Lane County approves parking fee discounts, free WIC passes and new accessibility projects for county parks

The Lane County Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 25 approved a change to the county’s park parking policy that will add discounted and free annual parking passes for certain groups and fund accessibility improvements at county parks.

Parks Division Manager Brett Henry told the board the order (25022506) would amend Lane Manual chapter 18.0050.115 to adopt veterans and disabled-veteran discounts, free annual passes for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program recipients, and 11 annual “parking holidays” when public parking is free. Henry said the change applies to annual passes; daily fees would remain $5 while an annual pass currently costs $40. “The overall impact to our operating revenue is less than 1%,” Henry said, summarizing the department’s estimate of about $81,620 in lost revenue under the proposal.

The board approved the order by voice vote, 5-0.

Why it matters: Henry framed the change as an equity measure tied to the county’s strategic plan. He said parks staff are using an equity toolkit and an equity survey (about 500 responses) to focus on physical and financial barriers to access. The parking adjustments aim to reduce out‑of‑pocket costs for veterans, disabled veterans and WIC participants and make county parks easier to reach for residents facing food or mobility insecurity.

Details and implementation: Under the approved changes, disabled veterans would receive a full annual-pass benefit while other veterans would receive a 50% discount on annual passes, as described by Henry during the presentation. Henry said staff will work with Lane County Health and Human Services to integrate the free WIC passes with program registration and will announce the changes on the parks website and social media. Henry said SNAP recipient benefits are more complicated administratively and may be addressed in a later proposal.

Henry also reviewed capital and access projects tied to a local levy passed in November 2022. He described a five‑ to ten‑year ADA transition plan, plans for an All‑Abilities playground, universally accessible trails, MobiMats to extend firm surface across beach sand, motorized tracked beach chairs (“David’s Chair”), and planning for a fully ADA‑accessible launch and adaptive water‑access platform on the Willamette River. Henry said Lane County operates about 66 parks and roughly 35 boat ramps.

Budget and offset considerations: Commissioners discussed a misprint in the board packet that showed an incorrect large revenue number; Henry confirmed the department’s calculated effect was about $81,620. Henry and commissioners also discussed the possibility that reducing or eliminating day‑use fees at some boat landings could make the county eligible for Oregon State Marine Board MAP (marine assistance program) funds, which are intended for long‑term maintenance of water access sites. Henry said he will explore those options with staff.

Comments from commissioners: Commissioner Buck pressed for clarity on the revenue numbers; Henry confirmed the $81,620 figure and thanked Buck for catching the packet error. Commissioner Trager asked whether the benefit applied only to annual passes; Henry confirmed the changes are for annual passes only and day‑use fees remain unchanged. Commissioner Farr declared a potential conflict of interest because he would be eligible for the veteran discount; he said he typically pays full price.

Next steps: The order was approved as presented and staff will proceed with implementation steps described by Henry, including working with Health and Human Services on WIC integration and public outreach on the county parks website.