District Three
Runoff Question 5: What do you think of the current parking permit system?
Lisa Landau
Parking permits can be divided into three parts: resident permits, visitor permits, and Beach Lot permits.
The resident permit works fine. Once a year you pay to have your plate registered and then you have a year of hassle-free parking.
The Beach Parking Lot passes also work well. Residents get a good discount on beach parking which is especially needed for those in District 3 who have children frequenting the beach and attending the great Junior Guard Program.
The visitor permit, however, does not work, has not worked and no one is listening at City Hall. A resident is entitled to two visitor passes. To keep a visitor from receiving a hefty $67.00 ticket, license plate numbers need to be put in online for your visitors. Every time you have a new visitor an old license plate number needs to be taken out and a new one added. If you have several visitors (i.e. grandchildren, friends, construction, tradespeople, etc.) during the day, every time someone comes, the old plate needs to be taken out and the new one put in. How time-consuming and cumbersome for residents!
It may work well for City Hall. It does not work for the residents. Let’s bring back the visitor hang tags! The visitor hang tags are more resident friendly, and easier to use. Let’s put the residents first.
Vote for me because I have lived and worked to better our community for years. I have used our permits for years and have experienced what has worked and what hasn’t. I ask for your vote, Lisa Landau.
Stephanie Wade
In District 3, I want to restore parking on the South side of 1st Street between PCH and Welcome Lane. There is no compelling reason that parking is restricted there and it would be a great convenience for local residents and their guests.
I also expect to work with fellow councilmembers for parking rules that are best for everyone.
One problematic issue for Seal Beach residents is the guest parking permits for Old Town. Rather than requiring residents to ask for and give the Police Department the license plate number and registration information of each guest, I suggest returning to the placard system.
A revived placard system would allow residents to pay for up to 2 guest parking permits that could be used interchangeably but without the intrusion and inconvenience of giving the SBPD the license and registration information of every overnight guest.
Alternatively, we could modify the current system so that residents could enter their own parking and vehicle information for identification purposes and get print-at-home, date-specified parking permits. Of course, this is an issue for District 1 residents and I will defer to Mayor Kalmick who represents them.
I also want to protect free parking on Main Street. I have heard one councilmember argue that we should put in pay kiosks to raise revenue because “every other beach city already has them.” While I am cognizant of the city’s fiscal needs, I’m not sure they would raise much revenue when the cost of enforcement, maintenance and potential reduction in business income and sales tax are factored in. I am also reluctant to give up an amenity we all love. Isn’t that part of our small town charm? Who doesn’t like the ability to run a quick errand or have a meal without paying a meter or getting a ticket? Moreover, I believe free parking gives our restaurateurs and retailers a competitive advantage over neighboring cities. I want a resident and business friendly approach that is good for all. That includes the thriving ecosystem of downtown businesses we all love and on whom we depend for city sales tax revenue. So, I am not pledging never to support paid parking, but I will only support it if and when there has been broad supportive public input and clear evidence that revenue gained in fees would be net positive for the city. The juice has to be worth the squeeze.
Runoff Question 6: Should council members (or their spokespersons) be allowed to speak directly with staff or should they work through the city manager?
Lisa Landau
City Hall is the people’s hall. It is where our business is transacted. Every council member should be able to interface at any time with any employee. In fact, with an appointment, any resident should be able to talk to any employee.
However, City Hall also needs to get work done in an orderly fashion, and employee time is costly. At no time should a Councilmember or member of the public try to request work to be done or assign tasks to an employee. That is the City Manager’s job. Money needs to be allocated to assigned tasks and budgeted for through and approved by the Council as a whole.
The culture at City Hall needs to be one where transparency, courtesy, and helpfulness are given to the public. Transparency means open and above board in all transactions and relationships. I will insist that all city business is conducted with transparency and honesty.
Courtesy and helpfulness mean that employees help residents and businesses transact their business. The contracting out of everything from business licenses to parking tickets has not helped either transparency or helpfulness. I would like to see more in-house service and less outsourcing. That way, Councilmembers, residents, and businesses can get the information they need, get to know our City employees, solve problems and take care of business together,
I will insist that every employee not only be polite, but helpful regardless of the service needed by our resident or business.
Vote for Lisa Landau.
Stephanie Wade
One of the first principles of leadership I learned in the Marine Corps was to respect the chain of command. This principle has served me well as a public school teacher, coach, congressional aide, Chair of the Orange County Veterans Advisory Council and, now, as Policy Advisor to OC Supervisor Katrina Foley.
City staff should have one boss, not five. It’s not the role of councilmembers to direct the work of city staff. That role falls to the city manager, who is properly accountable to the city council.
On occasion, getting the best information will require councilmembers to speak directly with city employees about problems and policies that come before them. Knowing the high quality of Seal Beach city employees, I expect these interactions will be mutually courteous, civil and informative.
For example, one of my first actions on council will be to talk directly with staff about traffic safety in District 3. As a councilmember I will ask for a briefing where I can hear directly from and ask questions of Seal Beach Police and Public Works leadership. I want to know what they can tell me about the most accident prone intersections in my district. I am especially interested in what can be done at the intersection of 5th and Marina. In just the past four years, two of my neighbors were nearly killed in the crosswalk by motorists who ran the stop signs and blinking red light there. Similarly, the issues of flooding and sea level rise are of vital interest to my flood-prone district. So, as soon as I am sworn in, I will request a briefing about and tour of city infrastructure. I want to get a detailed understanding of the city’s existing storm drainage and pumping system. This is the level of detailed knowledge I will always strive for so that I can work most effectively with the city manager and fellow councilmembers to shape city policy and spending.
As in everything else I do, my interactions with city staff will always be cordial and transparent to the public and the city manager.
District Five
Runoff Question 5: What do you think of the current parking permit system?
Mariann Klinger
The parking system does not affect the Leisure World community. No calls on the subject were logged for the past eight years from Leisure World, since the permits are required only in the downtown area.
Downtown residents must pay an annual cost of $30 and provide information on a guest’s vehicle for a permit to park. While the price is not exorbitant the amount of parking available and length of time may make a difference. Since parking is an issue in the downtown area in general, I believe the matter will likely be a subject of discussion by the council.
Nathan Steele
I don’t have data on how many people are successfully buying parking permits on SealBeachCa.gov or how many get frustrated and stop trying. I would look at permit compliance, how many parking permits are issued compared to population and/or car registrations in Seal Beach. How much money is generated from parking permits? How much would be generated at “full compliance”? We should figure out what “Best Practices” looks like do that.
Runoff Question 6: Should council members (or their spokespersons) be allowed to speak directly with staff or should they work through the city manager?
Mariann Klinger
As a Planning Commissioner for these past seven years, I have spoken directly to staff when I have an issue or a question. The staff responds graciously and swiftly with whatever help I need. I prefer to operate this way. In my career as a newspaper reporter, I frequently spoke with the staff of the cities, county, and courts. In that time, I always found staff to be most helpful. As long as it works well, why change it?
Nathan Steele
We all work for the people of Seal Beach. It’s our job to listen and respond to their concerns and requests whether we are council members or city employees.
Council members don’t have the authority to give assignments or work requests directly to the departments. The authority to direct resources – people, time, money – is vested 100% in the City Manager under the authority of City Council.
That said, I will spend time with every department manager and familiarize myself with the function and condition of each department. But I will work through City Manager for access.
