Honorable Mayor and Members of the Hermosa Beach City Council
Regular Meeting of January 25, 2022
Title
UPDATE REGARDING THE PARKING STUDY
SESSION SCHEDULED TO BE HELD ON JANUARY 31, 2022
(City Manager Suja Lowenthal)
Body
Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Staff recommends City Council:
1. Receive an update regarding the parking study session scheduled to be held on January 31, 2022; and
2. Provide staff direction on whether to schedule a special meeting of the City Council following the parking study session to discuss and decide whether to postpone the 2022-2023 Residential and Employee parking permit sales and renewals to allow for a review of the current rates.
Body
Executive Summary:
To facilitate a public discussion regarding issues related to the parking system, City Council will hold a parking study session on January 31, 2022. During the study session, staff will present information regarding existing parking infrastructure and programs and facilitate a discussion regarding strategies to effectively address and manage current and future parking needs. The study session is intended for discussion only and does not contemplate an increase in parking permit rates. Mayor Pro Tem Jackson has expressed a strong desire to allow Council the opportunity to act on parking rate adjustments following the study session, prior to the opening of the 2022 parking pass sales, which is scheduled to take place on February 1, 2022. Council has the option of adjourning to a special meeting with actionable items on the agenda immediately after the study session.
Background:
In recent years, the City has prepared two very important and forward-thinking planning documents to analyze issues and identify goals related to parking management. In 2017, the City adopted PLAN Hermosa, which includes a mobility element. A few years later in 2019, the City completed its Coastal Zone Parking Management Study as a basis to revise parking standards and make necessary adjustments to residential and employee parking permit and fee programs within the Coastal Zone.
Discussion:
The agenda for the January 31, 2022 parking study session agenda includes an update on the status of the Coastal Zone Parking Management Study; a review of street metered and public parking lot metered programs; and a review of the residential and employee parking permit program (Attachment 1). Staff will provide information and updates regarding these select parking system elements. Discussions from the meeting will guide the development of policy and programs to meet the City’s diverse and changing mobility demands.
As noted, one item on the study session agenda is an update regarding the Residential and Employee parking permit programs. Sales and renewals for the 2022-2023 permits are set to begin on February 1, 2022, the day following the parking study session. The 2022-2023 permits are valid from March to February. If desired, City Council may provide direction to extend the effective dates of the 2021 pass and postpone sale dates of the 2022 passes to allow for a review of the current rates.
At least one Councilmember has expressed a desire to contemplate changes to the parking rates on January 31, 2021, the date of the parking study session. To do so, City Council may adjourn from the study session to a special meeting. The Hermosa Beach Municipal Code does not allow action items to be undertaken during a study session.
General Plan Consistency:
This report and associated recommendation have been evaluated for their consistency with the City’s General Plan. Relevant Policies are listed below:
Governance Element
Goal 2. The community is active and engaged in the decision-making processes.
Policy:
• 2.4 Public Forums. Host periodic public forums on issues important to the community, facilitating theses forums with the purpose of guiding policy.
Goal 4. A parking system that meets the parking needs and demand of residents, visitors, and employees in an efficient and cost-effective manner.
Policies:
• 4.1 Shared parking. Facilitate park-once and shared parking policies among private developments that contribute to a shared parking supply and interconnect with adjacent parking facilities.
• 4.2 Encourage coastal access. Ensure parking facilities and costs of such facilities are not a barrier to beach access by the public.
• 4.3 Reduce impacts. Reduce spillover parking impacts due to employee parking and seasonal and event-based demands.
• 4.4 Preferential parking program. Periodically study and evaluate the current inventory of public parking supply and update the preferential parking program.
• 4.7 Parking availability. Optimize parking availability through dynamically adjusted pricing and new technology to manage available spaces for short-term parking use to encourage rates of turnover that are responsive to fluctuating demands.
• 4.8 Ensure commercial parking. Ensure that prime commercial parking spaces are available for customers and other short-term users throughout the day.
• 4.9 Encourage TDM strategies. Encourage use of transportation demand management strategies and programs such as carpooling, ride hailing, and alternative transportation modes as a way to reduce demand for additional parking supply.
• 4.10 Visitor parking information. Manage information about passes and accessing public parking lots to facilitate use by longer-distance visitors with limited transportation choices.
Fiscal Impact:
There is no fiscal impact associated with the recommended actions. Any impacts that may result from changes in parking programs or rates would be presented to City Council at the time of the proposed modification.
Attachments:
1. Draft Parking Study Session Agenda
Respectfully Submitted by: Suja Lowenthal, City Manager
Noted for Fiscal Impact: Viki Copeland, Finance Director
Legal Review: Mike Jenkins, City Attorney
Approved: Suja Lowenthal, City Manager