The Seal Beach parking sticker as you know it will soon be gone, to be replaced by an electronic-embedded plastic card, which will hang from the rear view mirror of your vehicle.
The parking placard (similar but smaller than a handicapped placard) will have “radio frequency identification” embedded in it, linking it not only to your specific vehicle, but to your Seal Beach address.
City Director of Finance Victoria L. Beatley said the changes should help to relieve the stress of parking in the congested Old Town district.
“It will be newer, faster and better, but could be slower and more cumbersome until all our practices are in place,” Beatley said.
The cost is still $15, but the proof of residency has become more stringent. In addition to driver’s license and car registration, residents must produce one of the following: a property tax bill or rental/lease agreement; utility bill such as gas, water, electric, landline phone or cable.
Post Office box addresses are not accepted and mail that is not a utility bill will also no longer be accepted.
The placards will go on sale Monday, June 8 and the city can only accept checks and cash at this time.
The new parking placards go into effect July 1, but the city will give warnings until July 6.
The $15 resident placard will be limited to one registered vehicle per resident. The $20 guest passes are limited to two per household.
One advantage to the new parking placards is that they don’t have an expiration date. Residents who stay at the same address need only pay the yearly fee to renew. (They will still have to prove they are Seal Beach residents but they will not be issued a new placard.) Also, the parking officers will use electronic readers to both check for passes and to give tickets.
The tickets will no longer be hand-written; the electronic reader will print them instantly.
If your placard has been placed somewhere else in your car the electronic reader will “find” it and you won’t be ticketed.
For parking at the beach lots, residents pay $102; non residents can buy a beach lot pass for $153. Seniors who are considered low income can buy a beach lot parking pass for $61 (residents) and $92 (non residents.)
Low income is considered $30,000 or less annual income.
In addition, new this year is a sticker that will be issued to contractors who work on homes in Seal Beach and often encounter parking difficulties.
Those will cost $43.
Parking placards must be purchased at City Hall, Finance Department, 211 Eighth St., Seal Beach.
Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; closed from 12-1 p.m. daily.
