Spots for post office parking reallocated

Andrew Edwards

Downtown Laguna Beach has much to offer -- stylish boutiques, fine

dining and more within a stone’s throw from the beach. But before

people can have fun, they have to find a place to park.

Parking can be scarce, and one lot formerly open to all is now

restricted. Parking meters previously operated by the city near the

post office have been removed and the parking spaces have been

allocated to the post office and Levin and O’Connner, LLP, a law

firm. Parking is now reserved for postal employees and the firm’s

customers.

City Manager Steve May said the meters were removed around January

after Koss Real Estate Investments, the company that owns the parking

lot and the Lumber Yard Mall, chose to make a different deal.

“They decided they’d rather lease it to the tenants,” May said.

Levin and O’Conner were offered parking spaces as part of their

lease agreement after negotiations with the city broke down, said

Megan Herbert an administrator with Levin and O’Conner.

“They gave us a price and said, ‘Hey, do you want them,’ and we

said ‘Yes,’” Herbert said.

Anthony Haas, who manages the Lumber Yard for Koss, said the

decision to not lease parking to the city was made before he managed

the property.

City officials have no plans to make up for the parking spaces,

May said.

But the lost spaces are creating a problem for Lagunans needing to

drop by the post office.

A few people have been towed for parking in the lot, said Richard

Mikhael of Laguna Beach Towing and Recovery. Though he added he has

not seen a major problem there.

Marcia Jacklich did not know the parking lot had become private

until she parked in the lot on Wednesday and realized she had stopped

her car right in front of a no parking sign. Without parking,

Jacklich said she would have to use another post office.

“I’m not very happy about that and I’ll probably have to use the

Laguna Hills post office now because I don’t want to get a ticket,”

Jacklich said.

She was not the only person caught by surprise when the no parking

signs went up. Realtor Michael Shawn O’Leary said having to park

elsewhere was a hassle for him.

“It just seemed like one day it was here and one day it was gone,”

he said.