From: Michael Brown <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, February 29, 2024 7:21 PM
To: City Clerk Group <[email protected]>
Subject: Comment for agenda item at March 5 City Council Meeting
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I am writing this email to express my disappointment in the decision to only ban large vehicle parking along Phelps Road. Although these vehicles should be banned, this decision only mitigates part of the problem. Persons living in their cars (not large vehicles) continue to park along Phelps leaving their trash, urine, etc., along this road. The original recommendation from city staff was to ban ALL parking along Phelps, which would have alleviated this problem. Unfortunately, the members of the Ordinance Review Standing Committee ignored this recommendation and instead unwisely put forth the decision to only ban large vehicles.
I urge the full City Council to adopt the original staff recommendation and ban ALL parking along Phelps Road. Half-measures are never the answer.
Michael Brown
Goleta
CITY OF GOLETA
CITY COUNCIL MEETING 3/5/2024
AGENDA ITEM C4
The Ordinance Review Committee reviewed a propose parking ban on Pacific Oaks Road and Phelps Road and submitted agenda item c4. This resolution varies from the resolution considered by the Committee by adding two "Whereas" paragraphs that provided for parking for special types of vehicles and acknowledging that there are other areas of the city where large vehicles can park. The substance of the resolution is that parking by large vehicles, including vehicles with disabled placards, will be prohibited. Apparently, owners can obtain a a free ov�rsize vehicle parking permit but the process may be a burden.
The report accompanying the proposed resolution states that the need to prohibit parking by large vehicles is the danger to public health and safety. The apparent hope is that large vehicles will park elsewhere. The resolution states that large vehicles interfere with and obstruct visual access to streets, traffic control signs and signals, other vehicles , pedestrians, bicycles and sidewalks substantially increasing the risk of collisions. Large vehicles decrease the general welfare by obstructing visual access to scenic resources, such as the coastal mountains, beaches and ocean. Finally large vehicles require substantial space and interferes with access to Girsh Park. All seemingly good reasons to impose a parking ban.
Unfortunately, there is no mention of vehicles used as a place of abode where people reside in their vehicle. These vehicles lack cooking, sleeping and sanitary amenities. People can and do rely on the streets for disposal of trash and garbage and sometimes excrement. There are no nearby bathrooms. While this may be a homeless person issue, it certainly should not be ignored. Disease may be the result of such carelessness. Parking regulation may encourage parking at city facilities that have such facilities.
I would suggest that the Ordinance Review Committee and this Council should further examine the manner in which the city deals with persons who live in their vehicles and address those issues with appropriate regulations.
Comments of Bill Rosen
A Pacific Oaks Road resident
From: Adam Smith
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Re: Follow-up to Ordinance Review Committee Meeting regarding Phelps parking Date: Tuesday, March 5, 2024 7:37:31 AM
Clerk group,
This is a reminder that I submitted this written comment for the Council's continued consideration of a large vehicle ban on parking along Phelps Rd.
In short:
if a ban on large vehicle parking on Phelps is enacted. The already existing, temporary, and limited annual use, permit program for large vehicle parking should continue to be allowed along Phelps for city residents.
See below for full comment.
Please remember to add this written comment to the Council's material.
Thank you,
Adam
On Tue, Jan 23, 2024, 2:58
PM Adam Smith <[email protected]> wrote:
I appreciate that the committee is addressing the issue with extended/overnight parking along Phelps and Pacific Oaks Roads.
At the meeting, it sounded like the committee settled
on starting with a recommendation to ban oversized vehicle parking at all times along Phelps and Pacific Oaks.
Once this was reached, there was no discussion on the existing City temporary parking permit program for oversized overnight vehicle parking.
I am a homeowner on Cannon Green and a few times a year, I use this city permit program to legally park my camping trailer (normally stored at Lake Cachuma) overnight on Phelps before a planned camping trip.
This allows us to pack the trailer before our trip.
This is
vital as there is no availability to park our trailer closer to our home in the Cannon Green Townhouses.
This upcoming ordinance recommendation needs to allow for this existing City permit program as it benefits the local residents and does not cause any of the complained-about behaviors that is leading to the ordinance change.
Thank you,
Adam Smith
--
Adam J Smith
[email protected]