More than 100 Pacific Palisades residents showed up at Mort’s Oak Room Monday night for a public hearing on the controversial proposal to implement a preferential parking district within the Palisades. ”After a two-hour debate, which included comments and questions from the floor, there was no clear indication on what the Los Angeles Department of Transportation would recommend, although participants were asked to submit their straw votes at the end of the hearing. ”Residents were also asked to indicate their preference for parking restrictions (see below) and have until October 27 to forward their written comments to LADOT. ”Applications to be included in the district will also be accepted up until that date. ”’This is a truly democratic process,’ said Alan Willis, the chief transportation engineer who chaired the meeting. He presented a brief history of how the proposed district came about (several local residents petitioned for it), an explanation of current parking restrictions (which are generally limited to two-hours) and the results of the traffic survey that was done. ”Emilie Baradi, an engineer with LADOT, explained that on the day the survey was conducted in the proposed district, the available parking spaces occupied by non-residents (judging by addresses and zip codes of the registered vehicle owners) ‘averaged 50 percent’ and that on some streets it was ‘100 percent.’ ”Baradi used a color-coded map to clarify the potential district boundaries, a six-block area which will include McKendree, Whitfield and Rimmer (west of Monument); Via de la Paz over to Fiske and south to Sunset; all of Huntington Palisades from Carey to Pampas Ricas and south to El Cerco Place; and the Via de la Paz mesa from Antioch to Carthage and from Temescal Canyon Road over to Swarthmore. ”The loudest applause of the evening occurred when Jack Allen, an advisor to the Pacific Palisades Community Council (which has not taken a stand on the issue) suggested that the preferential parking district be restricted to the proposal currently being considered by LADOT. ”’Just put it on the blocks that have asked for it and don’t extend it to any other streets,’ he said. ”LADOT also provided residents with a clarification of the proposed parking restrictions for the district, which are as follows: ”Carthage between Swarthmore and Via de la Paz. Residents are applying to be exempt from the existing two-hour parking from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, plus no parking from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m., except by permit. ”Radcliffe between Haverford and Bowdoin, two-hour parking 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, except by permit. ”Alma Real between Toyopa and Frontera, two-hour parking 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, except by permit. ”Monument between Albright and Bestor, two-hour parking 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, except by permit. ”Willis explained that the preferential parking request by Palisades residents is not for more restrictions, but rather for obtaining permits to exempt them from existing parking restrictions’a point that was made by several residents who support the preferential parking proposal. ”Other residents were adamantly opposed to the district. ”’I do not want McKendree included,’ said a resident who lives on that street. Another resident complained about the inconvenience of having to go to West L.A. to obtain the necessary permits, to which Willis replied: ‘This is an inconvenient program. Preferential parking is a last resort. Things have to be very bad for you if you have to do this here.’ ”Should the district be approved, each household can purchase up to three permanent annual permits for $15 each and two transferable visitor permits for $10 each. Both are renewable every four months. Residents can also purchase an unlimited number of one-time use guest permits for $1 each. While LADOT has technically approved the proposed six-block district (after conducting the parking survey and determining that the district meets the City’s program criteria), ‘we are still seeking feedback from the community before approving the establishment of the district,’ Willis said. ” ”He also encouraged residents who may be worried about the ‘spillover’ effect of the proposed district to submit petitions to have their own street included by the October 27 deadline. ‘The petitions require the signatures of two-thirds of the residents on the block,’ Willis said. ”Several audience members also argued at the hearing that the proposed preferential parking district fails to address the core problem, which Allen identified as a ‘lack of available parking in the Palisades.’ ”There were also concerns about how preferential parking will be enforced. ‘Chalking tires is one way,’ said Willis, who explained that the penalty for parking over the two-hour limit in a preferential parking district is $45. ”If LADOT does recommend the district, the proposal will be forwarded to the transportation committee for approval. If the transportation committee approves the proposal, it will then go before L.A. City Council. ”’In the next 30 days we will still be waiting to hear from you,’ Baradi announced as the hearing concluded. ”Further questions on preferential parking and applications can be obtained by calling the LADOT at (323) 913-4600.
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