Fordham parking rules OKd

Greg Rice will be seeing fewer cars parked on Fordham Drive in the coming months.

On Tuesday, the Costa Mesa City Council unanimously approved residents-only parking on Fordham Drive, between Fair Drive and Nassau Road, where Rice lives.

Rice and his neighbors who live on that portion of Fordham Drive had been complaining to the city for nearly a year that they had nowhere to park because people who don’t live in their neighborhood are taking up the spots.

After a brief presentation by city staff, the council approved the parking restriction with no discussion before the vote.

“It’s been a long fight,” Rice said to three other Fordham Drive residents after the meeting.

Last year in November, residents filed a petition asking the city for the residents-only parking restriction. At the time, the city’s study indicated the street did not meet the guidelines for the restriction. In order for a street to be designated with residents-only parking, 50% or more of the cars parked on the street must belong to people who live elsewhere.

After receiving more complaints from residents this year, city staff conducted a new study in August. The study concluded that the parking problem had gotten worse. City staff discovered that 55% of the parked cars belonged to people who did not live on Fordham Drive.

Signs announcing the parking restrictions will begin going up the week of Nov. 13, said Dennis Johnson, an assistant engineer with the city. Guests of Fordham Drive residents will be given guest parking passes.

Before then, residents will be notified about the change by mail.

Residents on Fordham believe people who live in a nearby apartment complex, the Mediterranean Village, on Harbor Boulevard and Fair Drive, are largely responsible for the problem.

Along with the parking troubles, residents also complained about trash being left on their street.

“The last year it has become a problem,” Rice told the council before the vote. “We need your help before it escalates.” Rice was the only Fordham Drive resident of the six who attended to speak at the meeting.

In 1997, the council approved a residents-only parking restriction on College Drive in response to similar complaints about parking problems from guests and residents from the same apartment complex.