CC SR 20161018 J - Abalone Cove Resident Only ParkingRANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 10/18/2016
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Consent Calendar
AGENDA DESCRIPTION:
Consideration and possible action to create a resident -only parking section at Abalone
Cove Shoreline Park.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Do not create any form of resident -only parking at Abalone Cove Shoreline Park.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Matt Waters, Senior Administrative Analyst
REVIEWED BY: Dan Trautner, Deputy Director of Recreation and Parks =` '
APPROVED BY: Doug Willmore, City Manager VA -11-1
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:
The City Council approved an increase in Abalone Cove Shoreline Park (Abalone Cove)
parking fees on May 5, 2015. Prior to that, parking fees had not been increased in over
20 years. The chart below shows the previous and current fee structures.
PARKING
Prior Fees
Current Fees
ABALONE COVE
Free: First 30 minutes
$5
$6: 30 minutes — 2 hours
PARKING — CAR
$12: > 2 hours
ABALONE COVE
$15
$55
PARKING — BUS
ABALONE COVE
$5
NO CHARGE
SENIORS — SUMMER
ABALONE COVE
FALL TO SPRING —
NO CHARGE
NO CHARGE
SENIORS
ABALONE COVE
NO CHARGE
NO CHARGE
DISABLED RATE
The May 5, 2015 Staff report noted that attendance had increased dramatically in recent
years as evidenced by a doubling of parking fee revenue since FY11-12. Additionally, a
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parking fee survey indicated that Abalone Cove's long-standing rates were below
average for ocean -adjacent parking lots. The City's decision to issue its own Coastal
Permit for a parking fee increase was appealable to the Coastal Commission since
Abalone Cove is located in the "Appealable Area" of the City's Coastal Zone. Since no
timely appeal was filed with the Coastal Commission, the fee increases went into effect
within 60 days of their approval.
There was general discussion at the April 21, 2015, and May 5, 2015, City Council
meetings about providing a subsidy for residents or eliminating resident parking fees
altogether at Abalone Cove. Coastal Commission staff indicated that such an approach
would almost certainly result in an appeal to the Coastal Commission. They noted that
charging non-residents a higher parking fee than residents runs counter to the inclusive
intent of the Coastal Act.
Then-Councilmember Brian Campbell placed "Expansion of Resident -Only Parking at
Abalone Cove after Evaluation of Del Cerro Parking Plan" on the list of future agenda
items list on July 21, 2015. The proposal to allow exclusive, designated areas for
resident -only parking at Abalone Cove is similar in concept to the parking plan that was
recently introduced in the Del Cerro area to alleviate impact on neighborhoods from
Palos Verdes Nature Preserve parking. The key difference is that the Del Cerro area is
not located in the City's Coastal Zone and is, therefore, not subject to Coastal
Commission review or appeal.
Staff recently contacted California Coastal Commission Supervisor of Planning Chuck
Posner to see if reserving resident -only parking areas—while different from charging
lower rates for residents—still runs counter to the Coastal Commission's central tenet of
inclusiveness and coastal access for all. Mr. Posner responded:
"A proposal to reserve part of a public park in the coastal zone for
resident -only parking would not be consistent with the public access
policies of the Coastal Act, which require "maximum" public access. I
would recommend an appeal if any City Council approved such a plan."
Based on the high likelihood of an appeal from the Coastal Commission, a resident -only
parking zone is not recommended at Abalone Cove.
ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative action is available for
the City Council's consideration:
Direct Staff to initiate a Coastal Permit to establish a resident -only parking
zone at Abalone Cove Shoreline Park.
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