Nov 22, 2007 9:03 am US/Pacific
Beverly Hills To Increase Free Parking On Friday
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (CBS) ―
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Beverly Hills will add more free parking starting Friday to help draw shoppers to the area.
CBS
Beverly Hills will resume providing two hours of free parking in four city-owned structures beginning Friday in an attempt to lure shoppers.
Beverly Hills reduced the length of free parking to one hour a year ago to generate revenue to compensate for lower income from sales and hotel taxes. However, complaints from residents and merchants prompted the City Council to vote 5-0 Nov. 13 to reinstitute two hours of free parking.
The extended free parking will be available at structures located at 216 S. Beverly Drive; 345 N. Beverly Drive; 9510 Brighton Way and 438 N. Beverly Drive/439 N. Canon Drive.
"We have to do everything we can to show the people that shop here that we welcome them," City Councilman Frank Fenton told City News Service. "We need to compete with all these other shopping centers that are around. One thing that I learned over the years is that people want to shop where they're welcome. It's not the money, it's the thought they have to pay for parking."
Mayor Jimmy Delshad called the return of two-hour free parking "a win- win for the city, merchants and residents."
"It's a great step for the city of Beverly Hills," Delshad said.
Delshad said one factor in his support of reinstating two hours of free parking was a recent series of meetings in New York City with executives of retailers with stores in Beverly Hills.
"A lot of them have their own valet parking, but validating their parking is costing them a lot more than it would cost if people have two-hour free parking," Delshad said.
The length of free parking was reduced after a downturn in sales and hotel occupancy meant less sales and transient occupancy tax revenues. In an attempt to compensate for those losses, the city shifted funds from the parking enterprise fund to the general fund.
To reduce the shortfall in the parking enterprise fund, which finances parking structure improvements, the length of free parking was shortened.
Delshad said increasing the length of free parking will cost the city's parking enterprise fund $1.7 million this fiscal year. The city government "will find other ways" to compensate for that loss, Fenton said.
"We have plenty of cash in reserve, so I'm not worried about that," Fenton said.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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