The City Council decided to keep the traditional free holiday parking in December and passed on a more fiscally conservative approach that would have cut the parking rate by 50 percent to 75 cents an hour.
City Manager Tom Bakaly told the council on Tuesday that providing free three-hour parking at downtown’s silver meters costs the city $64,650. Bakaly presented an alternative that would have discounted the parking rate to 75 cents an hour, which would cost the city significantly less money: $17,200.
“You can go with the one you’ve traditionally done or you can go with an option that gives a discount in parking and perhaps encourages turnover, but doesn’t have the market panache, if you will, of being able to say three hours of free parking,” Bakaly said, adding that the idea for half-priced parking came from the city’s parking enforcement staff.
When the meters are free, there’s less revenue from citations during December, a staff report indicated. By cutting holiday parking to half-price, the city would continue to collect about $30,000 in parking citations, the report said.
Councilmember Peter Tucker said employees of downtown businesses often take advantage of the free parking at the meters in December, moving their cars from meter to meter every three hours.
“Please park somewhere else,” Tucker said to downtown employees. “These are for people who want to spend money in our community, people who want to come down and shop and help the local businesses.”
The free three-hour parking at the downtown silver meters from Dec. 11 to Dec. 25 does not include the parking structure or Lots A and B downtown where regular, full-time rates will be enforced.
“I’m going to, I guess, reluctantly support this,” Mayor Jeff Duclos said. “I think we have to at some point come to terms with the fact that we are in a different place as a city in terms of the things we can and cannot do or afford to do. I thought there’re some maybe even compelling reasons to go for Option 2 where we’re giving them a discount and we’re not abusing the system, and in fact might further stimulate people visiting and doing trade down there. But anyway, that’s just my thought.”
The vote was unanimous. Councilmember Howard Fishman’s motion included a request prompted by Tucker for the Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce to contribute money in order to defray the city’s cost.
On Wednesday, Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Maureen Hunt said she plans to attend the Nov. 13 City Council meeting. Hunt said she will seek approval for the chamber to pay for holiday lighting and decorations downtown and on PCH. “I’m not sure there will be any money left in the budget for parking,” Hunt said.
