EDITORIAL: Include area businesses in parking vote

Residents of the midtown area of Laguna Beach will have an important decision to make next spring: whether to adopt a pilot preferential parking program in the area.

The City Council, against the advice of its own staff and appointed committee, but backed up by the Planning Commission, has agreed to give midtown residents what many have been clamoring for: resident-only parking on neighborhood streets — if a majority in the area approve it.

Residents of the so-called Flatlands area say they need relief from late-night carousers and early morning employees who hunt for free parking in the area. They want these outsiders kept out and off “their” streets.

Many details are still to be determined, including who will vote on the matter, homeowners only or tenants as well. Also to be decided is the boundary of the voting district, not to mention the boundary of the preferential parking zone. These will be tough decisions for city staff to make, because preferential parking is likely to push nonresidents to other areas in search of open parking spots.

Not included in the vote will be the business owners who will be the most affected by such a plan.

If resident-only preferential parking wins out, businesses will be hard-pressed to find long-term, free parking for their employees, and their customers may find themselves looking farther for a parking spot — and might just drive on instead of stopping to shop.

Unfortunately, in the midtown “hotel row” area of Laguna, parking options are limited. This means those who must find parking to keep their jobs will have to look elsewhere, most likely in other neighborhoods where parking is free and long-term.

As for those enjoying nightclubs and restaurants, they’ll have to pay for street parking, which is probably what they should have been doing all along.

A parking survey conducted last year concluded the obvious: If customer parking is taken away, customers will go elsewhere.

Since the businesses have at least as great a stake in the issue of preferential parking as residents, they should have a vote on it.