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| Linda Mar Beach parking, a city revenue source |
"Editor: Regarding the increase in fees for Pacifica State Beach at Linda Mar, this is a state beach, taken over for administration by the City of Pacifica. It is important to note that Pacifica now intends to charge $65 to park in one of three locations for that one beach. An annual state day use parking pass, valid at almost all state beaches and parks, is $75 and discounted for seniors.
Enforcement by the city "rangers" ranges from lax to non-existent. They do empty the trash cans, sweep up around the restrooms and write parking tickets. In addition, they also service the Sharp Park pier and picnic area, where there is no parking fee. So, funds are being diverted from Linda Mar parking fees for routine city maintenance at other locations. Clearly bait and switch from what was promised as a rationale to impose these fees in the first place. Half Moon Bay state beach has real rangers and vigorously enforces their rules. No dogs on the beach and only on leash elsewhere. No alcohol. They patrol and cite. Citizens of Pacifica would be better served if the beach was returned to the State of California and fee parking discontinued."
Note: photograph by Mitchell Scuba from Scuba San Mateo, "Linda Mar Beach dive site information."
Posted by Kathy Meeh
45 comments:
I don't believe that there will be any immediate backtracking on the paid beach parking. However, I project that several years down the road, a review of the Beach parking Program will find that expenses will have outweighed income. Overall, another money losing program.
809, just curious, what's your reasoning with regard to eventual expenses outweighing income? Clearly there was ongoing expense prior, now the goal is at least to break even. Example: 1) past: no revenue, expense, -$100,000+; vs. 2) current: revenue, expense, $00.00+.
All the pot smoking surfers are not paying the daily parking fee and parking in Pedro Point Shopping Center. Another failure down at city hall.
The city claimed to have spent about $150K yearly in beach maintenance for all beaches prior to paid parking. Out of the GF. They'll be spending much more than that now and if revenues don't cover the costs the shortfall will come out of the GF. Unfortunately, in this deal, if revenues exceed costs it appears the excess does not go to the GF. It stays with the beach. I wonder if the "beach" can sometime later repay
the GF? I don't think so. Not only is it unlikely that an excess revenue situation would ever exist, but the deal with the Coastal Commission and State would seem to prohibit any repayment.
We know costs will go up. Start-up costs will become replacement costs, salary increases, repairs, etc. We can raise rates, fees, citations but capacity is limited and both the users and the regulatory agencies apply their own limits. Fingers-crossed but, barring 'someone thinking out of the box', ie, a miracle of municipal accounting, I think it's going to be another city expense. But, hey, whatever we can do for our little buddies the plovers ... The little suckers will probably move to Stinson.
931 Yeah baby! And they're a whole lot happier human being than you.
Kathy,
My reasoning is based on the 2104-2015 Beach Parking spreadsheet(,Item #8 May 27,2014 Council agenda.) The "projected" parking revenue is barely more than $329,800, with an additional"projected" revenue of $227,900 based on parking citations. The staff time is projected to be $321,871 which I assume is already considered to be fixed cost. Then with all the maintenance costs, etc., the projected "revenue surplus" for 2014-2915 is a paltry $216.88
Not much of a surplus for managing what is projected to be a $557,000 revenue stream.
If there is a shortfall in revenue, the program is in the red. And the almost $228,000 in projected citations is likely overambitious, to say the least. Sure, the PPD and Rangers can hand out parking tickets right and left, butonce word gets around, it's just as likely that beach goers will just continue heading south to the Half Moon Bay area.
It's just my opinion, but a projected "revenue surplus" of $216.88 is hardly worth the effort.
I know that Linda Mar is a State Beach and that the State is allowing the City of Pacifica to manage it. But...?
Better to gave that management back to the State and let them handle it.
I don't think it was any secret that the rangers would work all the "beaches". No bait and switch involved. Paid parking is just another really bad idea for Pacifica cooked up by city hall primarily because the city could no longer ignore its legal responsibilities, as beach manager, to protect the plover habitat. Ignored for decades. Simpler, cheaper and invisible solution would have been to give the beach back to the state. It's not like anyone would notice a difference. The State would be responsible for compliance and we'd save a bundle. Yeah, like that would ever happen here.
Give it back? Sorry 212 that's impossible because the dome of stupid is permanently in place over Pacifica.
212, at a prior city council meeting, similar to 109, I heard the projected gross beach parking revenue stated as $150,000. Last night the number verbalized was $100,000. You've got the spreadsheet numbers, all very good.
True tourists and locals can travel south or north to a "free" beach. But under the current arrangement, whatever dollars are taken in balance against what the city would otherwise pay-out to manage the beach site without parking fees. The difference is the savings (that $100,000-$150,000 number). Now the city is spending more, the beach is a little safer, a little cleaner, etc., and the assumed beach specific goal is break-even.
