Staff Report.Paid Parking
PREPARED BY: Nicolle Burnham
Parks and Public Works Director
Reviewed by: Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Town Attorney, and Finance Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● (408) 354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 08/15/2023 ITEM NO: 14
DATE: August 4, 2023
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Laurel Prevetti, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Receive the Report on Downtown Paid Parking Program Models and Consider
the Following Actions:
a. Direct Staff to Return to Council with an Updated Fee Resolution to:
i. Increase the Rates Effective January 1, 2024 for Residential Permit
Parking to $52 per Year for Vehicle One, and $72, $92, and $112 for
Vehicles Two, Three, and Four, Respectively;
ii. Set Rates for Residential Permits in the Olive Zone to Match Rates for
the Town’s Other Residential Parking Zones Effective January 1, 2024;
and
iii. Eliminate the Annual Fee for Employee Parking in the Olive Zone
Effective January 1, 2024;
b. Provide Direction to Staff Regarding the Establishment of Residential
Permit Rates for Low Income Residents Defined as Households with
Income of Less than 80% of Area Median Income;
c. Provide Direction to Staff Regarding the Two Free Visitor Passes that are
Available to Each Household in the Residential Permit Parking Areas; and
d. Provide Feedback and/or Direction on the Paid Parking Program Options,
Pricing Models, Service Delivery Scenarios, and Staffing Alternatives
Required to Support a Functioning and Effective Downtown Paid Parking
Program
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive the report on downtown paid parking program models and consider the following
actions:
a. Direct staff to return to Council with an updated Fee Resolution to:
PAGE 2 OF 11 SUBJECT: Paid Parking Models and Strategies and Other Recommendations DATE: August 4, 2023
RECOMMENDATION (continued):
i. Increase the rates effective January 1, 2024 for residential permit parking to $52 per
year for vehicle one, and $72, $92, and $112 for vehicles two, three, and four,
respectively;
ii. Set rates for residential permits in the Olive Zone to match rates for the Town’s
other residential parking zones effective January 1, 2024; and
iii. Eliminate the annual fee for employee parking in the Olive Zone effective January 1,
2024;
b. Provide direction to staff regarding the establishment of residential permit rates for low-
income residents defined as households with income of less than 80% of Area Median
Income (AMI);
c. Provide direction to staff regarding the two free visitor passes that are available to each
household in the Residential Permit Parking Areas; and
d. Provide feedback and/or direction on the paid parking program options, pricing models,
service delivery scenarios, and staffing alternatives required to support a functioning and
effective downtown paid parking program.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Town of Los Gatos has long been considering ways to manage parking. In 2019, the Town
Council accepted the Dixon Parking Roadmap1. Following acceptance of the Parking Roadmap,
a limited number of programs and policies have been implemented with some success.
Programs that currently exist include residential permits, Olive Zone permits, downtown
employee parking permits, and parking enforcement. Council has also directed installation of
wayfinding signs to improve visibility and provide guidance to existing parking lots, which is
moving slowly due to a recent loss of a staff resource. Installation of parking pay kiosks and a
mobile application have been delayed due to lack of staffing.
The report proposes changes to residential permit fees and Olive Zone fees based on past
Council direction. Attachment 1 is a map of the downtown parking zone and Olive Zone.
Future improvements to, or expansion of, the parking program are not possible without the
addition of staffing resources. In December 2022 Town Council asked staff to document the
parking fees that would be required for parking to be a cost recovery operation. This staff
report analyzes four options for paid parking, with the costs and revenue for each. The analysis
demonstrates that a paid parking program in Los Gatos could recover costs by charging a rate of
$1.25 per hour for on-street parking; charging $1.00 per hour for public off-street parking after
the first two free hours; and making some changes to employee and residential permit
programs and Oak Meadow Park parking.
1 www.losgatosca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/23807/Los-Gatos-Parking-Roadmap
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (continued):
A key consideration is that generating the revenue from parking requires adding staff to
implement the program, but adding the staff before there is revenue is not fiscally prudent.
The report discusses scenarios for contracting services related to implementing the program
and staff is looking forward to Council direction.
BACKGROUND:
As employees and patrons arrive to downtown Los Gatos, parking is the first impression of their
experience. Providing both an efficient wayfinding and parking program is crucial in promoting
a positive experience and increasing economic and community vitality.
