Coastal Commission to Decide Fate of Ocean Park's Preferential Parking

By Teresa Rochester

The fate of approximately 936 preferential parking spaces in the city's Ocean Park Neighborhood may be decided Thursday when the issue goes before the California Coastal Commission for a second time.

Torn between the public's right to affordable beach access and residents' right to street parking, the commission delayed it's decision -which commissioners said will set statewide precedent - at a meeting in January. The commission mandated that the city work with commission staff to negotiate a cheaper rate in Ocean Park's two public beach lots.

At stake are seven preferential parking zones blanketing Ocean Park that were created by the City Council between 1983 and 1989 without commission approval. When the commission discovered the zones, the city was forced to file after the fact permit applications, which they did under protest. The city claims it is its right to create preferential parking zones and not within the jurisdiction of a state commission.

Coastal Commission staff are recommending the commission approve the parking permits with special conditions. The conditions mandate that the permit expire after five years, that any changes in hours or boundaries of the preferential parking zones will require commission approval and that the city mitigate the adverse impacts of the program on public access and recreation.

Last week, the City Council lowered its parking rates in the city lot south of the pier from $7 to $5 and converted a number of the spaces to short-term metered parking. Officials have said the decision is not related to the Coastal Commissions actions.

City officials have said they will file suit against the commission if the applications are not approved.

The California Coastal Commission will meet at 9 a.m. on the Queen Mary at 1126 Queens Highway in Long Beach.