TO:
Honorable Parking and Public Improvements Commission Chair and Commissioners
THROUGH:
Michael Codron, Interim Community Development Director
FROM:
Erik Zandvliet, T.E., City Traffic Engineer
SUBJECT:Title
Consider a Residential Parking Permit Program in the Neighborhood West of Sepulveda Boulevard between Manhattan Beach Boulevard and 33rd Street
RECOMMEND ADOPTION BY CITY COUNCIL
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the Commission pass a motion recommending the City Council adopt a resolution establishing a Tree Section Residential Permit Parking Program in the neighborhood bounded by Sepulveda Boulevard, Manhattan Beach Boulevard, Pine Avenue and 33rd Street. Staff does not recommend implementation of permit parking restrictions on Oak Avenue between 19th Street and Marine Avenue until such time as significant and recurring non-resident parking intrusion is verified.
BACKGROUND:
On August 2, 2005, the City Council approved the Mira Costa Residential Permit Parking Program to address student parking intrusion into the adjacent neighborhood. The Program authorizes the posting of school day parking restrictions on certain streets with fronting residences near Mira Costa High School. The restrictions are set up with staggered hours on opposite sides of the street to prohibit continuous parking during the school day, but allows for limited parking without parking permits. Pursuant to the existing Program, 15 street segments have been posted with permit parking restrictions.
On October 21, 2008, the City Council approved the 2008 Downtown Parking Management Plan (Plan). The Plan authorized the establishment of the Downtown Residential Permit Parking Program to address overflow merchant and customer parking intrusion in the neighborhood located east of Ardmore Avenue adjacent to the Downtown Business District. This Program authorizes the posting of 2-Hour parking restrictions between 7AM and 8PM on certain streets within the permit zone, but exempts vehicles with resident permits from the time limit. The permit zone includes a buffer area in which residents on certain street segments can petition to be added into the Program, subject to the verification that there is significant overflow parking impact from Downtown businesses. Pursuant to the existing Program, 22 street segments have been posted with permit parking restrictions.
On May 21, 2024, the City Council approved the Oak Avenue Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan (NTMP)and a set of initial measures, which included the following measure:
Conduct a study to verify recurring non-resident parking intrusion and determine if a residential parking permit program would be appropriate on residential streets immediately west of the commercial properties along Sepulveda Boulevard between Manhattan Beach Boulevard and 33rd Street.
In May 2025, the City received a resident petition requesting the installation of resident permit parking restrictions on Oak Avenue between 19th Street and Marine Avenue. (Attachment A). The petition was signed by 29 of the 32 homes (90% in favor) with frontages on this street segment (Attachment B). The petition requests full-time parking restrictions except by permit similar to other permit parking zones in the city. At a meeting with residents in April, they stated that parking from commercial businesses along Sepulveda Boulevard often overflows onto Oak Avenue. They are also concerned about potential for overflow residential parking from a planned residential overlay development project at 2301 Sepulveda Boulevard.
Pursuant to this initial NTMP measure and the submitted petition, staff conducted a parking study in the petitioned area, and the results are summarized in this report.
DISCUSSION:
The area being considered for the residential permit parking program identified in the Oak Avenue NTMP is generally bounded by 33rd Street, Sepulveda Boulevard, Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Pine Avenue. Manhattan Village Shopping Center is located east of Sepulveda Boulevard between Marine Avenue and Rosecrans Avenue. The land uses along Sepulveda Boulevard are primarily retail, office and personal services, with some restaurants. Residential properties within the study area are mainly single-family homes. No elementary schools are located within the study area. The street network is shown on the Location Map attached to this report.
Sepulveda Boulevard is classified as a Regional Arterial roadway pursuant to the City’s adopted Mobility Plan. Marine Avenue is classified as a Residential Collector Street west of Sepulveda Boulevard and a Minor Arterial roadway to the east. Manhattan Beach Boulevard is classified as a Minor Arterial roadway west of Sepulveda Boulevard. Valley Drive and Ardmore Avenue are classified as Residential Collector Streets. All other streets within the study area are Local Streets.
Pursuant to the City’s Mobility Plan, Local Streets are intended “solely for access to adjacent residential land uses. They provide for circulation within a residential neighborhood, including bicycle and pedestrian access. Any through traffic, including through traffic from one residential neighborhood to another, is discouraged. Local streets have one lane in each direction and have speed limits of 25 miles per hour or slower. Curbside parking is generally allowed where the street width is sufficient to support both moving traffic and parking lanes.”
In March 2023, the City established a Residential Overlay District (ROD) in the Commercial Zone along Sepulveda Boulevard adjacent to the Oak Avenue NTMP area. This new zoning allows for high density multi-family housing in addition to the existing commercial uses, along with reduced parking requirements for low income housing units. This densification of land uses is expected to increase parking demand on adjacent residential streets. Permit parking zones are often used to protect the adjacent residential neighborhoods from overflow parking generated by adjacent uses, as discussed in the Background section of this report.