Recognizing the importance of parking experience, on December 17, 2019 Town Council
accepted the Parking Roadmap2 (Roadmap) developed by Dixon Resources Unlimited (Dixon).
The Roadmap is a multi-step, multi-phase guide to enhancing parking in Downtown. The
Roadmap is clear that significant resources are needed to develop and support a consistent and
positive parking experience. At the time the report was accepted, the Council discussed the
need for consistent enforcement of the timed parking, importance of an effective wayfinding
program, and supported various other aspects of the Roadmap. It was also recognized by the
Town Council and staff that such a program would require additional staffing resources.
The Roadmap documents that an effective parking program has many layers to function
successfully and requires intention to implement and maintain. When in place and operating
effectively, customers and employees spend less time looking for available parking and have a
clear understanding of the requirements for particular spaces, resulting in an overall improved
parking experience. In a fully implemented and staffed parking program, policies like employee
permits, paid parking, and short-term parking options provide stakeholders greater flexibility to
park in a location that meets their needs. Guests who choose to stay parked longer (e.g., when
shopping, dining, or for other services) can pay remotely to alleviate the stress of having to
move their vehicle to comply with two- or three-hour time limits. Employees can park worry
free for the duration of their shift.
Since 2019, implementation of the Parking Roadmap has been a key Council priority. As such,
staff has been working to develop parking related programs and has learned that staff is
stretched too thin to successfully provide the Town’s existing parking services and that
additional programs require commensurate additional staffing to implement and manage.
2 https://www.losgatosca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/23807/Los-Gatos-Parking-Roadmap
PAGE 4 OF 11 SUBJECT: Paid Parking Models and Strategies and Other Recommendations DATE: August 4, 2023
BACKGROUND (continued):
Among work completed, staff contracted with Hunt Design to update the downtown
wayfinding signage; developed and implemented an employee parking program; and explored
with Council a “park once” philosophy and the “Pay to Stay” program. In June 2020, a part-time
parking program manager [0.25 Full Time Equivalent (FTE)] was hired into the Police
Department to begin the Parking Roadmap implementation. The 0.25 FTE temporary position
expired in June 2023, and its funding was not renewed. Early work on implementation of the
parking program was hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pilot downtown employee permit parking program (hereafter not referred to as a pilot) has
been a success with over 1,000 employees registered for an employee permit during the pilot
program period that started in July 2022. A survey completed in April 2023 indicated that 72%
of participating employees experienced improvements in their parking experience. 71% of
respondents said it took less than five minutes to find an available employee parking space.
83% of the employees also indicated that the employee parking program either improved or
had no negative impact on visitor parking.
On December 6, 2022, Town Council received an update on the progress made toward
implementing the Parking Roadmap. After hearing public comment, including suggestions from
the Chamber of Commerce that supported a paid parking program downtown, the Council
provided the following direction:
1. Determine the necessary fees and charges for a parking program that would be fully
cost recoverable;
2. Explain how a paid parking program could help the downtown business community;
3. Implement the wayfinding program; and
4. Evaluate the charges for residential permits.
Council’s general direction included a move toward two-hours of free off-street parking with
pay-to-stay fees ranging between $2.00 to $2.50 per additional hour; on-street parking was
assumed to remain free. At that time, staff had been working on a Request for Proposals for
parking kiosks that would allow users to pay at their respective parking lots and a phone-based
application that would facilitate ease of payment remotely.
Following that direction, staff contracted with Dixon to evaluate the staffing model necessary to
support a paid program and potential parking rates that would generate the revenue needed to
make the operation fully cost recovery. In addition, staff and Dixon evaluated the elements of
the parking program that had been implemented and provided an update on those elements.
This analysis is discussed further in this report and in Attachments 2 and 3.
PAGE 5 OF 11 SUBJECT: Paid Parking Models and Strategies and Other Recommendations DATE: August 4, 2023
BACKGROUND (continued):
The wayfinding and signage project is still in development at this time. Hunt Design is preparing
the final documents to allow for competitive bidding of the project. Parks and Public Works will
facilitate the bidding for construction and oversee the implementation of the signage (including
removal of the older signs). Staff anticipates bidding the project in September, awarding in
early November with construction occurring over the winter.
