Carmel council directs staff to develop managed parking pilot to curb Car Week noise and unsafe driving

The City Council on March 3 asked staff to develop a revocable license agreement with Good Roots for a managed parking pilot to contain evening Car Week activity in downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Chief of Police Treyer told the council he had held community listening sessions and heard repeated concerns about nighttime noise, aggressive driving and pedestrian safety. He summarized the Good Roots proposal as a staffed, fenced-in parking area downtown with fixed entry and exit control, additional lighting and paid parking to reduce cruising and create safer pedestrian conditions.

The pilot as described to the council would keep the downtown area closed to through traffic between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on key Car Week nights and allow Good Roots to manage a perimeter and park vehicles on Ocean Avenue and side streets. Chief Treyer said the organizers proposed a staffing model of about 40 attendants per night and told council the group proposed charging $200 for parking on Ocean Avenue and $100 on side streets. "They would control the entry and exits," Treyer said, describing how the plan would "create predictability and orderly flow" while freeing officers to focus on noise and traffic enforcement outside the managed perimeter.

Good Roots representatives told the council they would provide lighting at intersections and civilian attendants who would escort cars out so parked vehicles would not simply rejoin a cruising pattern. "Vehicles cannot exit without an escort from Good Roots," the proposal noted; attendants would ensure cars remained off while parked and that pedestrians used sidewalks when vehicles moved.

Council members asked detailed questions about spillover into neighborhoods, whether hotels and restaurants would benefit, and how law enforcement would step in when organizers' rules were violated. The chief said he believed concentrated managed parking would reduce cruising and risky driving: "People go to where the cars are," he said, arguing the pilot would shift activity into a single, controllable footprint and increase officer availability elsewhere.

Public commenters were split. Some downtown business owners and longtime residents urged the council to try the pilot to restore safer, quieter evenings; others warned it could institutionalize a nighttime event and attract larger crowds. After extended discussion, the council gave staff direction to draft a revocable license agreement and return with a proposed contract and permit terms for review. Staff said it would present a draft to the Community Activities Commission in April and return to council in May with the formal agreement, insurance and enforcement terms.

Next steps: staff will negotiate terms, draft a license agreement that includes insurance and indemnity requirements and options for revenue sharing, and present the draft to the Community Activities Commission and then to council for final authorization. The chief said the city's overtime policing costs in prior years were about $36,000 and that the pilot is intended to reduce public-safety risks while limiting the police overtime burden.