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Council approves paid parking at Great Park; adopts resident permit with free hours
Summary
The council approved a Parking Concepts contract to add license‑plate recognition and paid parking at Great Park and amended the staff proposal so Irvine residents receive four hours of free parking via permit. The measure passed 6–1; staff will finalize the contract and begin public outreach.
Irvine — The City Council on June 23 approved a contract and parking policy to implement paid parking at Great Park and directed staff to give Irvine residents a permit providing four free hours of parking per day.
Staff presented a plan to award a contract to Parking Concepts, Inc. to install a gateless parking access and revenue control system, deploy license‑plate recognition, mobile payments and reservation capabilities, and provide on‑site and remote customer support. Staff estimated the initial contract to implement the system at $1,083,377 and projected net program revenues in a range of $3 million to $5 million annually, noting the figure depends on resident permits and event activity.
“Visitors will have access to multiple pay mobile payment options,” senior management analyst Stephanie Takigawa told the board. Great Park director Steve Torelli said the program is designed to manage parking demand, improve turnover and support long‑term operations. “We think it’s closer to the 5 mark,” Torelli said when asked about projected revenue.
Council deliberations focused on how to shield residents and regular park users from recurring fees. Council member Mike Carroll proposed amending the staff policy so Irvine residents receive the initial permit benefit; the council voted 6–1 to adopt the staff recommendations with that change. Vice Mayor Mai cast the lone dissenting vote.
The approved policy creates three categories of pricing: a baseline table rate that varies by lot and daypart, resident permits (four free hours per day for Great Park residents with verification and a reduced permit for other Irvine residents), and negotiated rates for special events and tournament organizers. Staff described a 15‑minute grace period to avoid charges for drop‑offs and said enforcement would be performed by the Irvine Police Department after a grace period.
Council asked staff to finalize the contract with the vendor, complete insurance and documentation, and begin resident outreach and permit registration ahead of a launch planned for later this year. Torelli said staff would make minor policy adjustments as the program begins operating.
Outcome and next steps: Council approved the parking contract/policy amendment 6–1; staff will return with contract execution and a public education plan before the system goes live.