DISCUSSION:
RESIDENTIAL PERMIT PARKING
Currently, residential parking permits in the downtown costs $42 and residential parking
permits in the Olive Zone cost $248. Staff recommends aligning both the downtown and Olive
Zone to have the same residential permit parking rates.
Rate Adjustments: As noted in the December 2022 Town Council discussion, the fees
associated with residential permits have not been adjusted in many years. Dixon
recommended that the current downtown base rate of $42 per year be escalated by $20 for
each additional vehicle. Staff recommends increasing the rates higher than Dixon
recommended to $52, $72, $92, and $112 per year, for the first, second, third, and fourth
vehicles respectively. This pricing is intended to more accurately reflect to true cost of parking
and discourage residents from procuring unnecessary permits. It is recommended that the
Olive Zone rates be adjusted to match the downtown rates. If Council agrees, staff will return
with an updated Fee Resolution with these changes.
Low-Income Rate: In addition to adjusted rates, Dixon recommended that the Town offer low-
income residents (defined as households at or below 80% Area Median Income) a discounted
rate of $25 per car for up to four vehicles. While this is a good idea, income verification is time
consuming and beyond the Town’s existing staff resources. For this reason, staff is not
recommending implementing a low income rate, but is seeking feedback from Council on this
concept.
Visitor Permits: At present, each resident in the residential zone is eligible to have two visitor
permits each year at no charge. There is nothing to prevent residents from using the free
visitor parking permits on a regular basis to avoid purchasing parking permits for a second and
third vehicle. Staff is seeking direction from Town Council regarding the future of the
residential zone visitor parking permits, and whether these permits should be issued free of
charge.
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DISCUSSION (continued):
OLIVE ZONE EMPLOYEE PERMIT PARKING
Currently, the Town offers parking permits to employees of businesses located in the
downtown and Olive Zone. Employee parking permits in the Olive Zone are $248 per year with
limited participation and employee permits in downtown are free. As previously noted, staff
recommends making the Olive Zone employee parking permits free to align them with the
downtown employee parking permits. Since there is no designated employee parking in the
Olive Zone, employees would be able to park in any space and would be verbally discouraged
from parking in front of businesses.
Ideally, Olive Zone employee parking would be restructured by moving all employee parking off
West Main Street to Church Street and Villa Avenue. Parking Lot 7 at Alpine should also include
designated employee spaces. This would allow the Olive Zone and downtown programs to
operate on the same principle and provide visitors with the best available parking. With both
areas essentially functioning on the same principle, the two programs could be combined,
allowing for free or very low-cost permits. This would create an equitable system for all
employees. However, current staffing levels in Parks and Public Works are such at
implementing these additional changes in Olive Zone parking are not possible.
EFFECTIVE PAID PARKING FOR LOS GATOS
Dixon produced two documents to support discussion of a paid parking program. These are a
Cost Recovery Evaluation (Attachment 2) and a Staffing Plan (Attachment 3) to effectively
support paid parking. Together these reports outline how the Town could implement paid
parking as a full cost recovery operation and in a manner that would provide the support
needed to provide a positive experience for the public.
The following four options of paid parking were evaluated:
• Option 1: Retain existing time limits for on-street parking; introduce paid parking off-
street.
• Option 2: Retain existing time limits for on- and off-street parking.
• Option 3A: Implement paid on- and off-street parking at lowest rates possible to achieve
cost recovery.
• Option 3B: Implement paid on- and off-street parking at market rates for municipal
parking.
Table 1 outlines the financial impacts of each option as well as other considerations. The
results of the analysis indicate Options 1 and 2 are not full cost recovery. Neither of these
programs implement paid on-street parking. If paid on-street parking were not implemented,
PAGE 7 OF 11 SUBJECT: Paid Parking Models and Strategies and Other Recommendations DATE: August 4, 2023
DISCUSSION (continued):
but payment is required for the lots, then users would vie for the limited number of available
on-street spaces while the surface lots remain underutilized.
For Options 3A and 3B, paid on-street parking is included with two hours of free parking
provided in the lots. Excess revenue generated from these options would be used for
improvements in the downtown area, such as improvements to parking assets, streetscape
improvements, etc.
