The Berkeley City Council on Dec. 15 approved an update and modest expansion to the city’s overnight parking policy after about a year of implementation.

Planning and public works staff reviewed program goals and results. Staff said the original program (approved Aug. 2024) restricts street parking during overnight hours and provides annual on‑street permits; it also created a parking maintenance fund. Under the updated policy, staff recommended prorating the $400 annual on‑street residential pass to $200 for purchases made after May 30, require permitted vehicles to be moved to designated lots during snow emergencies or maintenance, and allow an expansion of the permit program into municipal lots for adjacent multifamily or business properties with up to two municipal passes per parcel at $600 annually.

Staff reported program outcomes: roughly 30 annual passes have been issued in 13 months, generating about $5,200 toward the parking maintenance fund, and sporadic overnight counts show vehicles parked on streets between 2AM and 5AM are down on average 37%. "Vehicles parked on the streets between 2AM and 5AM are down on average 37%," staff told the council.

Council discussed enforcement, proration timing (moved from June 30 to May 30 to account for student moves), concerns about apartment complexes taking advantage of municipal lots (policy limits two passes per parcel), and the cost to build new parking (staff said roughly $20,000 per space). The council voted unanimously to adopt the updated policy and expansion to municipal lots.

Next steps: staff will clarify language about where annual on‑street permits may not be used (for example, 12 Mile Road and Coolidge Highway restrictions apply to on‑street permits) and implement different‑colored passes to ease enforcement. The city will continue to monitor overnight counts and enforcement issues.