Item 18: Acceptance of Master Parking Plan, Direction given 5-0
Do We Have Enough Parking? Some feel we do not have enough parking in Laguna Beach so last year then Mayor Sue Kempf and Mayor Pro-Tem Bob Whalen elected themselves with help from former Councilman Peter Blake to create a sub-committee of two and to hire another consultant to explore building parking structures around town, and use what we have more effectively. New initiatives were suggested by the public, like walkability, making the town safer and more secure for electric bikers, better signage, and a commitment to peripheral or remote parking structures. These measures reduce congestion and pollution. We can secure an additional 102 spaces by leasing 3 empty lots in North Laguna. Additional spaces can be gained by restriping some lots, and by increasing the use of the parking app to extend to private lots the City leases thus reducing drive around time.

Another easy way to recover over two hundred spaces or get the revenue the City is rightfully owed is to raise monthly leasing fees of over 200 spaces to landlords and businesses who now pay only 23% ($700. annually) of the average combined annual revenue of all City spaces, which is $4,200 a year per space. These revenues can be put to good use. For example, we lost $500,000 annual meter revenue when we created the Promenade. No City official or Council member, other than me, has pointed this out.

Supply and Demand: The 2014 Parking Management Plan (PMP) said we had about 2,500 spaces in the Downtown. The 2022 PMP said we have about 3,500, a gain of 1,000 or 130 spaces yearly over the last 8 years. However, utilization over the last 8 years did not change. Demand increased as supply increased. The old law of supply and demand in action! This suggests that building new parking structures all around town will increase the number of visitors, cause more street congestion, and be very costly to residents.

Here is an interesting quote from the 2014 PMP (See this URL to read it)

· “…construction of additional parking may not be cost effective and may have the unintended effects of increasing congestion while negatively affecting the pedestrian-friendly, low-scale village atmosphere that has historically characterized Laguna Beach. We must manage our limited resources wisely making informed decisions about allocation of available space and planning very carefully for any expansions of that space.”

Rather than take what Billy Fried described as a “1970’s approach” to a 21st Century problem, the City should be implementing “Complete Streets”, which should include creating secure places to lock and store electric bikes, dedicated bike lanes, making Laguna more walkable, and make more use of remote lots outside of town or the downtown to bus visitors into our town. We must protect our environment and quality of life.

If we go down the path of greater utilization of what we have and develop more ways to get people out of their cars, we preserve the unique character of our town. Let’s work together to gain more parking and improve circulation through creative and common sense solutions.

If you want to learn more read the draft of the MPP.
https://lagunabeachcity.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=3&clip_id=1913&meta_id=151344

I have collated the many emails from a variety of residents and organizations who made useful suggestions to improve the report for its next draft. See attached. 

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