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By CLARK MASON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Residents and merchants of Healdsburg appear to be strongly against the idea of instituting paid parking.
Initially proposed as a way to generate revenue for the sinking city budget, the idea is now being sold by the Police Department as a way to also free up more downtown parking and keep a steady flow of customers for the benefit of shops and restaurants. But merchants aren’t convinced, judging from a city workshop on the paid parking proposal Thursday night.
“I have business owners calling me saying, ‘This will be the kiss of death,’” said Cathleen Boitano-Grande, owner of Bella, a boutique facing Healdsburg Plaza. She said people shop in Healdsburg not only because of the free parking but the smaller, unique stores.
Paid parking won’t obliterate local business, she said, but it will cut into it and cause people to go online to buy things rather than deal with the hassle of parking kiosks.
“I don’t like the idea,” agreed Marry Madden, a 30-year resident of Healdsburg. “I love it the way it is.”
“I know they need the revenue,” she said, but like several others who spoke Thursday, she said she would be more open to a half-cent sales tax hike that the City Council is considering placing on the November ballot as a way to overcome its general fund deficits.
Healdsburg had parking meters up until the late 1970s, but they were taken out, according to Mayor Gary Plass, at the urging of merchants.
Plass, who attended Thursday’s meeting, said, “The lion’s share of feedback I’ve gotten — and I’ve gotten a lot in the last couple weeks — is negative” to the idea of paid parking.
He said he received 65 emails and almost 40 phone calls on the topic.
“Obviously there’s a grave concern about changing the atmosphere and charm of the community,” he said. “They think it’s important the downtown stay a free, friendly parking place.”
But Plass said he still wants to remain open to the City Ccouncil exploring some changes in parking, including possibly having paid parking in some of the city lots, but allowing free on-street parking.
At Thursday’s workshop, attended by about 40 people, only a few raised hands when asked if they support paid parking. The others all expressed opposition.
One woman, who declined to give her name, said she would prefer to pay for parking over paying more sales tax. “It won’t discourage people from coming here,” she said.
Currently, parking is free in all of the 395 downtown street spaces and 267 off-street parking spaces in four lots. But there is a three-hour time limit.
The city has one parking enforcement officer, but her time is divided among other duties and she only spends half her time on parking.
Two years ago, the city had two full-time enforcement officers, but the hours were lost to budget cuts.
“We’re asked now to focus on core services. It’s become a great challenge to provide parking enforcement,” Police Chief Kevin Burke said.
According to Police Department figures presented Thursday, paid parking could net about $500,000 annually if parking remains free in city lots.
The department said paid parking can help pay for street and sidewalk repairs, beautification programs, and cut down on greenhouse gases as people cruise around looking for an empty parking spot, particularly on weekends and during special events like the Tuesday night concerts in the plaza.
There are two versions of parking kiosks under consideration.
One would be similar to what Santa Rosa installed in recent years — a “pay and display,” dollar-per-hour system. Motorists park and purchase a timed pass at a nearby kiosk using credit, debit card or coins, then display the parking pass on the dashboard.
The other method involves purchasing time for a numbered space at a kiosk, without a need to return to the vehicle.
A parking enforcement employee can check the kiosk, which will give a list of parking spaces with expired visits.
Police say the advantage of that system is that people can be alerted on their smartphones when their time is expiring and can purchase additional time via their phone without going back to the car.
Some residents also fear that a pay system will push motorists to park in the neighborhoods to avoid paying.
You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.com.
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The loitering forign labor workers many illegal lounging around the square has limited me from shopping downtown especially when my high senior daughter was whistled at followed by the foreign men laughing. The liberal political machine is ruining the downtown business envirnoment.
Healdsburg don’t send your downtown shoppers away like Santa Rosa has. If you want to see a failed plan, go to Railroad Square and look at all the empty parking spaces that one must pay for. Then look at all the empty store fronts. Is this a coincidence? Maybe. Possibly. One thing is for sure, you don’t have a tough time finding a parking spot in Railroad Square, there’s plenty to be found.
Taxation without representation. That is exactly what you have in tranquil, bucolic little Healdsburg. The taxation desease is contagious and is spreading fast in sinking Sonoma County cities, towns and villages.
If City Council members vote for paid parking, then residents should vote them out of office. Why should I subsidize the $1MM deficit that is mainly composed of public safety. I think the Council should re-organize the police and fire departments along with pensions, benefits, salaries, etc. that contribute heavily to this deficit.
Why should the residents of Healdsburg have to pay for parking for parking spaces we already pay taxes for because local merchants, many of them do not live in Healdsburg,are crying there are no spaces. NO METERS ESPECIALLY THOSE PAYMENT MACHINES IN SANTA ROSA, where I rarely go except for few select stores.
There is no parking problem in Healdsburg!! There’s a special interest political problem that usually creates all the problems. What about the public parking specaes given to the Healdsburg Hotel!!
I beleive our downtown ‘parking kiosks’ came from an ICLEI parking consultant from Seattle.
If I was a downtown merchant I’d be pissed.
OK, I’m not and I’m still pissed.
Case in point: Since the parking kiosks were installed in the Railroad Square area of Santa Rosa, I have not been back even once. If they do the same in Healdsburg, it’ll be the same… or I’ll just park at Safeway and walk an extra block. And BTW- I have NEVER, EVER had a hard time finding a parking space, nor have I lingered longer than was necessary, but I also have no intention of having the enjoyment of my meals or shopping interrupted by having to worry about feeding a meter. Healdsburg has a winning formula with the present situation. Why screw that up?
Desperation bodes poorly in the decision making process.
Metered parking is on its way to Healdsburg. The mayor and city council, most of who are former city employees, want paid parking and will vote it in.
They have run out of options to balance a very unbalanced budget. Your quarters and credit cards mean a lot to them.
With their additional sales tax increase, they will still be underwater but showing us all how they have made sacrifices and cut things to keep it all together.
Their gain is our pain. The good citizens and pubic union members and families living in Healdsburg will continue to put them back in office.
More ICLEI incentivized small business and automobile sabotage.
Who wants to meander around, taste wine,
eat, shop and worry about a meter?
I’d worry about ICLEI if I were you,
Healsburg.
What part of “we don’t want it” “stop putting in meters they are killing businesses” do these vastly overpaid government bureaucrats not understand? And yet, the people of the Bay Area counties continue to put in the most leftwing, high taxing bureaucrats. Every. Single. Time.
Kill downtown shopping, install parking meters.
Parking is easy in Sebastopol. Few go there to shop for crystals and patchouli oil, so parking spaces abound.
Healdsburg has a few spaces left, but everything they sell there is $795 or more.
Santa Rosa has successfully sent all but the Occupy mob and the other homeless bums running from the parking ticket storm troopers.
Anyone wonder why online shopping is killing brick-and-mortar stores?
Here’s a hint: Big Govt
Cloverdale demanded $20,000 for the sewer hookup for a coffee shop.
Their Design Review Committee had to approve the color of an awning for a wine shop.
Healdsburg effectively rejected an Outlet Grocery by stating the approval process would take 2-3 years.
Hundreds of businesses leave Ca. weekly.
The bigger Big Govt gets, the smaller we all get.
I live in Santa Rosa and shop only at free parking cities or shopping centers.
It isn’t the 25 cents to park that bothers me, it’s the $50 parking ticket for being a couple minutes late getting back to your car.
I love Sebastopol and Healdsburg. Santa Rosa has a mental problem. Healdsburg at least has some people who know better. Sebastopol is… well it’s okay and the parking is a lot better.