Local News in Brief : Glendale Cuts Parking Rates at Lots for College Students

After a protest by Glendale College officials, the Glendale City Council voted Tuesday to scale back hourly parking rates from 20 cents to 10 cents at two lots used by Glendale College students.

The council also voted to extend hours of enforcement to 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Parking fees had been required from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. five days a week.

The 4-0 vote came after the Glendale College Board of Trustees wrote a letter to council members objecting to a vote by the council in May raising parking rates. The college relies on the two lots, across the street from the campus, to help meet its parking needs, trustees said.

Parking had been 5 cents an hour at one lot, next to the Civic Auditorium, and was free at a lot on Verdugo Road below Mountain Avenue. The increases were suspended after the letter from trustees arrived.

Kenneth Sweetnam, president of the college board, said the council action was a fair compromise. “I’m very happy with it,” he said. “It’s still higher, but I think they’ve made a compromise that will benefit the students at the college.”

Councilman John Day did not attend the council meeting.