Three Hour Parking Approved – But Don’t Overstay Your Welcome Yet

The effort to extend the time limit on free parking in the downtown business area turned the corner at Monday’s City Council meeting, as the Council voted in favor of expanded parking hours at the Plaza from two hours to three.

The proposal generated relatively little comment from the public, and only a few notes of skepticism from the council, mainly about money.

According to the report given by staff to the council about the impact of the change, the cost of replacing signage ranged from $1260 for 30 new signs in the Plaza business district – surrounding the Plaza and one block in every direction - up to $5,124 for 122 signs extending the area of coverage to the full downtown business route.

Councilmembers Tom Rouse, Steve Barbose and David Cook – who initially proposed the parking limit increase – all questioned the cost of $5,000-plus for replacing a "2" with a "3" on the parking signs. A metallic sticker, similar to that used by the DMV to update your license expiration date annually, was suggested as preferred to replacing the entire sign.

Even as the vote was taken, the request was made to staff to re-evaluate the method for making the change on the signs.

The results of the online survey of business owners and managers were included in the staff report. Of the 25 survey responses received, 70% of the survey respondents were in favor of increased limits and 25% of the survey respondents were not in favor.

But it takes more than a snap of the fingers, or even a skeptical 5-0 vote, to make change happen.

The Council’s vote simply directed city staff to forward with changing the parking limit in the Plaza Business Area, and along the Business Route, from two to three hours.

Since the current parking limits were enacted by ordinance and are included in the Municipal Code, it will require the adoption of an ordinance to change them.

This revised ordinance will be introduced at the May 6 meeting, rescinding the section of the code establishing parking limits, and providing instead that parking limits may be established by resolution.

The ordinance and an enacting resolution are expected to be adopted at the May 20 Council meeting and will go into effect 30 days thereafter, on Saturday, June 29.

Even if all the signs haven’t been changed out by June 29, city manager Carol Giovanatto suggested the police department would not issue tickets based on a 2-hour parking limit, but a 3-hour limit that would be legally in effect.

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