Free parking will cover Tree Lighting, not days following Thanksgiving

Hermosa Beach stores did not quite get everything on their list this holiday season, but one of their gifts is coming a little bit early.

In an effort to encourage shopping at local stores, Hermosa Beach will bag city parking meters for the month of December through Christmas Day. The program begins Friday, Dec. 1, three days earlier than initially approved by the City Council, thanks to an administrative intervention from City Manager Sergio Gonzalez.

The council voted in October to approve a free parking program that would cover “silver-post” meters for the period from Dec. 4 to Dec. 25. (Meters in Pier Plaza parking structures, as well as “yellow-post” residential meters, are not included in the program.) But several retailers spoke at the City Council meeting on Nov. 14, wondering why the council chose not to pursue a longer period that would begin Nov. 24, “Black Friday,” considered the busiest shopping day of the year.

Council members seemed sympathetic, but under the Brown Act could not vote to spend the funds needed extend the time period because the issue was not on the agenda. The council’s next meeting does not take place until Nov. 28, after Black Friday. But under the municipal code, Gonzalez is empowered to spend up to $30,000 at his discretion, and on Friday he announced that he was extending the program. The three added days will cost the city about $14,000, Gonzalez said in an email. The added weekend includes the Holiday Tree Lighting on Dec. 3, traditionally a strong sales opportunity for downtown retailers.

After several years in which the council approved a three-week holiday parking program, the city bagged meters for a full month in 2016, beginning Black Friday. Many retailers said on Nov. 14 that they assumed that the same would hold true for this year, and were surprised when the council chose a shorter program.

“I kind of thought it was a no-brainer,” said Kathy Knoll, a co-owner of Uncorked Wine Shop on Pier Avenue and The Deck.

The outpouring from retailers created an awkward moment on the dias. Some council members tried to figure out a way around the previous decision, while Councilmember Hany Fangary was hesitant to say anything for fear of running afoul of public meeting laws.

The council had unanimously decided at its Oct. 24 meeting on a three-week program, the duration recommended by city staff, over a 32-day alternative that would have covered Black Friday. Bagging the meters costs the city over $4,600 a day in foregone meter revenue and parking tickets, according to a staff report. The tab for the three-week program was estimated to cost the city $96,975, while a 32-day program tallied $147,772, and the added cost tilted the council toward a shorter program.

“I would like it to last 32 days, but I think it’s too much money,” said Councilmember Carolyn Petty at October meeting.

The Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Bureau submitted a letter to the council in advance of the meeting, urging adoption of a program beginning on Black Friday. Kim MacMullan, the former Chamber president, had been slated to make a presentation to the council on the issue but was out of town the night of the meeting. (MacMullan left office Nov. 3; Maureen Hunt, who previously helmed the Chamber, is now serving as interim president).

MacMullan’s absence may have harmed the chances of an extended meter-bagging program. When deciding on the length of the program, several council members said they wished that they had had information about how effective the added days were at enhancing business.

“There should be data behind this decision-making. Right now, we don’t have the ability to compare 2015 with 2016 to see if the additional time actually resulted in higher sales for our businesses. This has to be driven by that. Absent that, the best thing to do is coordinate with neighboring cities,” said Mayor Justin Massey.

But at the Nov. 14 meeting, retailers would go on to say that having the bagged meters made a significant difference in 2016. Brian Cooley, who co-owns several Hermosa businesses including Wicked+ on Pier Avenue, said that having the meters bagged for the week including Black Friday boosted his business by as much as 65 percent for the period over the previous year.

The “neighboring cities” point also caught the council by surprise. Redondo Beach’s program will run from Dec. 9 through Jan. 1. But the Manhattan Beach City Council voted on Nov. 7, in between the two Hermosa meetings, to extend its bagged parking program from three weeks to one running from Nov. 27 through Dec. 25.

Gonzalez said in an email last week that he had decided to extend the free parking program in part because of Manhattan’s decision. But he also cited the negative impact on downtown businesses of recent work on Pier Avenue by Southern California Edison, which concluded on Friday.

Cooley, of Wicked+, said in an email that the ongoing work from Edison had “crushed” the store’s sales and that he was eager for the bags to encourage people to buy local.

“What’s great about the red bagged meters is that it’s a sign the holidays are here. It gets people in the spirit, and it’s a nice gesture for locals in our community to be able to park for free while they shop,” he said.

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