A point was made last night that the fee parking signage should clearly visible. It isn't, and that is potentially unfair to those being ticketed. There was no clear response from the city that we will fix that omission immediately, however.
150, no 100, no we never spent a dime on the beach. I love accounting. Numbers can be made to say anything. Especially true in government accounting. They think in the box, outside the box, the possibilities are endless. Different story in the private sector. There, that kind of creativity gets you fired or behind bars, shareholders lose their savings and companies go out of business. I'm sure the paid parking scheme will break even. I can feel it. Can we put a plaque on it?
Gee, if the Reileys have their numbers right, we have the Mercedes of beaches right here. Nothing low rent about us. Be proud Pacifica. Park over by F&E but with pride.
Kathy, about that "fee parking signage." Perhaps Pacifica is taking a page from what happened at South Lake Tahoe last Summer when they implemented their beach parking fee plan by contracting with a private SoCal company. On the first day of implementation, there was no signage, no pay kiosk, but the rangers were on hand diligently writing out parking citations.(LTE,Lake Tahoe News).
While easily contested in court, it does show the stupidity or perhaps the deviousness of poor planning. Certainly there must have been a few who found it easier to pay the fine rather than jump through all the hoops necessary for dismissal.
Just to add to the infeasibility of $227,900 in parking violation revenue. At the projected cost of $45 per citation, the PPD and Rangers would have to issue an average of 138 tickets, day in, day out, for each of the 365 days of the calendar year. Let's get real here. How many days are there even that many vehicles parked at the three pay lots. Not many,would be my guess.
Someone at the PB&R has a mighty sharp pencil, not to mention the audacity, to come up to those numbers on that published spreadsheet.
And just how long before the claims for carpal tunnel injuries start to roll in costing taxpayers even more money ?
Give the whole mess back to the State; they love those money losing programs.
@236 Common sense would support giving it back to the state. Let them deal with the compliance issues, enforcement, maintenance. It's highly unlikely anyone would notice a difference other than a better run beach. The State is not going to roll it up and take it away. And fewer decisions for council to avoid making!
You are correct about the numbers but infeasible is how we roll in this town. You gotta love municipal accounting. It's a different universe.
236 Agree it's time to give it back. If all we can hope for is to break even (and that's optimistic) then we can get that from the State operating it and avoid all the headaches. It will be an invisible change to beach goers. BTW you should check your math.
Move the decimal point over 1. It's not 138 it's 13.875 (round up to 14) citations per day, every day of the year.
Thanks 356. Even 14 citations, every day for 365 days, may be a stretch. The game the city is playing here is all about raising fees and fines. How often and how high can they go to insure we break even? When do the regulatory agencies call a halt or the public pass us by? All this just to maybe break-even. It's particularly ironic that one of the reasons Pacifica took over mgmt of that beach was to keep it free.
Many days in the Winter when it's raining the beach parking lot had just a couple cars or no cars.
The majority of the tickets will be written in the summer time.
The city and the owners of Pedro Point need to do something about the deadbeat surfers parking there.
Yesterday the deadbeats were parking around Crespi and on Roberts Road to avoid the parking fee.
The owners of the Pedro Point Center do have signs posted ( Big Guys Towing) advising that cars might be towed. To date, this hasn't occurred, and hopefully, warning notices would be issued first. Guess they have there reasons ( for the time being) to allow the free parking. I don't see any problem with people parking on Roberts Road or on the first blocks of Crespi as they are willing to walk a few blocks to the beach. parking on those stretches has never been a problem and until it does, I say just leave it alone. As long as parking doesn't spill over into the residential areas of lower Linda Mar, we don't really have any problems. I wouldn't want Pacifica to wind up like Santa Cruz or Capitola where a guy has to have a college degree just to figure out where the legal parking spots are.
Visitors come to Pacifia to enjoy our beach. Many haul in their own picnic lunch, leave the debris behind (either in a garbage can or on the beach itself)and don't spend a penny in our town. The parking fee should be considered a ticket to enter and enjoy this Pacifica space. As far as the surfers, if you only surf once or twice a week the fee to buy a year long parking pass is cents a day. Consider this the cost to be able to enjoy this service and use the bathroom onsite.
It has real potential to fail to break even and therefore become another expense for our impoverished city, but at least Pacifica is finally stepping up to its responsibilities for that beach. Some what.
I was ticketed for parking without a permit because there was no sign near my car. I parked in the first row at Linda mar facing the ocean. No visible sign. Talking to city manager, I am told there is proper signage. She has no answer to whether they expect people to patrol the parking lot looking for signs to read or whether people pulling off highway 1 should be coming to a stop at the sign there to read it. Will be fighting this. I am happy to comply with parking fee, but notice needs to be proper.
You out to prove a point or are you new in town?
Been a business owner for over 40 years and beachgoer for over 20. What's your name and bio anonymous? When I see a problem I address it.
