City circling block on parking problem

After a year of meetings on parking problems in two midtown residential neighborhoods that abut busy commercial areas, residents and business owners still disagree on a solution.

The City Council voted unanimously at the June 6 meeting to have the Parking, Traffic and Circulation Committee review proposals for preferential parking permits for residents in the Village Flatland and Woods Cove neighborhoods; the elimination of two-hour limits and some meters on a couple of blocks on the inland side of Glenneyre Street; and the addition of four 30-minute parking spaces in front of resident-serving businesses.

“There is basic unanimity in the neighborhoods that they would like to try a sticker program,” said Mayor Pro Tem Steven Dicterow, co-chair with Councilwoman Jane Egly of a subcommittee appointed to explore parking issues raised by residents.

Speaking on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce, former city Community Services Director Pat Barry said the sticker program ? granting residents special parking privileges ? does not solve the parking problem; it simply relocates it.

“The chamber opposes residential stickers,” chamber President Dave Sanford said.

An experiment with decommissioned parking meters on Glenneyre Street that offered free parking close to the businesses on South Coast Highway drew employee parking off the neighborhood streets but adversely affected businesses, whose customers were unable to find parking near the shops and restaurants in the area, according to an oral report by a traffic consultant hired at the request of organized neighbors.

A final report from traffic consultant Pat Gibson is due.

Since the subcommittee last met Feb. 21, the Surf & Sand, a major employer in the area, has taken steps to reduce its parking impact on the neighborhoods by leasing 16 spaces for employees in the old Laguna Nursery parking lot, eliminating courtyard events and reserving the area for 14 valet parking spaces and allowing 15-20 employees to park in the hotel garage.

Off-site employee/customer parking has been reduced by 45 spaces, City Manager Ken Frank reported. When the Pottery Shack redevelopment is complete, 41 more spaces than previously existed will be added to the inventory.

City staff recommended getting rid of the two-hour limit on 20 spaces between Cress and Calliope streets, and removing 18 meters between Oak and Anita streets, all on Glenneyre Street.

The combination would provide an estimated 124 parking spaces off the neighborhood streets. A parking committee public hearing would be required on the changes, with notices sent to the affected neighbors.

“We will try to meet with the businesses before going to PTC or the Planning Commission,” Woods Cove resident John Ferrante said. “It is important for the business community to be part of the solution, because they are part of the problem.”

The council subcommittee was appointed as a result of residents who banded together as the Village Flatlanders Neighborhood Assn. to add clout to their complaints that they could find no parking on their streets because the spaces were all taken up by business employees who did not want to “feed” the meters closer to work. Woods Cove residents soon joined the meetings, with much the same complaints.

Chamber and business representatives soon took up the issue, with preferential residential parking the sticking point in the discussions.

Councilwoman Cheryl Kinsman said any parking restricted to residents should be open to all residents of Laguna Beach, not just those on a specific street.

Another question is whether the California Coastal Commission ? which has jurisdiction over parking in Laguna Beach ? would put the kibosh on a residential parking program, since the commission traditionally favors visitor parking needs over residents’.

“I appreciate the work done on this,” said Councilwoman Toni Iseman, who served on the Coastal Commission. “I recommend that the staff member who is working on this be familiar with the [Coastal] commission so that we don’t come up with a great plan that cannot be implemented.”

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Should preferential parking permits be granted for residents in a specific area of Laguna? Write us at P.O. Box 248, Laguna Beach, CA, 92652, e-mail us at coastlinepilot@latimes.com or fax us at (949) 494-8979. Please give your name and tell us your home address and phone number for verification purposes only.