Community Corner
July 10 2018 San Bruno CA Council Considers Raising Parking Fines
Is there any need to raise parking fines in San Bruno CA?
Article Source: City of San Bruno CA
DATE: July 10, 2018
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
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FROM: Connie Jackson, City Manager
SUBJECT: Adopt Resolution Authorizing an Increase in Fines for Parking Violations Defined in the California Vehicle Code and the San Bruno Municipal Code.
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BACKGROUND:
As part of its ongoing efforts to promote compliance with parking regulations, maintain an up-to-date fine schedule, and enhance the quality of life in residential and commercial areas, the police department recently conducted a comprehensive review of its parking violation schedule. The review revealed that the schedule has not been amended since 2010, when the fine for most parking violations was set at $38.00. Comparing the current violation schedule with that of neighboring cities shows that many of the City's fines are below the regional area average and do not necessarily take into account the severity of the violation. As described in more detail below, some of these relatively low fine amounts do not appear sufficient to deter violations and gain compliance.
While deterrence and compliance with parking regulations are important law enforcement goals, Assembly Bill (AB) 503, which became effective on July 1, 2018, requires law enforcement agencies to allow indigent individuals to pay for citations using a payment plan. To comply with the new law, the City's third-party administrator, Turbo Data Systems has implemented a Payment Plan Module, which costs an additional $11.00 per indigent payment plan application. Although the Police Department does not engage in parking enforcement to raise revenue, this state requirement imposes an additional unfunded cost on police department enforcement of parking violations.
In order to adjust the City's fine schedule to reflect current practices, deter violations and gain additional compliance, and offset the anticipated increased cost to the City mandated by the State's indigent payment plan program, the City Council may consider increasing the fines for violations of parking regulations as set forth in this report.
DISCUSSION:
The California Vehicle Code authorizes the City Council to establish local parking regulations and to set penalties for violations. The Vehicle Code generally caps fines at $100 per violation, and cities have discretion to set such fines at any level below that amount. However, the Vehicle Code establishes a larger fine for certain violations associated with handicapped access. The City's parking violation fine schedule was last increased in November 2010. That increase brought the fines in general conformity with neighboring jurisdictions. Since that time, the City's fine schedule has fallen below the previously set average of approximately $38 for the majority of violations, with other neighboring cities setting fines for most violations in the average range of $40-46.
To reflect this trend, the City Council could consider a baseline increase in all fines of $2.00. Certain fine amounts as reflected in the attached schedule could also be modified based upon the severity of the violation to deter parking violations that endanger both pedestrians and the motoring public alike. For example, violations involving parking on a sidewalk, double parking, parking on state highways such as El Camino Real and Skyline Blvd street cleaning, loading zone, 72 hour limit, and overtime parking, among others, would be increased from $38 to $60. The fine for parking in a fire lane would increase from $63 to $100, and obstructing a sidewalk or handicap ramp would increase from $253 to $338.
A complete summary of current and proposed parking fines is attached to this report for City Council consideration. As noted previously, the City Council retains the authority to set parking violation fines at any amount generally up to $100. The City Council may wish to evaluate whether it might be desirable to increase other fines such as the fine for blocking a driveway or for parking within 15' of a fire hydrant in response to resident concern for stronger deterrents for those violations. Similarly, the City Council may want to consider a lower fine amount than proposed for street sweeping or other violations to avoid adverse impacts to residents receiving citations.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Staff cannot estimate at this time how the proposed fine schedule would affect the amounts collected. In general, the City receives about 61% of the base fine amount from each citation, with the remainder going to the state, county, and to cover administrative fees. The City received approximately $636,700 in parking violation revenue for fiscal year 2017-18 through May, 2018. The majority of this violation fine revenue comes from street sweeping and overtime parking violations. The fiscal impact of the state-mandated indigent payment plan program is also unknown at this time, and may change in the future, as additional legislation is pending.
ALTERNATIVES:
- Do not raise fines related to parking violations. The City is still required to provide a payment plan as set forth in AB 503 and will still remain below average in parking fines.
- Provide direction to staff to modify all or certain specific parking fines by a different amount.
RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt resolution authorizing an increase in fines for parking violations defined in the California Vehicle Code and the San Bruno Municipal Code.
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FULL Council Agenda Packet WITH Staff Reports can be viewed and downloaded from:
https://sanbruno.ca.gov/gov/elected_officials/city_council_minutes_n_agendas.htm
This document should be available late Friday before the Tuesday Council Meeting
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Robert Riechel
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E=Mail: SanBrunoPatch.Robert@Yahoo.com
Photo Credit: San Bruno CA Patch Archives
Source Credit: San Bruno CA City Council
