SR-417-003-02 (4)
e ..-
~CitYOf
Santa Monica~
City Council Report
City Council Meeting: April 11 , 2006
Agenda Item: t.13
To:
From:
Subject:
Mayor and City Council
Andy Agle, Interim Director, Planning and Community Development
Resolution Determining Employee On-Street Parking Permit Fees
Recommended Action
It is recommended that the City Council:
1. Adopt a resolution which designates a proposed on-street parking permit fee of $30
per quarter year, pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 3.10.040.
2. Approve the budget changes as outlined in the Budget/Financial Impact section of
this report.
Executive Summary
Staff is proposing a fee of $30 per quarter year for on-street employee parking permits.
These permits will be used by employees of businesses in the city as part of the pilot
employee on-street parking program which was approved by Council on February 28,
2006. Twenty permits will be issued to businesses in the 10th Street and Pica
Boulevard area, and can be renewed each quarter for up to the one year time period of
the pilot program. Additional revenue and expenditures of $2,400 are anticipated.
1
Discussion
Previous Council Action
At its February 28, 2006 meeting, Council approved for first reading an Ordinance to
create a pilot on-street employee parking permit program. This Ordinance was
approved at the March 14, 2006 meeting, and will go into effect on April 13, 2006. The
Ordinance provides for permits fees set by resolution.
Fee Justification
Staff will review applications, determine eligibility, and issue permits by lottery. Permits
will then be renewed quarterly, in a manner similar to the annual renewal of residential
permits. Furthermore, staff will monitor compliance with the terms of the program, and
revoke permits as needed. The $30 per permit fee is based upon the assumption that
staff time for processing plus materials totals double the existing fee for issuing
residential permits, which has been shown to be about $15 per permit. Employee
permits will require more staff time to issue because it will be more complicated to
establish and verify eligibility for the permits, as well as to monitor whether employees
and businesses are in compliance with program regulations. Additionally, the materials
fee per permit will be greater because materials will be purchased in lower quantities.
Alternatives
Council expressed interest in the opportunity to consider a permit fee that would, like a
use of public property fee or a parking meter fee, generate more revenue than is
required to offset the costs of permit issuance, thereby providing a resource for
2
neighborhood or community improvements. The City Attorney's office determined that
such a fee is not consistent with the State legislation that authorizes the sale of
employee permits, so this alternative is not recommended.
Public Outreach
Staff sent 15,755 notices to the public in December 2005 regarding an employee on-
street permit parking program. The proposed fee for such a permit was $120 per year
($30 per quarter). Members of the public felt that this was a very reasonable amount,
and some suggested charging more. However, as fee revenue may not exceed costs
of issuing the permit, a higher fee was not recommended.
Notice of this public hearing and the availability of a fee analysis was published in the
California Section of the Los Angeles Times on March 25,2006 and March 31,2006.
Environmental Analysis
The proposed project has been determined to be categorically exempt from the
provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to Article 19,
Section 15301 (c) which was recently amended to define Class 1 exempt projects in the
following way: "Class 1 consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting,
leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities,
mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving little or no expansion of use
beyond that existing at the time of the lead agency's determination. . ." This exemption
lists as an example of "existing facilities:" "(c) Existing highways and streets, sidewalks,
3
gutters, bicycle and pedestrian trails, and similar facilities." Preferential parking zones
involve only the issuance of permits for the use of an existing public street and include
negligible or no expansion of this existing use.
BudgetlFinanciallmpact
The employee on-street permit parking pilot program is anticipated to provide $2,400 in
annual revenue in account 01415.400290. It will require the commitment of an equal
amount of expenditures in the forms of staff time, materials and postage in the
Transportation Management Division.
Prepared by:
Ruth Harper, Transportation Planning Associate
Attachments:
A) Resolution
Approved:
Forwarded to Council:
~-=--~~
Andy Agle
Interim Director,
Planning and Community Development
P--
4
ATTACHMENT A:
See Adopted
Resolution No. 10123
(CCS)