City of La Palma Agenda Item No. 11 MEETING DATE: July 7, 2015 TO: FROM: SUBMITTED BY: CITY COUNCIL CITY MANAGER Eric R. Nuñez, Police Chief AGENDA TITLE: Civil Penalties for Street Sweeping Fines RECOMMENDED ACTION: It is recommended that the City Council adopt a Resolution to increase civil penalties for La Palma Municipal Code (LPMC) 41-131(7) Street Sweeping Parking Violations, Prohibitions, and Restrictions. BACKGROUND: State law permits cities to regulate street parking and to set the bail or fine amounts for violations of local parking ordinances. Cities are permitted to retain the money collected for parking citation fines minus various fees and assessments attached to each citation pursuant to state law. There are currently six (6) assessments attached to each parking citation issued in the City of La Palma: 1. $1.50 (SB1047) State Court Facilities Construction Fund 70372 (b) 2. $3.00 (SB1407) Intermediate and Critical Needs Account 70372 3. $1.50 Criminal Justice Facilities Construction Fund 76000 and 76101 4. $1.50 Courthouse Construction Fund 76000 and 76100 5. $2.00 County General Fund 6. $3.00 (ABB1617) Trial Court Trust Fund Total: $12.50 These assessments add up to $12.50 per parking citation. There are also Phoenix Group administrative fees that average out to $2.62 per citation. The average fine of Orange County cities that maintain their own police department (not including La Palma) is $45.17 per citation for a violation of their Street Sweeping Ordinance. Currently, the City of La Palma has the lowest fine ($30.00) per citation for a violation of the Street Sweeping Ordinance. Agenda Item 11 Page 1 of 2
SUMMARY: In 2011, City Council increased the parking penalties by $3.00 per citation to cover the Trial Court Trust Fund assessment of $3.00. On April 21, 2015, the City Council considered the possibility of increasing parking. Staff surveyed 20 Orange County cities (that maintain their own police departments) and found that the City of La Palma currently has the lowest fine for its street sweeping ordinance. Parking on the street during street sweeping has several negative effects including less efficient street sweeping, degradation of storm water quality, potential accident risks, and increased enforcement time by City staff. The most effective way to mitigate these impacts is by discouraging violations in the first place. Having disproportionately low fines does not fulfill this objective. It is recommended that the City Council adopt a resolution to increase the penalty for a violation of the street sweeping ordinance from $30.00 to $45.00 per citation, which would put the City at the county average. (See Attachment 2). FISCAL IMPACT: The annual cost of maintaining the parking control program includes one part-time employee at a cost of $11,700 per year and a vehicle with annual maintenance cost (which includes vehicle replacement) of $4,500 per year, totaling $16,200 annually. In 2014, the Police Department issued nearly 2000 parking citations for violating the street sweeping ordinance bringing in annual revenue averaging nearly $30,000 after court fees and administrative fees. If the City Council approves the recommended penalty schedule increase for street sweeping violations, these increases would cover the cost of the parking control program and slightly increase the revenue generated from the fine increase, with an overall goal of reducing violations of the Street Sweeping Ordinance. APPROVED: Department Director Administrative Services City Manager Director Attachments: 1. Proposed Resolution 2. Street Sweeping Violation Penalties 3. Street Sweeping Matrix Agenda Item 11 Page 2 of 2
RESOLUTION NO. 2015- A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CITY OF LA PALMA TO INCREASE CIVIL PENALTIES FOR LPMC 41-131(7) STREET SWEEPING PARKING VIOLATIONS, PROHIBITIONS, AND RESTRICTIONS WHEREAS, the City of La Palma is empowered to impose reasonable service fees for a variety municipal benefits and services; and, WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of La Palma can establish civil penalties for any violation of the City of La Palma Municipal Code; and, WHEREAS, the current civil penalty for a violation of LPMC 41-131(7) Street Sweeping Parking, Prohibition, and Restriction is $30.00; and WHEREAS, it has been perceived that the low civil penalty does not encourage compliance with City parking restrictions and prohibitions; and, WHEREAS, Orange County cities have civil penalty schedules for street sweeping violations, restrictions, and prohibitions that are considerably higher than La Palma; and, WHEREAS, a violation of this Municipal Code provision shall be enforced as a civil penalty as provided in Sections 40200, et seq., of the California Vehicle Code. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of La Palma does hereby resolve as follows: SECTION 1. Every person violating section 41-131(7) of the La Palma Municipal Code shall have committed a parking violation. SECTION 2. Civil penalty for violation of section 41-131(7) of the La Palma Municipal Code shall be amended to $45.00, which is consistent with the Orange County average for a violation of the Street Sweeping Ordinance. SECTION 3. Effective Date. This resolution shall become effective July 8, 2015. APPROVED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of La Palma at a regular meeting held on the 7th day of July 2015. Peter L. Kim Mayor
ATTEST: Laurie A. Murray, CMC City Clerk
City Minimum Fine Buena Park $34.00 Cypress $40.00 Garden Grove $51.00 La Habra $50.00 Costa Mesa $51.00 Irvine $45.00 Westminster $45.00 Orange $52.00 Placentia $43.00 Tustin $51.00 Brea $38.00 Laguna Beach $43.00 Huntington Beach $44.00 Newport Beach $54.00 Santa Ana $58.00 Anaheim $40.00 Seal Beach $43.50 Fullerton $38.00 Fountain Valley $43.00 Los Alamitos $40.00 Average of 20 = 45.17 Average including La Palma ($30.00) = 44.45 Low La Palma $30.00 High Santa Ana $58.00