COLLEGE OF THE CANYONS : Students to Pay for Parking in Fall

Students at College of the Canyons will pay to park on campus for the first time, beginning with the fall semester.

The Santa Clarita Community College District Board of Trustees voted last week to impose a $20-per-student parking fee to raise money for parking lot improvements and added security.

Dianne G. Van Hook, college superintendent and president, said in a report to the board that it will take a minimum of $38,000 annually for the next five years to bring the long-neglected parking lots up to minimum standards and then to maintain them “so they are safe for students.”

Van Hook said the fees will generate a minimum of $80,000 the first year. The money will be used to hire one security officer to patrol the parking lots at night, provide students with parking stickers, purchase parking lot equipment and improve lighting.

The fee was recommended by the district’s College Council and endorsed by the Parking Advisory Committee, both of which have faculty and student representatives. At a student forum on the proposed fee, only one student expressed opposition, Van Hook said.

The Canyon Call, the campus newspaper, endorsed the fee proposal. It said College of the Canyons is one of only 15 out of 71 community colleges in the state that does not charge parking fees.

Gary Olmstead, business manager, said eight out of 10 colleges charge for parking. Those that don’t are primarily in rural areas, he said.

Under the new parking rules approved by trustees, visitor parking will be expanded and metered parking added to accommodate those who visit the campus only occasionally.

Trustees instructed staff members to draft new traffic and parking regulations and outline security measures before the fees take effect, Olmstead said.