Peninsula parking solution would cost city plenty

Alicia Robinson

The city will consider how to solve parking problems on the Balboa

Peninsula, but a solution is likely to cost between $6 million and

$12 million.

Despite that price tag, Councilman Tod Ridgeway’s plan to build a

135-space parking structure at 23rd Street and Balboa Boulevard

survived a study session Tuesday without being vetoed by the City

Council.

With businesses and beachgoers competing for a limited number of

spaces, parking in the McFadden Square area is a congested nightmare

in the summer months. While council members and several residents at

Tuesday’s study session agreed that more parking is needed, some

thought the price -- $3 million for construction of a structure and

an estimated $3 million to $12 million to buy the land -- would be

too high.

The first step will be to find out if owners of the six parcels

that would be needed to build the structure are willing to sell.

Ridgeway said the city could use eminent domain to acquire the

parcels if needed, but Mayor Steve Bromberg said it’s unlikely the

full council would support such a measure.

Business owners are interested in more parking. That includes one

owner who would have to sell his property for the project. Ken

Ricamore, who owns three lots in the project area and operates the

adjacent Portofino Beach Hotel and Renato restaurant, said he has

trouble attracting customers in the summer because of the parking

situation.

“What happens is the restaurants and the businesses down there

lose a lot of business,” Ridgeway said. “People leave.”

To pay for the parking structure, Ridgeway suggested creating a

tax assessment district for businesses that would cover as much as

half of the cost. The other half of the funding could come from

revenues from the parking structure.

City staff members will look at various options for the parking

structure, but it’s not clear how far the proposal will go.

Councilman Dick Nichols said he doesn’t think business owners who

already have the amount of parking required by city codes should have

to chip in for a new parking structure, and Councilman John Heffernan

suggested offering a shuttle to the Newport Pier area from a proposed

parking structure for City Hall.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers government and politics. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4626 or by e-mail at

alicia.robinson@latimes.com.