City Commission Will Discuss New Fees to Park at City Parks

The City of Pasadena’s Department of Public Works has prepared a report intended to encourage discussion by the Recreation and Parks Commission regarding the concept of establishing parking fees for the use of City parks.

Public Works Administrator Charles Peretz, in a memorandum prepared Commission meeting set for Tuesday, January 9, said staff has performed research about parking fees after the Commission’s chair, Edgar Gutierrez, who represents District 1, made a comment on the issue last November 7.

“In an effort to have an informed discussion about this idea, staff researched other municipal practices regarding levying park parking fees,” Peretz said in the memorandum. “The municipalities reviewed as part of this research charged parking fees at their parks to capture revenue for investment in park infrastructure.”

Results of the research are expected to be presented Tuesday at the Commission’s meeting.

Among the jurisdictions mentioned in the memorandum is the City of Los Angeles, which charges $4 an hour on 423 metered parking spaces at its 4,300-acre Griffith Park; the park also contains 581 free parking spaces.

The City of Claremont charges $5 for every four hours on Saturdays and Sundays at each of 179 metered parking spaces located at residential areas near Claremont Hills Wilderness Park and Thompson Creek Trail, and $3 on other days, according to Peretz’s memorandum. Annual parking permits at both locations cost $100.

Peretz also included research that said in some of 182 parks in Los Angeles County, parking fees are $10 a day, with a $5 reduced fee for seniors’ and disabled persons’ vehicles. In Santa Monica, beach parking lots range from $3 per hour to $10 to $15 per entry, the memorandum said.

It also noted that the cities of Glendale and South Pasadena do not charge any parking fees at their public parks.

“This report is intended to promote an initial discussion about this concept,” the memorandum said. “Should the City consider charging fees in identified park locations, impact studies would be needed to determine impacts to the park itself and surrounding areas.”