Both sides of the historic Farragut Drive-Grace Lutheran Church parking dispute enter this evening’s 7 o’clock City Council meeting knowing the results but not the final score.
To the consternation of residents of the 10700 block of Farragut, city staff is recommending that the present — putatively temporary – policy of a 2-hour parking limit be made permanent.
Results of a vaunted parking study by a consulting firm have been known for days, providing neighbors with ample fodder coming into this evening.
Regardless of which way the parking worm wiggles, there will be no shortage of drama.
“The main items for this meeting are the study by KOA and whether to retain the 2-hour parking limit,” says Mayor Jim Clarke.
It is not safe to speculate that the independent-thinking Council members will make the current time limit permanent.
“You will have to wait like everyone else,” the mayor said. “I have not made any public comment on it. The first time I saw the study (authorized last spring) was when everyone else saw it.”
Mr. Clarke said he goes into the Council Chambers meeting an open mind. He holds “no preconceived ideas” about how he will vote.
“On the night we authorized the study las spring, I made the public comment that I thought the Farragut Drive residents were justified,” Mr. Clarke said. “I thought the parking study would show that. I said the best way to determine whether there was a need for permit-only parking was to do the study.”
As a footnote, Mr. Clarke said that no one has been able to determine if a parking study was conducted in 1982 when this dispute caught fire.
The City Council parking study regarding the impact of non-resident parking on the 10700 block of found that the impact of non-resident parking in the subject area did not justify the old 8:00 a.m. to 10 p.m. permit only parking. As a result of that study and a recommendation by the City Staff, the Council (4-1) adopted a resolution removing the pre-existing permit-only Farragut Parking Restrictions. The Council adopted the following restrictions for the 10700 block Farragut Drive: (a) Two-hour parking. 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, including holidays. (b) Unrestricted parking is authorized after 6:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and on Sundays. (c) Permit holders (residents and their guests) are not limited by the two hours.
The City Council authorized the parking study.
The study was done by KOA, which is a very reputable firm that has done work for Culver City in the past.
By doing the study with the same standard restrictions that would apply to any other block in the city that may apply for a new parking district, the study mimicked the exact conditions that would exist if those restrictions were in force on Farragut Dr.
The study showed that the previous restrictions of No Parking from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM on Monday through Friday were NOT justified by the number of resident and non-resident cars parked during the study.
KOA, and the city staff, recommended that, based on the actual parking that was taking place on Farragut Dr. during the 20 times over a 3 week period that cars were counted, the temporary signs that were put up for the study be replaced with permanent signs that allow non-permit holders to park on Farragut Dr. for up to 2 hours between the hours of 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM on Monday through Saturday.
The City Council, agreed, and by a 4 to 1 vote instructed the staff to draw up the resolution making the changes.