Council approves preferential-permit parking for Franklin Avenue area with delay until diagonal parking installed

The City Council voted to create a residential preferential parking district for the neighborhood north of Franklin Avenue, adopting hours and a phased implementation plan aimed at balancing neighborhood parking needs and nearby commercial activity.

The approved boundaries and rules (as described by Department of Transportation staff and district council offices) cover streets north of Franklin Avenue and include Canyon Drive, Bronson Avenue, Foothill Drive, Beechwood Terrace and North Beechwood Drive. The recommendation presented to the council set resident-only parking during nighttime hours as a compromise: 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. with two-hour parking for residents and nonresidents from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Why it matters: The Franklin Avenue commercial strip hosts restaurants and entertainment uses that draw customers whose vehicles have increasingly filled adjacent residential streets. Residents and neighborhood groups asked for permit parking to reduce late-night overflow; business owners urged caution so commercial customers could still access storefronts.

Compromise and implementation conditions: Council Member Tom LaBonge, who called the item special, asked that diagonal parking be added on Chula Vista (a wide street north of the strip) to provide additional spaces. The council approved the district but required that the Chula Vista diagonal parking be installed before the permit program takes effect; staff and the council set a target implementation date not before March 12, 2002, to allow the work to proceed and community coordination. Members also requested a Department of Transportation review and report to the council in six months.

Public remarks: Business owners on Franklin Avenue told the council that their shops have lost customers since the September 11 attacks and opposed immediately enforcing restrictive permit hours without new public parking. Residents and neighborhood groups described repeated late-night disturbances and said permanent permit parking would hold businesses to their promises about off-street parking and valets.

Council vote and next steps: The council voted 14-0 to approve the measure as amended; staff will not implement the parking restrictions until diagonal parking improvements are completed and will report back in six months. Council Member LaBonge said he would work with businesses and residents on the transition period.

Ending: The vote authorizes the parking district and a six-month review; physical changes to Chula Vista are a precondition to implementing permit enforcement.