Neighborhood Parking Analysis
Neighborhood streets in the proposed permit parking program area are improved with rolled curbs and some parking pads. Parking is generally allowed on both sides of residential streets. A full street closure is located on 30th Street west of the commercial properties along Sepulveda Boulevard to discourage commercial traffic intrusion into the neighborhood. However, pedestrians are able to walk through the closure area.
The petitioners live on Oak Avenue between 19th Street and Marine Avenue, which is a 20 feet wide local residential street with a 25 MPH prima facie speed located one street west of Sepulveda Boulevard. Oak Avenue is stopped at 19th Street and Marine Avenue. Curb parking is allowed on both sides of the street on parking pads or adjacent to the gutters, with a total of 41 public parking spaces. This street segment is not posted for street sweeping restrictions.
Field observations were made on typical days during peak and non-peak periods in July 2025. Street parking on Oak Avenue is moderate most of the day and tapers off at night but does not exceed 50% occupancy at any time. Construction activity was observed at one home. It also appears that some vehicles were parked in the same parking pad for numerous days without movement. Parking related to commercial businesses was not observed except for a couple of vehicles parked adjacent to the small shopping center south of Marine Avenue.
Proposed Tree Section Parking Permit Program
The Traffic Engineer believes that a permit parking program similar to the Downtown Resident Permit Parking Program would be very effective in eliminating employee and other non-resident parking where it occurs west of Sepulveda Boulevard. It would also address the likelihood of overflow parking from high density multi-family developments or mixed-use development as now allowed by current zoning codes. By also requiring a verification of non-resident parking intrusion before posting parking restrictions, similar to what is done in the Downtown zone, the often burdensome permit requirements and related enforcement would not extend beyond the street segments that are verified to be impacted. The Traffic Engineer has prepared draft guidelines for a proposed Tree Section Resident Permit Parking Program modeled on the Downtown Resident Permit Parking Program’s guidelines for consideration along with the establishment of the new permit parking zone. (Attachment D)
Conversely, it should also be noted that “No parking except by permit” restrictions can be overly restrictive to residents because it would require a permit for every vehicle parked on the street, including visitors, home maintenance workers, personal services and others that are parked for only a short time.
Based on the existing mix of land uses and parking study, the Traffic Engineer has determined that sufficient parking is available for residents at all times and recurrent non-resident parking intrusion is not currently impacting parking supply. While a permit parking restriction would not be justified at this time based on parking availability, a two-hour parking restriction (except by permit) could be implemented in the future administratively as long as the permit parking program has been previously established for this area.
Legal Authority
Since public streets are owned by government agencies and maintained with public funds, street parking must remain open and available to all users by law, subject to certain parking restrictions authorized in the California Vehicle Code (CVC). When recurrent and heavy parking demand significantly limits the ability for residents to have an equitable opportunity to park on a public street, the CVC allows a local jurisdiction to limit or restrict parking. CVC Section 22507(a) states:
22507. (a) Local authorities may, by ordinance or resolution, prohibit or restrict the stopping, parking, or standing of vehicles, including, but not limited to, vehicles that are six feet or more in height (including any load thereon) within 100 feet of any intersection, on certain streets or highways, or portions thereof, during all or certain hours of the day. The ordinance or resolution may include a designation of certain streets upon which preferential parking privileges are given to residents and merchants adjacent to the streets for their use and the use of their guests, under which the residents and merchants may be issued a permit or permits that exempt them from the prohibition or restriction of the ordinance or resolution. With the exception of alleys, the ordinance or resolution shall not apply until signs or markings giving adequate notice thereof have been placed. A local ordinance or resolution adopted pursuant to this section may contain provisions that are reasonable and necessary to ensure the effectiveness of a preferential parking program.
RECOMMENDATION:
Based on the proximity of commercial businesses and new zoning codes that allow for high density multi-family developments proximate to the residential neighborhood, staff recommends establishment of the Tree Section Residential Permit Parking Program, with guidelines similar to the Downtown Resident Permit Parking Program. Further, based on the proposed guidelines for the Tree Section Resident Parking permit program, staff does not recommend implementation of permit parking restrictions on Oak Avenue between 19th Street and Marine Avenue until such time as significant and recurring non-resident parking intrusion is verified.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
Residents and property owners within 300 feet of the requested permit parking zone on Oak Avenue were notified by mail of the meeting to discuss the proposed permit parking zone and were invited to give input to the Commission. The public has been informed of this agenda item as part of the City’s standard meeting notice practices via public bulletin boards, website calendar, and social media.
ATTACHMENTS:
A. Map - Oak Avenue Resident Permit Parking Petition Zone
B. Oak Avenue Resident Permit Parking Petition
C. Tree Section Resident Permit Parking Program Location Map
D. Draft Tree Section Resident Permit Parking Program Guidelines