Attachment 4 - Case StudiesDIXON RESOURCES UNLIMITED 1
Memorandum
To: Town of Los Gatos
From: Dixon Resources Unlimited
Date: March 31, 2023
Subject: Paid Parking Management Case Studies
Introduction
Dixon Resources Unlimited (DIXON) has prepared this memorandum on behalf of the Town of Los Gatos
(Town) to demonstrate case studies focused on paid parking management in the cities of Paso Robles, Santa
Rosa, and Sausalito. DIXON and the Town selected these three cities as they have (a) demographic similarities
to that of the Town, and (b) have already implemented a paid parking program, which the Town is considering
as part of the Parking Roadmap completed by DIXON in 2019.
The following case studies will highlight the revenue figures, parking rate structures, and staffing plan of each
City.
Paso Robles
The parking program in the City of Paso Robles consists of 468 on-street paid parking spaces, 5 off-street lots
(3 of which provide permit parking), a merchant validation program, an employee parking permit program,
and a senior parking permit program. The City initiated their paid parking program in 2018 and it is overseen
by one Parking Coordinator. Their paid parking program revenues for the fiscal year of 2021-2022
was $408,640.
Paso Robles offers a unique customer value rate model for their on-street spaces, as well as free public
parking and permit parking at their off-street lots. Paso Robles’ on-street rate model includes 2 hours of free
parking, followed by a rate of $2/hour (increased from $1/hour as of February 2023). The intent of the free
period was to blend the benefits of a two-hour time limit with the flexibility of the ability to pay to stay longer.
Although this rate model has helped the City’s parking program earn awards and recognition, Paso Robles
ultimately concluded that it did not generate enough paid parking revenue to cover costs, or data to
determine next steps, as 95% of all parking sessions were within the free period and no data was collected
regarding duration of stay. The City also launched the program with insufficient parking enforcement staffing,
so the compliance was low. The future of the parking program in Paso Robles is uncertain as the City aims to
collect data and review next steps.
Prior to implementing paid parking, the City piloted an employee parking permit program focused on
voluntary compliance to encourage employees to park in off-street locations before introducing any on-street
policies. Despite extensive outreach efforts, low-cost permits, guaranteed permit parking spaces, and
ongoing community education efforts, utilization trends showed that employee behavior patterns did not
change; they still preferred to take up valuable on-street spaces. This emphasizes the importance of
introducing a no reparking rule in locations with time limits, or converting to a paid parking program.
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Regarding equipment, the City currently uses Flowbird to manage both pay stations (accepting coin and
credit card) and mobile payments, and recently introduced a Pay By Text feature. Its Merchant Validation
Program has three validation options that can be purchased in bulk at a discounted rate.
Administering this program is the Downtown Parking Operations Division, which sits under the Policy
department and encompasses the following staff primarily focused on parking:
Function Role # of Staff
Program Management / Administrative Parking Coordinator 1 FTE
Enforcement Parking Ambassadors 2 FTE, 1 PTE
The program lacked sufficient staffing during the early stages of its operation with 2 full-time staff members
but only one fully dedicated to the parking program. However, as of August 2022, Paso Robles now has a
small team of Parking Ambassadors providing parking enforcement for the program and support for the
Parking Coordinator. For its scale of operations, Paso Robles’ parking team is still considered understaffed in
administrative and program management capacities.
Santa Rosa
The parking program in the City of Santa Rosa consists of 4,656 on- and off-street paid parking spaces, a
merchant validation program, and a residential permit parking program. Their paid parking program started
in 1945 and continues to operate today, except for certain event-driven suspensions such as during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Santa Rosa’s parking program revenues for the fiscal year of 2021-2022 was
$3,182,043.
