Laguna Beach parking violations will set motorists back at least $100 as fees are revised

Laguna Beach will begin handing out heftier fines for problematic parking, with several violations subject to a penalty of at least $100, the City Council decided this week.

The violations that could result in a $100 fine include parking along a red curb or a white curb, blocking a driveway, parking or stopping in an alley, and parking on private property without consent of the owner.

Vehicles that exceed the maximum parking time of 72 hours, cars placed on the street that are for sale, and washing, greasing or repairing a car on the road would incur the same fine.

The City Council considered levying that significant fine against those found to be in violation of posted signage, with one notable exception.

“North Laguna happens to be the only part of town where you get tickets for [street] sweeping, which are on residential streets,” Councilman Bob Whalen said. “I don’t know why the neighbors forget a lot. These are residents, and it’s not a situation where it … impacts safety or travel. I think it would be a lot to increase that [violation] to $100.”

In order to create a tiered fine schedule that would consider whether adherence to a posted sign was a matter of public safety, the city would have to modify its parking regulations to make that distinction. The municipal code does not currently account for the difference, City Atty. Megan Garibaldi said.

Fines associated with failure to obey posted signage will be set at $54 for now, up from $43.

The city last updated its parking penalty schedule in 2018. Councilman Mark Orgill suggested that unchanged fines should be adjusted for inflation, and the council included that among its approval of the new schedule at Tuesday’s meeting.

Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, city officials conducted a comparative analysis of Laguna Beach’s parking fines in relation to neighboring cities. Citing a unique demand for parking in the community, the staff report recommended employing the higher end of the fine range found in that analysis for each violation.

“The vehicle code says that to the extent possible, our fee and fine amount should be the same as other cities, so that’s why we updated our schedule based on what other cities are doing, but I do think that there’s a reasonable argument to be made that Laguna Beach’s parking situation is more severe than other cities,” Garibaldi said. “... There are specific circumstances that warrant changing the fee.”

Whalen also requested uniformity across all violations related to parking set aside for disabled persons. Citations given to people who unlawfully park in spots designated for disabled drivers will be increased from $300 to $636.