by Kevin Cody
Hermosa Beach’s holiday tradition of placing red bags over silver meters from Black Friday until Christmas Day received unanimous Council approval at the Tuesday, October 24 Council meeting.
But the approval was preceded by a lengthy discussion about the program’s costs to the city, and benefits to businesses.
A staff report put the cost of the free holiday parking at over $1 million since the program began in 2013.
This holiday season, the lost parking meter revenue will be an estimated $143,000. Lost parking ticket revenue is estimated at another $43,000, the staff report stated.
“There is no data that shows an increase in sales due to the free parking,” Councilmember Raymond Jackson said.
“I will support it. But understand when the chamber comes back for another fee waiver… there needs to be something coming back. The sales tax that didn’t pass, it may be coming back. If it does, I hope the business community supports it,” Jackson said.
Mayor Justin Massey also expressed concern about the program’s lack of supporting data.
“All we have is anecdotal input. But I’ll support it because of the good will that comes with it, and because it aligns us with what Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach are doing,” Massey said.
Chamber President Jessica Accamando acknowledged the chamber has been unsuccessful in gathering data to show the free parking increases sales.
“What we do have is the spirited support of business owners and residences. There’s not a single business that doesn’t love it,” Accamando said.
She added the chamber will “double down” on efforts to prevent employees from parking at the red bagged meters.
The red bags indicating free parking will be placed on 388 silver meters along Hermosa and Pier Avenues, and in city owned lots, excluding the downtown parking structure, which has a central metering system. The two hour parking limit will continue to be enforced. The 1,155 yellow parking meters in the downtown, and along the beach, where residents with permits park for free, will not be bagged. ER