Santa Rosa’s parking rates are categorized as “Premium” (in high-demand spaces downtown) or “Value” (in
the periphery of downtown) and are as follows:
Type of Space Rate Application
Premium Spaces $1.50/hour up to 3 hours max On-street and off-street
Value Spaces $1.00/hour up to 4 hours max On-street, off-street surface lots, and without a
time limit in garages
Santa Rosa uses a combination of coin and credit card pay stations and single-space meters, along with a
mobile payment application. As of July 1, 2023, Santa Rosa is offering free parking in their garages for the
first hour of each session, as well as on weekends in the winter between Thanksgiving and the New Year. The
City also offers a merchant validation program where vouchers can be purchased in bundles.
The Parking Division is located within the City’s Finance department and encompasses the following staff1
primarily focused on parking:
1 Data from https://publicpay.ca.gov for the year 2021.
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Function Role # of Staff
Program Management /
Administrative
Parking Manager 1 FTE
Parking Operations Coordinator 3 FTE
Parking Programs Coordinator 1 FTE
Field Staff Parking Operations Aide 6 FTE, ~5 PTE
Senior Maintenance Worker – Parking 1 FTE
Maintenance Worker 2 FTE
Enforcement Supervising Parking Enforcement Officer 1 FTE
Parking Enforcement Officer 1 FTE, 4 PTE
Santa Rosa’s staffing levels demonstrate that of a consistent, developed program where parking management
has demonstrated its value.
Sausalito
The City of Sausalito’s parking program consists of metered and permitted on-street parking spaces, 4 pre-
paid parking lots and 1 short-term free parking lot, a Daily Parking Card program, an employee permit
parking program, and a residential permit parking program. In total, the City has 770 paid parking spaces.
The program used to be part of the Parking & Transportation Department until it was dissolved and moved
to the Police Department. Its annual parking program revenues for the fiscal year of 2020-2021 was
$1,393,956.
As a location that attracts much tourism, their parking rates distinguish between whether it is during “Peak
Demand” (May 1 through September 30) or “Off-Peak” (October 1 through April 30) season. Their on-street
rates are further categorized geographically into “Downtown Core”, “Downtown Periphery” (within 250 feet
of the Downtown Core), or “Non-downtown Commercial” areas as follows:
On-Street Off-Street
Peak
Demand
• Downtown Core: $6/hour
• Downtown Periphery: $4.50/hour
• Non-downtown Commercial: $3/hour
$3-$5/hour,
$30-$50 max per day
Off-Peak $2.50/hour in all zones $2-$3.50/hour,
$20-$35 max per day
Sausalito uses single-space meters for on-street parking, and a combination of pay stations and a mobile
payment application for pre-paid off-street parking. The City offers a Daily Parking Card program that allows
daily parkers to park for a flat fee of $6 per parking session (increased from $4/session in December 2022).
The City also offers an employee permit parking program and a resident parking permit program.
At its peak, Sausalito’s parking program was overseen by up to 10 permanent employees and 11 part-time
employees before the Parking & Transportation Department was dissolved, which was when Parking Access
and Revenue Control System (PARCS) equipment was removed, attendant positions were dissolved, and the
shuttle program was defunded. Today, Parking Services sit under the Police Department and consists of the
following staff:
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Function Role # of Staff
Program Management
/ Administrative
Police Captain, Support Services 1 FTE
Parking Operations Manager 1 FTE
Enforcement Police Lieutenant 1 FTE
Parking Enforcement Officers 4 FTE
Many of Sausalito’s key parking program roles are now contracted out (including coin collection, revenue
counting, citation processing, and parking permit fulfillment). The number of contracted staff is equivalent to
approximately 2.5 FTE. The City has changed directions multiple times in how resources are directed to
parking, and the choice to outsource much of the parking services today points to the City’s strategy to
minimize internal resources and focus on parking management.
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Appendix A – Comparison Table
City Annual Parking Revenue Total # of Paid Spaces Est. Total # of FTE/PTE
Paso Robles $408,640 On-street: 468
Off-street: 0
3 FTE / 1 PTE
Santa Rosa $3,182,043 On-street: 1,170
Off-street: 3,486
16 FTE / 9 PTE
Sausalito $1,393,956 On-street: 180
Off-street: 590
7 FTE