Parking hike gets the boot

Mary A. Castillo

Local merchants and residents didn’t have to put up much of a

fight Tuesday to get the City Council to rescind a $1.50 per hour

meter rate and increase the time limit to three hours.

Mayor Toni Iseman and Councilwoman Cheryl Kinsman placed items on

the agenda that would increase the time limit on all two-hour meters

on the streets and in city parking lots.

The council voted unanimously to bring the price back down from

$1.50 per hour to $1.

In June, council members voted to raise the meter rates to

generate revenue for grants and city projects.

“It definitely leaves egg on our face,” Mayor Toni Iseman said.

The council expected that the rate would generate $700,000 that

could be allocated to local nonprofit organizations and city

projects. In subsequent years, the additional revenue would go toward

the Village Entrance project.

Iseman indicated that merchants and residents were led to believe

that, along with the meter rate hike, they would also get increased

meter times and more change machines.

Since the rate hike went into effect Sept. 1, merchants have

complained that the parking situation has kept shoppers away from

Downtown businesses.

“I’m sure many of you have seen that you can park anywhere in

Downtown,” Councilwoman Cheryl Kinsman said. “We may have killed the

golden goose.”

She also asked for a report from the city treasurer on the

difference in revenues collected from parking meters and lots since

the time of the rate increase, a similar report from the Police

Department on parking citation revenues, a list of items budgeted by

the council to be paid from the expected $700,000 and a report from

the city manager to finance the promised allocations.

Councilman Wayne Baglin asked merchants to keep their employees

from parking in from Downtown meters.

After receiving support from the merchants and the Laguna Beach

Chamber of Commerce, the council voted unanimously in support of the

agenda bill.

City Manager Ken Frank predicted that converting the meters would

be complete by late January.