Council approves parking-management action and instructs DOT review after CRA staffing shortfall

The council approved item 4, a downtown parking‑management plan and related grant execution, and accepted an amendment directing the Department of Transportation to review how parking management should be handled in the affected area.

Councilmember Hernandez pressed for clarity after the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) staff told the council it lacked senior engineering staff to proceed with an East‑West Olympic Boulevard linkage plan tied to MTA grants. CRA staff said the agency had taken a lead role under its peripheral parking policy but had been unable to complete the engineering work and had sought other city partners over the prior two years.

Hernandez amended the staff recommendation to require a review and presentation by DOT and to send the matter through the Transportation Committee when time permitted. He said parking management “is best in the hands of our Department of Transportation,” and asked that DOT present options for how the area should be managed rather than leave the project solely under CRA control.

Agency staff told the council there was a same‑day deadline to execute grant agreements for four MTA projects technically obligated in the current fiscal year, which created urgency. The council approved the item 11-0 after the amendment was offered and discussion concluded.

Councilmembers said the goal was to transition responsibility to an appropriate city department and to ensure coordination with City Planning and DOT when implementing parking policy in the downtown and Staples Center/convention center areas.