Pico Merchants Offer Weekend Parking

By Jorge Casuso

Faced with an immediate parking crunch and a looming preferential parking zone that can eliminate street spaces in the area, merchants at the eastern edge of Pico Boulevard will begin providing weekend paid parking starting next week.

The arrangement with Standard Parking will create 86 spaces - which will go for $2 a car -- at the lot on 33rd Street and Pico for patrons of nearby nightspots. They include the restaurants Sabor Too and Flint's, as well as the Unurban Cafe and McCabe's Guitar Shop, which provide entertainment. The upscale restaurant, Valentino, has not signed off on the deal.

"I'm just thrilled this is coming together," said Gwen Pentacost, the city's senior administrative analyst for economic development. "It will alleviate the Friday and Saturday night problem."

Pentacost, who has been helping merchants organize a business improvement district, says area businesses will be earmarking other lots for potential use. When the business district is formed, it will sign the contracts and be responsible for shortfalls as well as profits generated by the parking lots.

"It isn't something where the city is picking up the tab," Pentacost said. "It's something the business community is doing in a proactive sense. They're coming up with their own solutions."

Pico merchants have organized a committee that will be asking area merchants to create an improvement district that will be paid by business assessment taxes. The City Council must sign off on the district unless 51 percent of the merchants protest. Merchants on the Third Street Promenade, Montana Avenue and Main Street already have business improvement districts.

Meanwhile, the Pico committee has been meeting with neighbors who are pushing for preferential parking zones. Earlier this month, the City Council delayed implementation of a preferential parking zone on Urban Ave. until June 1. Merchants had asked for the delay in the hopes that parking alternatives could be found and the need for a preferential zone would be averted.

But even if parking alternatives are found before June 1, it is unlikely that neighbors who have been pushing for the zone will back down.

"I don't really see it changing the need for preferential parking," said Faron Isom, the neighbor who initiated the drive for preferential parking. "As the businesses continue to grow and other businesses come in, there is still going to be an increased need for more parking."

To reverse the preferential parking zone request, 66 percent of the area residents - the same number that petitioned to create the zone --would have to voluntarily vote to turn in down, Pentacost said.

"The council made it real clear that they wouldn't be waffling on preferential parking zone," she said.

Still, the recent dialogue between merchants and residents to come up with alternative parking solutions bodes well for the area, and for the city which has seen parking wars erupt across its 8.3 square miles.

"I see us working to come up with a long-term solution," said Isom, who will be sitting in on the merchant's meetings.

"The hope is that what we're doing on Pico can be repeated elsewhere," Pentacost said. "It's going to be tough. The work isn't over."