Table 1. Summary of Strategy and Financial Impacts per Option
Note: Excerpted from Parking Program Cost Recovery Evaluation, Appendix A prepared by Dixon (Attachment 2).
OPEX indicates annual operating expenditures and CAPEX indicates capital expenditures. In addition to initial
capital costs of installing equipment, the equipment can have an ongoing operational cost due to pay station
network fees, credit card fees (currently $0.25 plus 3% per transaction), cellular access to facilitate transactions,
and equipment servicing warranties or contracts.
PAGE 8 OF 11 SUBJECT: Paid Parking Models and Strategies and Other Recommendations DATE: August 4, 2023
DISCUSSION (continued):
Revenue: Revenue was estimated for each option with the following assumptions:
1. Paid parking is implemented at Oak Meadow Park at $6.00 per vehicle per day for all
users, residents, and non-residents alike. This fee would match Vasona County Park’s
parking fee. Options would be available for annual pass for frequent users and for
senior users at a rate of $80 and $60 per year respectively. Staff is not recommending
implementing paid parking at Vasona at this time unless and until Council directs an
increase in staffing resources.
2. Olive Zone is added as a paid parking area unless otherwise specified. If paid parking is
not implemented in the Olive Zone, but is implemented in the remaining areas of
downtown, patrons may be inclined to park in the Olive Zone and walk downtown,
which would impact Olive Zone businesses. The revenue analysis completed by Dixon
assumed that fees for Olive Zone would match the fees for downtown. The analysis did
not assume free employee parking permits in downtown and the Olive Zone as
discussed in more detail below.
3. The Town currently offers parking permits to employees of businesses located in the
downtown and Olive Zone. Employee parking permits in the Olive Zone are $248 per
year with limited participation and employee permits in downtown are free. For the
financial analysis, employee parking permits in both zones are assumed to be $10 per
month, with a low-income rate of $5 per month. Despite this model assumption, staff is
proposing at present for all employee parking remain free (i.e., eliminate the fee for
Olive Zone) until a staffing model can be developed that would support management of
the employee permits, at which time, all employee parking permits would be priced at
an appropriate structure.
4. Currently, the rate for downtown residential parking permits is $42 for up to four
vehicles per household. The analysis assumed that residential permit rates are adjusted
per Dixon’s recommendation to escalate the fee for each additional vehicle by $20: $42
per year for the first vehicle, and $60, $80, and $100 for the second, third, and fourth
vehicles respectively. The $42 base fee has been in place for a number of years with no
increase, so staff is recommending that the rate for the first vehicle be $52 per year, or
$1.00 per week. Pricing for the second, third, and fourth vehicles are proposed at $72,
$92, and $112 per year respectively. This pricing is intended to more accurately reflect
to true cost of parking and discourage residents from procuring unnecessary permits.
5. Revenue from leasing parking spots to Tesla for charging stations in the amount of
$96,000 annually would be contributed to the parking program. Tesla revenue currently
supports downtown improvements. (Note: ChargePoint revenue of approximately
PAGE 9 OF 11 SUBJECT: Paid Parking Models and Strategies and Other Recommendations DATE: August 4, 2023
DISCUSSION (continued):
$28,400 per year is credited to the Streets program and is not considered as revenue for
the parking fund).
For more information on these assumptions, see Attachment 2.
Staffing: Parking programs in other jurisdictions that have not been fully staffed and
thoughtfully implemented have struggled to succeed. Dixon provided case studies on the paid
parking management in the cities of Paso Robles, Santa Rosa, and Sausalito (Attachment 4).
These three cities were selected for their similar demographics to the Town. As such, staff is
strongly recommending thoughtful consideration of both the paid parking model and the
required staffing to support the selected model.
Existing Staffing Resources and Challenges: Parking enforcement is currently staffed from 9
a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, consistent with signage and permit parking area
restrictions. Two Parking Control Officers (PCO) are responsible for parking enforcement Town-
wide as well as assisting the Police Department with other duties, such as assisting with traffic
management during the Presidential visit.
All residential and Olive Zone permits are handled by the Police Outreach Coordinator,
including guiding permit holders with the online system, providing customer service to
residents who are not comfortable with online transactions, and working with the parking
vendor who manages the permit software. This position is also responsible for resolving
parking tickets, organizing, and staffing Neighborhood Watch meetings, conducting other
Community Policing outreach events, and other duties.
