Manhattan Beach Drivers To Face Higher Parkings Costs

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — Parking rates, citations and permit fees will be increasing in Manhattan Beach starting May 1, after the City Council voted last week to approve the new changes.

The council unanimously approved the change on April 15, setting the new rates at city and beach lots to $2.50 per hour and $3.50 per hour at state and county lots. Parking citations will increase from $53 to $59, with a $38 late fee implemented, and monthly commercial parking permits will cost $45 or $250 for a six-month pass.

Parking, or lack thereof, has been a key issue in Manhattan Beach, especially amongst business owners and employees.

"My biggest concern is the parking permit," Councilmember Nina Tarnay said during the meeting. "We should really make an effort to make sure there are spaces available for the employees."

Tarnay said business owners often complain that their employees have to move their cars multiple times a day or risk getting ticketed. Frequently, parking permits are futile as structures are usually full by the time employees arrive at work.

Manhattan Beach Mayor Amy Howorth agreed, saying the city has a "real problem with oversubscription," and that it doesn't make sense to charge a high monthly permit fee for a 50% chance at getting a spot.

"It doesn't seem right to me," Howorth said.

Ultimately, the council decided to set parking citations at $4 lower than what was recommended and voted to raise permit fees from $27 to $45. The increase was lless than the city staff recommended $65 fee.

Still, the new prices are expected to bring in upwards of roughly $3 million in additional annual revenue to help the city support parking needs brought on by increased demands in parking, aging infrastructure and outdated parking meter tech.

"We do recommend we'll be reevaluating these fees on a more consistent basis," Libby Bretthauer, the city's financial service manager, said during the city council meeting. "I think we can all agree that smaller incremental increases are a lot easier to incur rather than the large increases every 10 years."

Bretthauer said the city is currently conducting a study that will take into consideration variable rates across the city depending on location, times of use, days of the week, and different seasons — possibly changing rates again in the future. The findings of the study will be presented to the city council sometime in mid-summer.