1 City Council Meeting: September 30, 2025 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION
3.16.120 TO EXEMPT ADDITIONAL ZERO EMISSION VEHICLES FROM PARKING
METER PAYMENT REQUIREMENTS
WHEREAS, environmental sustainability is a core value of the City of Santa Monica; and
WHEREAS, the City expresses this value through a broad range of policies, including policies supporting environmentally sustainable transportation alternatives, such as clean air vehicles; and
WHEREAS, for over fifteen years, the City has granted various exemptions from parking charges as a means of encouraging motorists to utilize clean air vehicles; and WHEREAS, in addition to these environmental goals and policies, the City has also adopted a policy of managing parking assets to maximize City revenues; and WHEREAS, the balance between these competing policies must be adjusted from time to time to promote the public’s welfare; and
WHEREAS, the California legislature adopted a Clean Air Vehicles (CAV) decal program, administered by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), in order to encourage the purchase and lease of low-emission vehicles; and WHEREAS, the DMV previously issued White CAV decals to zero emission vehicles (100% battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell) and certain liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) fueled vehicles, but these decals expired on January 1, 2019; that meet the same stringent clean air standards as vehicles issued red or purple clean air decals by the DMV; and
2 WHEREAS, vehicles issued White CAV decals meet the same stringent clean air standards as vehicles issued Red or Purple CAV decals, which remain valid; and WHEREAS, Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 3.16.120 exempts vehicles bearing Red and Purple CAV decals from parking meter payments but does not exempt vehicles bearing expired White CAV decals from those requirements; and WHEREAS, in February 2019, City Council expanded the exemption in Section
3.16.120 to include vehicles displaying expired White CAV decals allows early adopters of the cleanest vehicles to receive the same parking benefits as more recent adopters and appropriately recognizes that the exemption is tied to the emission levels of the vehicle itself rather than the date of DMV decal issuance.
WHEREAS, the parking benefits for most CAV decal holders, with purple decal holders unintentionally excluded, expires on September 30, 2025. This code amendment clarifies that the parking benefits expires for all CAV decal holders on September 30, 2025.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 3.16.120 is hereby amended to read as follows:
3.16.120 Operation of Parking Meters.
(a) Unless exempt pursuant to subsection (b) or (c) of this Section, when any vehicle is parked in a metered parking space, the operator immediately shall deposit payment in the manner prescribed on the parking meter or at the parking space. Unless otherwise permitted by law, no person shall park a vehicle in a designated metered parking space in excess of the maximum parking time limit set by the City.
3 (b) Subsection (a) of this Section shall not require an operator of a vehicle to deposit payment in a parking meter when:
(1) The parking meter indicates an unexpired portion remains of the period for which payment had been previously made; or
(2) An officer of the Fire or Police Department has determined a period of emergency exists; or
(3) A In compliance with the directions of a police officer or traffic control sign or signal; or
(4) A posted sign at the parking space indicates words similar to “Except Sunday” or “Except Sundays and Holidays” and the day is a Sunday or a holiday. (c) Subsection (a) of this Section shall not require an operator of a vehicle to deposit payment in a parking meter if the vehicle is lawfully displaying one of the following decals, placards or plates issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles:
(1) A current and valid Clean Air Vehicle (CAV) decal; or (2) A Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) decal issued prior to 2011; or (3) A Green CAV decal issued prior to 2019; or
(4) A White CAV decal issued prior to 2019; or
(5) A Red CAV decal issued prior to 2022; or
(6) A Purple CAV decal issued prior to 2023; or
(7) Any special recognition plate.
The exemptions for zero-emission vehicle decals set forth in subsections (c)(1) through (c)(6) above shall automatically expire on September 30, 2025. 4 SECTION 2. Any provision of the Municipal Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effectuate the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the Ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 4. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become effective 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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HEIDI VON TONGELN
Interim City Attorney