DATE: MAY 16, 2023 – CONTINUED
JUNE 13, 2023
DEPARTMENT: PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT/POLICE
FROM: ROBERTO FILICE, CHIEF OF POLICE
DAVID JACOBS, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
BY: ANDREW EASTERLING, TRAFFIC ENGINEER
ANISSA TORRES, MANAGEMENT ANALYST
TONYA ERICKSON, POLICE SERVICES ADMINISTRATOR
TITLE: PARKING CITATION FEE UPDATE
RECOMMENDED MOTION:
A motion approving a Resolution adopting the updated schedule of parking citation fines (Attachment 1).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The last time the City updated the parking citation fee schedule was in 2017 and 2018. The last fee update included fees for many but not all of the municipal code and California Vehicle Code parking violations. City staff are proposing a fee update which establishes citation amounts for all of the municipal code and California Vehicle Code violations and eliminates obsolete or duplicate codes. City staff has completed a comparative analysis of nearby jurisdictions and is recommending a proposed parking citation fee update. The proposed parking citation fee update includes a complete list of parking citations and establishes a comparable rate to nearby agencies.
BACKGROUND:
In 1992, the State of California passed Assembly Bill 408, which allowed agencies to establish their own parking citation fines. The City of Salinas is allowed to establish the amount of parking violation citation fees. However, the California Vehicle Code Section 40203.5 states, “to the extent possible, issuing agencies within the same county shall standardize parking penalties.”.
The City of Salinas established a bail schedule for parking violations in 1994 (Attachment 2). The bail schedule was increased in 2004 (Attachment 3) and then updated again in 2017 (Attachment 4). In 2018 three (3) new municipal code parking violations were added for oversize vehicles (Attachment 5). Throughout all of the updates there remain several municipal code and California Vehicle Code violations that the City does not currently have an adopted citation fee for. The proposed parking citation fee update includes a complete and comprehensive list of parking citations and establishes a comparable rate to nearby agencies, in accordance with California Vehicle Code Section 40203.5.
City staff has prepared the proposed schedule of parking citation fines (Attachment 1). The update includes a complete fee schedule for every municipal code and California Vehicle Code violation used by parties conducting Parking Enforcement in the City of Salinas. In accordance with California Vehicle Code requirements, staff completed a comparative analysis of parking fines adopted in nearby cities. Several nearby cities were non-responsive and City staff were not able to obtain rates from every agency within the County. The analysis includes Monterey, Marina, Seaside, Carmel by the Sea, Soledad, and Greenfield. King City and Gonzales were non-responsive to staff requests. Each city may have different municipal code violations, and not every responsive City had a complete bail schedule for all of the parking-related municipal codes and California Vehicle Code violations. In order to have a more complete sampling of other agencies, City staff also included a comparison to Watsonville, Santa Cruz, and Gilroy to supplement the available data from within the County.
The attached proposed updated schedule of parking citation fees provides a comparison of the available parking citation fees for similar violations from other nearby cities. City staff has included an average calculation from the available data for comparison. In some cases, there are notable statistical outliers in the sample that effects the average calculation, and some consideration was given to their effect. Generally, staff’s recommended citation fee amount is based off of the average calculation rounded to the nearest $5 increment or aligned with similar types of parking violations. The baseline parking violation was set at $45 for many of the common parking violations. Citations for code sections with similar or the same violation are proposed with consistent citation fee amounts to standardize the fee schedule as much as possible.
TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION:
The parking citation fee update was presented to the Traffic and Transportation Commission at its January 12, 2023, meeting. Commissioner Cox recommended modifying the proposed fee schedule to align citations CVC 4000(a)(1): Expired Registration, and CVC 5204(a): Tab not displayed closer to the surveyed average. An amended motion was made to recommend City Council approve the parking citation fee schedule (Attachment 1), with the exception of violations CVC 4000(a)(1): Expired Registration set to $65, and CVC 5204(a): Tab no Displayed set to $55. The Commission voted (5-0) to approve the amended recommendation to approve the parking citation fee schedule (Attachment 1), with the exception of violations CVC 4000(a)(1): Expired Registration set to $65, and CVC 5204(a): Tab no Displayed set to $55.
FINANCE COMMITTEE:
The parking citation fee update was presented to the Finance Committee at its March 7, 2023, meeting. The Committee voted (2-1) to approve the proposed parking citation fee schedule (Attachment 1). Where as committee members Craig, and Osornio voted in support of the item and committee member Rocha voted against the item.
CEQA CONSIDERATION:
Not a Project. City of Salinas has determined that the proposed action is not a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15378 and 15061(b)(3).
STRATEGIC PLAN INITIATIVE:
Parking enforcement is a public service which supports the Council’s initiatives of “Public Safety”, “Economic Development,” and “Infrastructure and Environmental Sustainability”. Parking regulations may exist for a variety of reasons. Red zones, and other no parking zones are typically established for public safety purposes to keep sight lines clear or to provide emergency service access. Occasional, parking regulations may be used to support businesses and provide parking turnover for customer convenience. In some cases, parking regulations also serve provide sweepers access to the curb to improve infrastructure and environmental sustainability.
FISCAL AND SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT:
There is no impact to the General Fund. The Parking Enforcement Program is an enterprise account where the revenues offset the operating cost. The proposed updated schedule of parking citation fines is not anticipated to substantially change the Parking Enforcement Program operations.
ATTACHMENTS:
Resolution
Attachment 1: Proposed Schedule of Parking Citation Fines Attachment 2: Bail Schedule Comparison
Attachment 3: 1994 Schedule for Parking Violations
Attachment 4: 2004 Parking Fines Update
Attachment 5: 2017 Parking Fines Update
Attachment 6: 2018 Parking Fines Update
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