Shaban, catchy name BTW. You are certainly in the right town. You go, tiger!
Shaban. I agree with you, the parking citation situation is ridiculous.... No signage so they can prey on all of the out-of-town folks heading down route 1.
I stopped for 5 minutes to let my kid go to the bathroom and when we got back to the car they had already written the ticket... and there is not contesting... the simply rubber stamp as denied... done by a third party company with a conflict of interest.... this is bad for Pacifica... gives them a bad reputation as just money grubbing and looking to tax people for just driving thru town... total BS... I will never stop and shop in Pacifica ever again if they do not waive this ticket... So for all the business owners.... think about how this impacts your business...
I'm guessing the impact is zero. Pacifica has very little to offer. You a big spender? Be glad you found a public bathroom. Any other pet peeves?
More deadbeats will park in the Pedro Point Shopping Center. Fresh & Easy is closing the store in April!
You heard it here first.
546 That's awful. I'm sure the city is sending a sternly worded letter to someone, somewhere. Or not.
Have u ever noticed how Kathy's FlatCat really is the perfect emblem for Pacifica?
8:35, are you being sarcastic? Lorie Tinfow passed the buck of writing a letter to Kimco to the Economic Development Manager not yet hired, and who knows maybe never hired. Noone in their first cut wanted the job, so we are probably gonna get a greenhorn.
I want to blame the council for Fresh and Easy closing. I want to believe that the closure can be stopped, and the jobs of the freindly fresh and easies will be saved. Our community will be much less. Let's not forget that Jim Vreeland bird dogged F&E and Pedro Center revitalization and got it done back in 2008. Sad to see one of his achievements close its doors. Mayor Karen and Vice Mayor Mary Ann, our pride in Pacifica is dwindling. We need some leadership from the Council to address the vacant storefront problem.
2008 Article about F&E opening.
http://freshneasybuzz.blogspot.com/2010/07/vacant-fresh-easy-neighborhood-market.html
Yeah 918. Sarcastic. Tinfow delegated the Kimco letter to a non-existent staff member. Nihart wanted the Economic Dev Committee to handle it--Oh boy, now that would have had Kimco quaking in their boots. Something tells me no one wanted their name on a letter that would simply highlight how naive and delusional this city is. No need to sign your name to the pathetic proof.
Re Beach Parking and Signage. There are very clear signs at the entrance to the lot and throughout the lots. One just needs to look. For the "quick" parking for a view, photo or bathroom break, there are a few short term parking spots. The rangers are doing a great job of keeping the beach cleaner than it's ever been (and hey people, you can do your part too!).
Park, pee and pay! What's your problem?
Our first time parking here and we were out walking for 20 minutes and got a $43 fine!? Despicable and low for to fine someone that much for a first time offense. We pulled in, looked around, didn't see any place to pay so we figured it was free parking. Kind of pissed off, glad this is our last week here in Pacifica. It has so much potential to be a nice place, but small thinking and greed is taking over.
10:09 you figured wrong. Apparently you're not very observant.
It's not greed. It's paid parking at a state beach. That's how the parking lot, bathrooms, beach, etc. are maintained. There has to be some mechanism for enforcement of the paid parking. You encountered it.
If this was San Francisco, the fine would be 10 times that. And your car would have been towed.
1155, then it's easy to agree with 1009. The cost and penalty at our State Beach, and in San Francisco for a parking violation (if true), wow-- both seem way out of line.
At Linda Mar Beach, "the parking lot, bathrooms, beach, etc." all existed before fees were charged for parking.
Then you agree that parking should be free at Linda Mar beach.
Been about 2 years since paid parking at LM beach lots kicked in. Any official feedback available as to whether the fees and fines are paying their way?
someone really needs to figure out what to do with availavle space around us in pacifica. we do need parking, and not at an outrageous cost. we also need housing at not at an outrageous cost, we also need good shops that carry varieties of food like fresh and easy had, but all we have is a monopoly of 3 safeways and almost all lucerne products. and pacifica is getting so populated we are like trapped sardines
that keep paying. good luck with the ticket 43. dollars is alot of money.
Everything turns to shit!
I wish they made me the parking czar. I would put warning letters on the deadbeat surfers car for 2 weeks. I would run an ad in the Tribune for a month warning the parking is going to be enforced. Then you tag every single of the deadbeats, then you start towing.
The merchants in Pedro Point tried to get the city to enforce it. Mary Ann, gave her sad little midwestern song and dance about how many staff hours went into this and we couldn't do anything
There is no will in this city.
We shall wallow around in pity for ourselves.
1120 Nope. Couldn't care less. Happy.
Now it is 2019. The fees increase on the regular. 7 for 4 hours, 9 for the day. It feels like the 8a-8p has grown. I thought it was 7-7 a while back.
Robert Liebsch just killed Pacifica. Rip. Nancy Hall for the win.
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