Beachgoers in Seal Beach could face a 50% hourly and daily rate hike at the city’s three beach parking lots.
But that’s only if the city’s proposal is approved by the state Coastal Commission.
The Seal Beach City Council voted unanimously on Oct. 9 to ask the California Coastal Commission to approve an increase in beach parking rates at the 1st, 8th and 10th Street lots.
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The current beach parking rates could increase from $2 to $3 per hour between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. For daily parking rates, beachgoers could see an increase from $10 to $15 per day.
City officials last increased parking rates in 2016 when the daily rate jumped from $6 to $10. In 2017, Seal Beach officials also attempted to increase the parking rates by 80% in 2017, but that was denied by the California Coastal Commission since it exceeded the maximum 50% increase allowable, according to a city staff report.
During the Oct. 9 meeting, council members said they wanted to increase the parking rates and use the increased funds for beach upkeep.
Seal Beach currently has one of the lowest beach parking rates in Orange County, according to a comparative parking analysis included with the city staff report.
The current $10-a-day rate is less than half of some beach parking costs down the coast.
In Newport Beach, it costs $35 a day to park at the Balboa Pier Lot and $26 per day to park at the Corona Del Mar Beach Lot. It costs $24 per day to park at Aliso Beach in Laguna Beach.
Seal Beach’s proposed $15-a-day rate would align the city with other cities like Huntington Beach, which charges that same rate at all their beach lots.
City officials say increasing the parking rates on the three proposed beach lots will provide greater revenue for the city since about 1.5 million people visit the beaches each year.
During the 2022-23 fiscal year, city officials estimated that the beach parking revenue was approximately $767,000, excluding beach permit sales. These permits give visitors reduced parking costs at beach lots.
If the 50% increase in parking rates is approved, city officials estimated that the approximate yearly income could be about $1.1 million.
During a presentation at the meeting, police Capt. Nick Nicholas said the increase in revenue could be used to install beach location signs and enhance infrastructure around the beaches.
Nicholas said there isn’t a timeline set for when the lot rates could go up.
During the meeting, Councilmember Nathan Steele expressed concern about how the rate changes could affect other nearby parking options like Main Street, which has free street parking.
He said more beachgoers might park on Main Street to avoid the beach lot parking costs.
“If we increase the prices, heaven knows what we would have to charge on Main Street to make that price equilibrium work out so that we can have open parking places for shopping customers on Main Street as opposed to beachgoers,” Steele said at the meeting.
But Nicholas said that free parking on Main Street is only two hours before a vehicle can be ticketed.
“Given the option between parking for free and potentially getting a $64 ticket or paying $15 and being there all day, it seems like the reasonable choice would be to park in the beach lots,” he told the council.
The California Coastal Commission has six months to approve requests. The city council has approved the submission of a coastal development permit to the commission and now awaits approval.
If the commission approves the request, the council can then decide when the parking rate increases will take effect.
Angelina Hicks is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.
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