City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: January 23, 2024
Agenda Item: 10.C
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Anuj Gupta, Director of Transportation, Parking Operations (DOT) Subject: Introduction and First Reading of an Ordinance Amending Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 3.12.900 on Overnight Parking Permits for Oversized Vehicles
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of no possibility of significant effect pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines.
2. Introduce for first reading the attached ordinance amending Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 3.12.900 on overnight parking permits for oversized vehicles.
Summary
To deter the proliferation of oversized vehicles (OVs) from using the public right of way for long-term parking, staff recommends amending Santa Monica Municipal Code (SMMC) section 3.12.900 as follows: (1) require that the oversized vehicle be parked within a two-block radius of the permitted Santa Monica resident’s address; (2) limit the duration of an oversized vehicle permit for a non-Santa Monica resident to seven days per month; and (3) authorize certain City staff to adopt administrative regulations that are consistent with the ordinance and authorize the Santa Monica Police Department to enforce such administrative regulations.
Discussion
In 1975, the Council adopted Ordinance 988 (CCS) (similar to the current SMMC section 3.12.900), which defined OVs and established a permitting process 2 of 6
(administered by the Chief of Police or his/her representative) for non-commercial OVs to park in the public right of way (ROW) during overnight hours. This ordinance established the definition of an oversized vehicle as any vehicle that “together with all fixtures, accessories or property with the exception of single post radio antennas, measures more than eight feet in width, or eight feet in height, or twenty feet in length.” The duration of the permit was established as two 24-hour periods with not more than three permits in any 30 days for one resident.
In 2012, the Council adopted Ordinance 2403 (CCS), which built upon Ordinance 988 (CCS) and established SMMC section 3.12.900 (Overnight parking permits for oversized vehicles). Ordinance 2403 removed the “Chief of Police” language and replaced it with “City” allowing departments/divisions other than the Police Department (such as the Parking Division) to issue OV permits. Ordinance 2403 also clarified that the OV permit is for “non-commercial passenger vehicles, as defined by the Vehicle Code, which together with all fixtures, accessories or property with the exception of single post radio antennas, measures more than eight feet in width, or eight feet in height, or twenty feet in length.”
In 2013, the Council adopted Ordinance 2416 (CCS) removing the two 24-hour permit periods, and three maximum permits for a 30-day period, allowing residents to obtain consecutive 30-day permits.
Under SMMC section 3.12.900, City residents can obtain a 30-day OV permit free of charge and renew these permits every 30 days. There is no requirement for the vehicle to be registered to a resident, only that the permit be issued to a resident. This itself leads to potential abuse of the program from residents who can assist any non-resident of the City seeking free OV storage.
At any given time, there are roughly 45 to 50 active OV permits in the City granted under the SMMC section 3.12.900. These OVs are parked throughout the City in the right of way (ROW), mostly on residential streets. They consist of full-size recreational vehicles (RVs) and smaller (but still oversized) “sprinter” vans. 3 of 6
The Santa Monica Police Department’s (SMPD) Parking Enforcement Division has observed low parking turnover of permitted OVs parked on streets with lesser parking restrictions (i.e., streets not regulated by preferential parking). OVs are generally not used as a primary form of transportation and are often stored on the ROW and moved to avoid parking citations for street sweeping once a week.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) Parking Division and SMPD receive several complaints per month regarding some of these oversized vehicles. Resident complaints generally consist of the following:
• OVs taking up additional parking in areas where street parking is in high demand. • Limited parking availability and infrequent parking turnover of OVs. • Vehicles are not being parked in the vicinity of where the permitted resident lives. • OVs being used for storage of personal belongings.
• OV owners frequently choose wider residential streets with more available parking and not near the permitted resident’s address.
City staff is proposing amending SMMC section 3.12.900 to deter OVs from continuously using the ROW for long-term parking/storage. These proposed amendments will support on-street parking availability. In addition, the amendment will create a more equitable system of granting these permits, prevent the potential sale of these permits, and more equitably manage the use of the ROW.
PROPOSED CHANGES
Two Block Radius for Oversized Vehicle Permits
The first proposed SMMC amendment is to add a two-block radius restriction for OVs.
Under this amendment, the permitted oversized vehicle must be parked within two blocks of the address of the permitted resident. This aligns with the City’s preferential parking permit policy, wherein a permitted regular-sized vehicle must be parked within two blocks of the permit holder’s address in a preferential parking permit zone. This 4 of 6
amendment would prohibit individuals from abusing this permit and parking/storing their oversized vehicle anywhere in the City.
7-Day Permit for Visitor Oversized Vehicles (for Non-Resident Registered Vehicles)
The second proposed amendment is to limit visitor oversized vehicle permits to 7 days per every 30 days for visiting OVs. Currently, the code is written to allow one permit every 30 days with no limit on the length of the permit, and there is no requirement that the owner of the vehicle be a resident of the City, only that the permit holder must be a resident. Therefore, a resident can obtain a permit for a non-resident. This was intended to be used by residents expecting out-of-town visitors with an OV, enabling the visitors to park their OV in the ROW while visiting. However, several people have openly informed Parking Division permitting staff that they seek and obtain “sponsors” (people who are residents and obtain OV permits for non-residents), and the sponsors obtain OV permits for non-residents every 30 days. Parking Division and SMPD staff frequently receive complaints, but an amendment to the language of SMMC section
3.12.900 is needed to address the issue.
The proposed amendment would require that the duration of an OV permit for a nonresident’s oversized vehicle be limited to seven consecutive days per month instead of 30 days. This would align usage with more of a visitor model. The length of the permit (not the resident/non-resident status) is similar to regulations in the City of Los Angeles and Culver City, which both allow 3-day maximum length permits. It is also similar (in length) to the original Santa Monica ordinance that allowed 6 consecutive days for OV parking (3 consecutive 2-day permits). A Santa Monica resident would still be able to obtain a 30-day oversized vehicle permit for their own oversized vehicle.
Authorize Designated City Staff to Establish Administrative Regulations The third proposed amendment authorizes the City Manager or his/her designee to adopt administrative regulations that are consistent with the ordinance and authorizes SMPD to enforce such administrative regulations. This will allow minor changes and 5 of 6
adjustments to be made at the staff level. Similar administrative regulation authorization language can be found in the preferential parking zone ordinance.
Environmental Review
The amendments to the SMMC on oversize vehicle parking are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the CEQA Guidelines, which states that CEQA does not apply, “where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.” The amendments would make programmatic changes to the oversized vehicle parking permit process.
Therefore, it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.
Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
1/17/1975 Original ordinance #988 establishing oversized vehicle regulations including the two 24-period permit and 3
maximum permits per 30-day period.
07/24/2012 Ordinance #2403 amending oversized vehicle regulations by changing “Chief of Police” as the issuing body to “City”. 02/26/2013 Ordinance #2416 amending oversized vehicle regulations to remove the two 24-hour maximum permit limits to a single 30-day permit.
09/11/2018 Ordinance #2587 amending the oversized vehicle ordinance but making no noticeable changes.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the recommended action. Staff will return to Council if specific budget actions are required in the future.
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Prepared By: Zach Pollard, Parking Manager
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Ordinance 988
B. Ordinance 2403
C. Ordinance 2416
D. Ordinance 2587
E. Oversized Vehicle Amendment Ordinance A
F. Written Comments
G. PowerPoint Presentation