Who says government is plodding?
Not in Culver City. At least last evening.
Prodded and cajoled by its principal conscience, Andy Weissman, the City Council, at lightning speed, executed a silky pirouette on most of its controversial new Downtown parking regulations.
Seizing the moment as he often has, Mr. Weissman listened to a parade of seven consecutive protesting business executives step to the microphopne and plaintively complain how the newly stringent rules were strangling their enterprises.
The Councilman steered speedily, directly to his point. Gazing in the direction of City Manager John Nachbar, Mr. Weissman said:
“I would like us put a stay in place” on the components of the regulations seen as most punishing, extending the parking meter hours from 6 p.m. to 11 every day, and adding all day Sunday, previously a free day.
Mr. Nachbar concurred that the stay request would be placed on next Monday’s agenda. Not a beating heart in Council Chambers doubted the stay will be implemented shortly afterward.
Thereafter, the 11 o’clock end line and Sunday metered parking, owing to Mr. Weissman’s initiative, likely are on life support. The undertaker is en route.
How It Happened
What made this dramatic reversal so heartstopping was that business owners’ beefs over tightened Downtown parking rules was not on the agenda.
It fell out of the sky, kind of.
The protestors were organized, large in number, spoke out during the Public Comment period and rated unusual immediate reaction.
Demonstrating the power of citizens when they organize, the Downtown Business Assn., infuriated by this month’s extension of live parking meters until 11 p.m., and from six days a week to seven, rounded up its motivated troops for a double invasion.
Less than two weeks ago, a small but muscular band of DBA’ers fired their opening shot in a City Council Candidates Forum at The Actors’ Gang. They dominated the morning and issued a warning of events to come by bombarding the six office-seekers with bitter denunciations of what they called business-killing regulations.
Restlessly, the DBA last week emailed members to turn out at last night’s otherwise sleepy Council meeting to repeat their earlier and ongoing complaint bombs.
Once again the strongest voices of the DBA, Alan Schulman of Akasha restaurant and Ken Kaufman of Rush Street, effectively applying judicious verbal force, lambasted the laws that widened the old hourly meter regulations and, to the horror of restaurateurs, tacked on formerly free Sundays.
Since he came to Culver City five years ago, Mr. Schulman said, dinner at Akasha has been a 2- to 2½-hour experience. Patrons could relax because the meters were off. Now, to their nagging annoyance, Akasha staffers find themselves running out to the street to feed the starving meters for their would-be harried diners.
One parking ticket, the entrepreneur noted, can permanently drive away an otherwise contented patron.
Oh, Yes
The main attraction of last night’s Council meeting was to be a debate over whether/how to fund Indie-Cade and the Car Show, two showcase events formerly supported by the late Redevelopment Agency.
The Car Show, Downtown on the second Saturday in May, breezed through untouched, with the Council endorsing a bill for $4,651 in in-kind staff costs and $2,660 in waived fees. This leaves $9, 800 to be borne by the Exchange Club.
Indie-Cade, due the first weekend in October, is in a rockier position. While Council members unanimously declared their emotional backing, City Hall’s previously open purse is riding on empty. City staff will be meeting with Indie-Cade personnel to discuss their lengthy wish list of financial desires. Forecast: Clouded.