Previously, a part-time temporary Parking Manager established and implemented the
downtown employee parking permit program and monitored utilization of the designated
employee parking spaces. In 2023, the position was located in the Parks and Public Works
Department to facilitate the wayfinding project as well as other aspects of the program.
This position was not included in the adopted Fiscal Year 2023/24 Budget and this work has not
yet been reassigned to an existing employee given other workload priorities in the Parks and
Public Works (PPW) Department. There is currently a gap in managing downtown employee
permits and providing customer service. Specifically, there is no staff assigned to remove
employees that no longer work in Town, handle renewals, or respond to requests for permits
for new employees.
Proposed Staffing Alternatives: Staffing needed to support each of the four paid parking
options is presented in Table 1. Costs for each option were determined using fully burdened
PAGE 10 OF 11 SUBJECT: Paid Parking Models and Strategies and Other Recommendations DATE: August 4, 2023
DISCUSSION (continued):
salary information for the required staffing needed. Staffing levels were determined from
review of industry best practices for municipal parking programs. Staffing classifications were
considered as well as responsibilities and best practices for the standard functions of program
management, enforcement, and field staff.
Given the need for additional staffing to implement any of the paid parking options, staff is
seeking direction from Council as to which option it would like to explore further, if any. If
Council decides not to pursue paid parking at this time, then staffing options to manage the
existing employee parking permit program include a modification to the Budget to reinstate the
temporary Parking Manager position or a realignment of the duties of an existing PPW position,
recognizing that other work would not be completed.
If Council would like to pursue a paid parking option, below are three staffing alternatives for
consideration and direction:
Staffing Alternative A: The Town adds staff and manages a paid parking program with internal
resources. This is the model upon which the Dixon analyses are based.
Staffing Alternative B: Contract the services of a parking program manager. The cost for this
would be determined through competitive bidding and would be based on the final scope of
services. Initial estimates suggest costs could be approximately $150,000 for one year of
program management, which would be less than the fully loaded cost of adding Parking
Manager staff position. Examples of work that could be completed in Year 1 include with this
type of contract might include installation of paid parking kiosks (capital costs would be in
excess of the management fee noted), implementation of a mobile application for payment,
development of the job class specifications for the various parking related positions the Town
would need to add to support the permanent program, and ongoing outreach and coordination
with the community.
Staffing Alternative C: Contract the services for capital development, operation, maintenance,
enforcement and management of the paid parking program, including residential and employee
permits. The cost for this level of service has not been determined at this time.
Staffing Alternative B and C would require staff time to develop the program, competitively bid
the service and oversee its implementation, in addition to the resources needed to manage the
current program for residential and employee permits during the transition. If those
alternatives were to be considered, staff recommends the addition of a Parking Manager or
Parking Coordinator position to oversee the work of the contractors.
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CONCLUSION:
Staff is recommending changes to the residential permit parking program fees, which have not
been increased in recent years; modifications to the Olive Zone parking fees and structures; and
is seeking feedback and direction on implementing low-income rates once staffing is added to
the parking program.
Staff has evaluated four options for implementing a paid parking program in Town. All of these
require additional staff to support the program and two of these are projected to be fully cost
recovery. If the Council is interested in pursuing paid parking, Options 3A or 3B would ensure
the program is fully cost recoverable. Staff is seeking direction from Council on next steps.
COORDINATION:
This report was coordinated with the Economic Vitality Manager, Town Manager, Town
Attorney, Finance Director, and the Los Gatos Monte Sereno Police Chief.
Outreach is occurring in coordination with the Complete Streets and Transportation
Commission and the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce on August 10, 2023. A supplemental
memorandum will be prepared to provide a summary of the feedback received during that
outreach.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Revenue from the residential and Olive Zone parking permit programs was $46,041 for Fiscal
Year 2022/2023. Changes to the residential permit parking fees may increase revenue slightly,
and the actual amount will vary on the number of permits issued. Charging higher rates for
additional cars may reduce the number of total permits issued.
Other proposed actions are policy considerations and have no revenue implications until
additional direction is provided.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
This is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required.
Attachments:
1. Downtown and Olive Zone Boundaries
2. Cost Recovery Evaluation
3. Parking Staffing Plan
4. Case Studies