Report to Mayor and City Council
Wednesday, June 08, 2016
Discussion
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER IMPROVEMENTS TO THE PERMIT PARKING PROGRAM FOR THE NEIGHBORHOODS ADJACENT TO THE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY AT DOMINGUEZ HILLS AND THE STUB HUB CENTER (CITY COUNCIL)
Body
I. SUMMARY
The residential neighborhoods near the University and the StubHub Center have a permit parking program that was established by the City Council in 2004. The objective of the program is to discourage patrons of the stadium from parking in these residential areas during events and students from parking in the adjacent residential areas. The City has been responsible for administering the parking permit program related to the University. The StubHub Center (previously called the Home Depot Center) has been responsible for distributing the parking permits to the residents impacted by the Center.
Representatives of the StubHub Center have recently reported, however, that there has been confusion among some of the residents about who is responsible for the program, where they should obtain their permits, and how they can retrieve their vehicles after being towed. Some of the confusion is caused by the fact that the City administers the other permit parking programs while the StubHub Center personnel administers this particular program. It has been requested that the City of Carson take over the responsibility of issuing permits, instead of the StubHub Center, so that the permit parking programs would be consistent throughout the City.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
TAKE the following actions:
1. DIRECT staff to take over the responsibility of issuing parking permits to the residents of Stevenson Village, Dominguez Hills, Victoria Park, and University Heights, a task which is currently conducted by the StubHub Center.
2. DIRECT staff to modify the parking signs in these areas to state “Tow Away - No Event Parking - 4PM to 4AM - Except by Permit - Zone F” and “Obtain Permits at Carson City Hall - Business License Counter” and “For Towed Vehicles - Sheriff’s Dept. 310-830-1123 - Public Safety Dept. 310-952-1786.”
Body
III. ALTERNATIVES
1. DECLINE taking action at this time, so that the StubHub Center would continue to be responsible for issuing the parking permits.
2. TAKE another action the City Council deems appropriate.
IV. BACKGROUND
Representatives of the StubHub Center have brought it to staff’s attention that there are several issues regarding the current permit parking program in the neighborhoods near their facility that they feel have created problems for themselves as well as the affected residents. The permit parking program, which was established by the City Council in 2004, involves the residential neighborhoods on the north (Stevenson Village), south (Dominguez Hills and University Heights), and west (Victoria Park) sides of the StubHub Center / California State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) site (Exhibit No. 1). According to City of Carson records, there are 751 residential units in Stevenson Village, 455 units in Dominguez Hills (north of Elsmere Drive), 106 units in University Heights, and 987 units in Victoria Park for a total of 2,299 total residential units in the permit parking zone.
While the permit parking program was established to prohibit patrons of the events at the StubHub Center from parking in these residential areas, the parking restrictions that were designated by the City Council in 2004 after a lengthy discussion and input from the public are “Tow Away - No Parking 4PM to 4AM Daily - Except by Permit.” The understanding at the time was that these restrictions would be applicable every day, but that they would only be enforced during major events at the facility. In addition to the permit parking signs, signs were also installed at the entrances to each neighborhood that state “No Event Traffic or Parking - Tow Away” or “Tow Away - No Parking for Events.” On event days, wooden barricades with an attendant are positioned at each entrance to the neighborhoods and vehicles can pass by the barricade only if they display a parking permit or show a driver’s license with an address in the neighborhood.
In addition to the permit parking program for the StubHub Center, a portion of the Stevenson Village neighborhood has a more restrictive permit parking zone that states “Tow Away - No Parking Any Time Except by Permit.” This zone has been in place since 1991 and was created to prohibit CSUDH students from parking in this neighborhood that is adjacent to the university. It was Carson’s first permit parking zone and is designated as Permit Parking Zone A.
When the permit parking zones were established in 2004, the agreement between the City of Carson and the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) / Home Depot Center (previous name of the StubHub Center) was that the permits would be acquired and distributed by Home Depot Center personnel. This arrangement was made so that the costs and labor associated with the program would be borne by the Home Depot Center instead of the City. Five permits were initially issued to each household in the permit parking zones. When new residents move into the neighborhood, they can pick up their permits from the office at the StubHub Center by showing proof of residency. The permits for Permit Parking Zone A, however, are obtained at the Business License counter at Carson City Hall.
If a resident of the permit parking zone has a party or other activity occurring on an event day, they are eligible to obtain temporary one-day visitor parking passes at the Sheriff’s station in advance of the event so that their guests can pass by the barricades and park on the restricted streets. In addition, they can informally advise the barricade attendants that they are expecting guests and leave their names and the guests’ names so that the visitors can pass by the barricades prior to receiving their parking passes.
The issues that were raised by representatives of the StubHub Center are as follows:
• Residents are confused about where to obtain their parking permits because the stadium-related permits are issued at the StubHub Center, the Zone A permits are issued at City Hall, and the one-day visitor permits are issued at the Sheriff’s Department.
• Residents who receive parking citations or are towed contact the StubHub Center staff to complain and/or to find out how to pay the tickets or retrieve their vehicles. StubHub Center representatives have stated that their personnel should not be responsible for handling these issues.
• New residents don’t have information about how and where to obtain their parking permits.
• Residents don’t understand why the permit parking restrictions are applicable every day when the parking problems only occur during major events.
To respond to the issues raised by StubHub Center staff, there are various options that could potentially be taken, as outlined below.
• Carson could take over the responsibility of issuing all of the parking permits so that it wouldn’t be split between the StubHub Center, City Hall, and the Sheriff’s Department. This action would require additional staff time and expense.
• Information could be added to the permit parking signs to inform residents where they can obtain the parking permits. For example, wording could be added to the permit parking signs that state “Obtain Permits at Carson City Hall - Business License Counter.”
• The permit parking signs that show the restriction every day from 4PM to 4AM could be modified to state “Tow Away - No Event Parking - Except by Permit.” When this option was presented in 2004, there was some concern by the enforcement representatives that the “during events” clause was too vague and that people receiving citations could argue that they don’t know the event schedule, particularly if they legally parked their vehicles a day or two in advance of an event.
• The permit parking signs could be modified to state “Tow Away - No Event Parking - 4PM to 4AM - Except by Permit - Zone F.”
• Regardless of which signs are used, it would also be prudent to add phone numbers to the signs to inform motorists where to call to retrieve their towed vehicles.
• Keep the permit parking program unchanged, but send informational notices to all affected residents on an annual basis to inform them of the program’s details and procedures.
Based on a review of the advantages and disadvantages of each possible action, staff recommends that the City assume the responsibility of issuing the parking permits, that the Sheriff’s Department continue to issue one-day visitor permits, and that the parking signs be modified to state “Tow Away - No Event Parking - 4PM to 4AM - Except by Permit - Zone F” and “Obtain Permits at Carson City Hall - Business License Counter” and “For Towed Vehicles - Sheriff’s Dept. 310-830-1123 - Public Safety Dept. 310-952-1786.”
V. FISCAL IMPACT
Negligible. Representatives of the StubHub Center have agreed to reimburse the City of Carson for the cost of the parking permits and the signs. There would be an additional demand for staff time in the Business License Division and the Public Works Operations Division for issuing the permits and installing the signs.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Location Map - Neighborhoods Included in Propose Permit Parking Zone F. (pg. 5)
Prepared by: Richard Garland, Traffic Engineer