest of Redondo Beach.”
