Parking meter increase backfires big-time

Tom Ahern

Several months ago, the Laguna Beach City Council raised parking

meter rates from $1 to $1.50 per hour in a vote strongly opposed by

Councilwoman Cheryl Kinsman. The purpose was to wring more revenue

from visitors, since most Lagunans have parking stickers. The

unintended consequence was that Laguna businesses have seen sales

plummet. Many must lay off employees and many may have to close as a

result.

It is unclear whether parking revenues have increased, but it is

clear that sales of many Laguna businesses have been decimated.

Several report that sales in November are down 50 to 60% from

November 2001. My bookstore was down 31%. Our sales to residents were

steady, but sales to visitors and regular customers who don’t have

Laguna stickers were down more than 50% (we know this because our 10%

frequent buyers discount club records customer addresses). This is a

Laguna-only phenomenon, directly traceable to the parking meter

fiasco, since similar stores in town nearby report that sales were

the same or higher than in November 2001.

Many Laguna businesses are struggling because of this blunder.

Many will probably go under or move because of it. Many have already

committed to moving out of Laguna. If the situation does not improve,

I will have to move Latitude 33 Bookshop to a town which is friendly

to business or sell it to someone who will probably move it.

The loss in city sales tax revenues will undoubtedly be far more

than any gain in parking revenues. (The city gets 1% of all retail sales.)

Customers are outraged, and the backlash of their boycott of

Laguna is obvious. To park in Laguna for two hours, they must put 12

quarters in the meter. The council had indicated they would extend

the meters to three hours, which would mean 18 quarters. To park in

the new Crystal Cove shopping area or Corona del Mar or Aliso Viejo

or any mall, the parking cost is zero, because they don’t have any

meters.

Merchants gladly supply meter change, but few customers will get

out of their car, come in and get change, feed the meters and then

return. Instead, their shopping time is defined by the number of

quarters already in their pocket, purse, or car, and they get a third

less time than before. Many customers say they feel that Laguna Beach

is gouging them at the meter, and they are not buying here now or

coming back.

Customer are also furious at the meter maids, notorious for their

overzealous patrols to give out $29 tickets. Customers who get

parking tickets do not soon return to Laguna.

The merchants are livid, not to mention very worried for their

survival. Their sales are down because customers spend less time

browsing. For most stores, browsing and sales are in lock-step. They

take the brunt of the negative comments about Laguna parking from

customers. When Chamber President-elect Ken Delino talked to 40

merchants about their problems, every one mentioned their anger at

how badly the meter increase had hurt their business.

With much shorter meter times, customers rush in and rush out.

When they buy, they are in a hurry to pay quickly. They say they need

to rush back to their cars before they get a ticket. If there is a

slight wait, they leave their intended purchases anywhere and leave

without buying.

Parking revenue is the heroin of the Laguna Beach city government,

which before the increase got around 11% of its general fund from

parking sources: meter and lot collections, in-lieu parking and other

fees and fines. Eleven percent is triple what most cities in Orange

County get from parking. The city wanted an extra million dollars,

and parking was the quickest way to get it.

Why doesn’t the City Council lower costs rather than raise taxes

and fees like parking meter fees? I feel it should cut the bloat of

hostile bureaucrats, abolish programs that should have been

terminated long ago and contract out city functions that can be done

much more cheaply by private industry. Laguna Beach has the most

expensive government per capita of any city in Orange County, so

there is lots of room for cuts.

What is the solution?

* Rollback. In the short run, the City Council must roll back the

increase as soon as possible.

* Alternative to meters. The Chamber of Commerce has offered to

form a task force with the city to study solutions that don’t involve

mounds of quarters, but the council ignored the offer. Long range

alternatives to parking meters must be found. Many towns and cities

have replaced meters with parking ticket dispensers like the one in

the Peppertree parking lot, but ones that accept bills and

credit/debit cards, as well as coins. These can be programmed as to

time allowed and different seasons. The city already buys 200

expensive electronic meters per year, so replacing 10 such meters

with a ticket dispenser is feasible.

* Recompense. The meter increase blunder has cost many Laguna

businesses tens of thousands in lost sales. Suspension of the highest

business license fees in Orange County is a small way that the

council could offset the losses it has caused.

* Extend time to three hours. The City Council told the Chamber

of Commerce that it would extend the parking time limit to three

hours, but reneged. Three hours allows for meals and movies, for

decent shopping rather than hit-and-run shopping. We need a

three-hour limit.

* Long-term parking and traffic circulation study and action. On

Nov. 19, a vote to issue an request for proposal for such a study,

which was strongly advocated by the parking, traffic and circulation

and vision committees, was calendared 31st of 35 items. The council

voted to table it. The council should stop dragging its feet on

parking and traffic issues. Parking and traffic should be very high

priorities, just after public safety, not lower ones than hedge

height.

What can you do? The City Council is highly cognizant of the

people attending its meetings and the squeaky wheel gets the grease,

so merchants and citizens alike need to demand action.

* Send letters or e-mail to each council member demanding

immediate action.

* On Dec. 17, let the council hear you by attending the City

Council meeting and letting them know how you feel. Every affected

merchant and concerned citizen needs to show up to express his or her

dismay at the council’s blunder and demand remedial action.

* Monitor the City Council regularly to make sure they don’t let

parking and traffic issues fall through the cracks again and again.

* TOM AHERN is the owner of the Latitude 33 Bookshop. He served

six years on the board of the Chamber of Commerce, including two

years as its president.