Board corrects parks fee schedule and approves updated master fee article

The Board of Supervisors on April 29 approved updates to Article 5 of the county’s Master Fee Resolution governing parks user fees, including a correction to remove unintended day-use vehicle fees from several parks and consolidation of Lake Nacimiento fees into a single section.

Nut graf: Staff said the 2020 waiver of day-use entry fees had not been cleaned from the fee article, and a redline error left three parks listed as still charging day-use fees for all visitors; staff corrected the typo before final adoption and introduced fee ranges for camping, lodging and recreational amenities to allow market-responsive pricing within board-set limits.

Brian Flores, parks staff, said major changes included consolidating Lake Nacimiento fees into one section, removing Laguna Seca fees except for rifle use (the Friends of Laguna Seca will provide fee schedules under their concession agreement), and creating a low–high fee range for lodging, camping and amenities so the parks director can set precise rates within a board-approved band.

Staff said the only day-use vehicle fees that would remain after the correction are for Lake San Antonio and Lake Nacimiento; earlier redlined language had mistakenly appeared to leave Toro, Jack’s Peak and San Lorenzo subject to day-use fees. After correcting the typo and other punctuation errors, the board approved the updated fee article; changes will take effect 30 days after approval.

Ending: The board instructed staff to publish the corrected fee schedule and noted the director may adjust rates within the adopted ranges to respond to market demand and operational needs.