Finance Committee Reviews Report on Falling Parking Revenues

The Pasadena City Council’s Finance Committee will discuss the impact of the city’s falling revenues from parking garage operations and parking enforcement activities when it meets in a special online meeting at 3 p.m. Monday, April 12.

A report by the city Department of Transportation showed parking garage revenue for fiscal year 2021 is projected to be down $7.5 million from budgeted amounts, and revenue from parking citations, permits and boot operations could go down $6.2 million. 

The report said the lower revenue projections are mainly due to enforcement activity being partially suspended during the pandemic. Late fees and collection activities have also been suspended as a means to maintain service while providing relief to residents and businesses that have been financially impacted by the pandemic. 

Also due to COVID-19, transient parking in the city’s nine parking garages and two surface parking lots were down an average of 75% to 80% during the summer of 2020. It gradually improved from July through November but again lost momentum during the most recent COVID surge, the report said. 

“Using January 2021 as a reference, we have experienced a 78-percent drop in transient revenue when compared to January 2020,” states the report. “The largest drop is estimated at $1.6 million at the Paseo subterranean garage. Revenues from monthly parking permits are down nearly 45 percent, but have remained steady across the various parking garages.”

The Transportation Department added the largest impact from monthly parking permits was at the Marengo Garage, with revenues estimated to be under budget by $450,000 and mostly attributed to a drop in the number of office workers using it.

Revenue from zoning parking credits, which businesses that do not have the minimum required parking spaces pay annually to be able to use space in nearby garages, is also down since the city has not been collecting these fees upon the direction of the City Council, the report said. 

Generally, the Transportation Department expects to be able to improve revenue collection after parking enforcement activities resumed in June 2020 for parking meters and time limits in residential neighborhoods. Enforcement of overnight parking resumed in October, and the Parking Division resumed full enforcement activities last November. 

Members of the public may access Monday’s Financial Committee meeting through http://pasadena.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=9 and on www.pasadenamedia.org.