SAN CLEMENTE : Parking Standards to Undergo Review

City Council members are calling for a communitywide review of parking requirements, saying they fear that stringent and costly standards could be hurting commercial development.

The council’s remarks last week were sparked by a proposal to help fledgling businesses in the Pier Bowl, including the Tropicana Grill, by offering a new, lower-payment option on debts to the city involving so-called “in-lieu parking certificates.”

In cases where business owners don’t have space for enough parking spaces, they could buy certificates for as many spaces as they lack. Money from the certificates, which cost about $11,600 each in the Pier Bowl, would go into a fund that would someday be used for a parking garage or other long-term alternative.

After a lengthy debate, the council said it wanted a full review of the parking standards and declined to take any action on the Pier Bowl payment proposal.

City Manager Michael W. Parness said the review will be lengthy and complicated but is something that has been discussed for some time.

At issue, Parness said, is how to balance parking needs in the downtown and beach areas while trying to help struggling businesses and encourage economic development.

Under current policy, businesses buying the parking certificates must make a cash down payment, then pay off the balance in monthly, quarterly or annual installments. Owners can also post a bond.

Under the proposal, Pier Bowl businesses could apply to pay interest only on the amount owed until full payments are needed for a specific parking project.

City officials recommended that the council approve the lower-payment proposal, saying it would help future and current businesses in the Pier Bowl. Also, a specific parking project is probably years away and in-lieu funds are not immediately needed, they added.

But some residents criticized the proposal, saying they believe it was crafted to benefit one Pier Bowl businessman only--Rick Anderson and his Tropicana Grill.

Officials acknowledged that Anderson has not made any payments on his estimated $200,000 in-lieu parking obligation but denied the proposal was created only for his sake.

Parness said commercial developers have long complained that the city’s stringent parking standards and costly certificates keep businesses away, and a recent Pier Bowl marketing study commissioned by the city backs up such claims.

One other business in the Pier Bowl, which has yet to open, has also received approval to buy parking certificates and could be affected by the proposal, officials said.

Resident Karoline Koester was among those who criticized the proposal, saying she believes rules for businesses should be “applied evenly.”

Councilman Tom Lorch agreed, saying he doesn’t think it appropriate to make a change that seems to affect only one person.

Regardless of the situation with the Tropicana, Councilwoman Candace Haggard said, she believes the city needs to rethink its parking requirements for all businesses during the difficult economic times.