Ordinance committee forwards change to parking code to allow pay-by-plate pilot at Helena lot

The Santa Barbara City Ordinance Committee voted 2-1 to forward to City Council a proposed amendment to Municipal Code Title 10, Section 10.44.152 that would modernize how the city accepts payment in municipally owned or operated parking lots and permit a pay-by-plate pilot at the Helena lot.

The change would allow the public works director to set procedures and payment methods for each municipal lot, require payment before a vehicle exits a lot, and enable enforcement through a fee-due notice that can become a citation if unpaid, similar to enforcement used at waterfront lots for the last decade. Committee members moved and seconded the staff recommendation with comments asking that the measure clarify it excludes on-street parking and that the administrative authority (public works director vs. city administrator) be reconsidered.

Edward France, downtown plaza and parking manager, told the committee the update is intended to “modernize the regulation of how and when we are allowed to accept payment” and to replace an older envelope/drop-box system that he described as operationally infeasible. France said the amendment would “allow for new payment types such as self-service pay stations” and permit “pay by plate” options that let users pay by phone or at a kiosk without returning to the vehicle.

France said the proposal includes a planned pilot at the Helena lot, a 29-space lot in the Funk Zone that cannot accommodate a traditional gate system. He said the Helena pilot is part of the fee resolution adopted with this year’s budget and that staff has reviewed the site for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance. “This pilot is important to allow us to test new payment technologies and plan for future parking and revenue control systems in other downtown surface lots,” France said.

Committee members asked several operational questions. France said the proposed code would require payment before exiting the lot but that enforcement actions (citation, immobilization, towing) use discretionary language: “may result in issuance of a parking citation, vehicle immobilization, or towing,” and that staff retains discretion in emergency or exceptional circumstances. He described the prior process as allowing up to three days for payment via envelopes and said recovery rates under that system were low.

City Attorney John Thornton asked the committee to keep the discussion focused on the ordinance change itself, noting Brown Act considerations and saying, “I understand it's related, but I'd just like to keep the conversation as to the ordinance change, which is really about the mechanism of payment, not the actual rates.”

Members also discussed procurement and limits on administrative authority. France said contracts exceeding roughly $100,000 would require council approval, which he cited as a financial check on wholesale system changes such as installing meters citywide. Committee members asked that staff return findings after pilots and that any on-street payment program would require a fee-resolution change and further council action.

Council member Jordan moved to forward the staff recommendation with committee comments; Chair Sneddon seconded. The committee voted 2-1 to forward the proposed amendment to City Council (Council member Jordan and Chair Sneddon voting yes; Council member Oscar voting no). The committee noted the item is expected to come to City Council for introduction within the next month.

The committee’s action does not itself change the municipal code; it directs that the proposed amendment be considered by the full City Council, accompanied by the committee’s clarifying comments about excluding on-street parking and reconsidering administrative authority.