For more than 20 years, a San Juan Bautista ordinance limiting
parking in the downtown area to one hour has sat on the city’s
books, virtually ineffective because of a lack of proper signage
enforcing it.
For more than 20 years, a San Juan Bautista ordinance limiting parking in the downtown area to one hour has sat on the city’s books, virtually ineffective because of a lack of proper signage enforcing it.
In response to residents’ complaints about the lack of available parking downtown, San Juan City Manager Larry Cain sent a memo to local merchants regarding parking in front of businesses.
“I sent the memo explaining this is what the ordinance is,” Cain said. “But we can’t really enforce it because there is no signage out there.”
Cain met with local merchants Thursday to discuss the ordinance.
“If you’re concerned about the one-hour ordinance and the $100 fines, then you need to bring it up with the City Council,” he said.
When the city had its own police department and a different set of street lights with parking signs attached to them, the ordinance was enforced. Since then, the city has installed new decorative street lights, but without adding the parking signs.
“The way it is right now, if I want to enforce the ordinance that’s in code, I have to put up signage, and in order to put up the signage I would have to go to the planning commission for approval, and who knows what would happen,” Cain said.
The city has about $7,000 in a parking fund but limited parking spaces to offer to tourists, he said.
“We can’t create parking spaces, but we can buy it or rent it,” Cain said, adding that he’s looking for ways to increase the number of parking spaces.
But some residents say the solution is to get rid of the ordinance altogether.
“Tourists don’t come to San Juan for just an hour,” Rebecca McGovern said. “The ordinance should be taken off the books.”
Terry Marburger, executive director of the San Juan Bautista Chamber of Commerce, said the city needs to move on the issue immediately while it’s still fresh in everyone’s mind.
“This one-hour ordinance is not good for business. It’s not good for tourists because they’ll never come back if they have to pay $100 fine,” she said.
A committee was formed between the chamber and the San Juan Bautista Merchants Association to investigate the ordinance and how to approach the City Council to initiate a change.
“We need to make sure we stay a tourist-friendly town,” Marburger said, adding that the tourist trade has been bad enough over the last three years.
“We don’t need this to add on top of things,” she said. “It’s detrimental to business.”
Chamber president Donna Holmes said the next step will be to attend the next City Council meeting. The Council is expected to review its current in-lieu parking fee of $250 per space next month.
