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Council receives LAZ Parking enforcement report after complaints about aggressive ticketing
Summary
Council accepted a report on LAZ Parking’s contract performance and community concerns about enforcement practices. Police and LAZ representatives said ambassadors will focus on primary parking violations and undergo community-oriented training; council directed staff to tighten future contracts and consider an RFP for downtown enforcement.
The Santa Ana City Council on March 4 received a report on the city’s contract parking-enforcement services provided by LAZ Parking California LLC after weeks of complaints from downtown businesses and residents about aggressive enforcement.
Councilmembers pulled the item for discussion to allow public airing of concerns that ambassadors were citing drivers for offenses beyond ordinary meter enforcement, such as front‑license‑plate violations and expired registration. Commander Joe Marti of the Santa Ana Police Department said the department investigated complaints that ambassadors were issuing some non‑parking citations and that last year his office instructed LAZ to stop issuing citations for front license plates and expired tabs that were not part of the contractor’s core parking mission. Commander Marti said staff also provided community‑engagement training in August 2024 to LAZ ambassadors and city parking officers to encourage educational first encounters.
“Because that complaint got down to the chief and got to me, there was some concerns because Laz is a contractual agreement with us. And our direction to them is not to go out and start shopping for citations,” Commander Marti said, describing the department’s corrective steps.
Councilmembers told staff they had received videos and reports from business owners of ambassadors waiting at meters or appearing to issue tickets immediately as patrons reached their cars. Councilmembers recommended stronger contract language to clarify the contractor’s scope, to require an easy-to-read list of tasks and prohibitions, and to require a clear complaint process for community members. Several members asked that the downtown be considered for in‑house enforcement or a hybrid model and asked staff to issue a new RFP when the contract expires in June 2025.
LAZ Parking did not speak during the council discussion, but staff said the company had been told to focus on primary parking violations and that training emphasizing community engagement had been delivered to ambassadors and city parking control officers. Councilmember Becerra asked that renewal materials specify what LAZ may enforce and what it may not.
The council voted 7–0 to receive and file the report and directed staff to revise contracting language, consider a hybrid downtown in‑house model, and return with a procurement plan before the contract’s June expiration.
