Turnout was sparse.
Eighteen individuals were in the audience during the Thursday, Oct. 26, parking town hall meeting. That was the first of three town halls on the subject scheduled.
A second meeting was held in the Fire Station outside Leisure World on Oct. 30.
The third and final town hall meeting will be held Tuesday, Nov. 14, in the Council Chambers.
The next meeting of the city’s Ad Hoc Parking Committee will be Nov. 29.
In related news, the city’s online parking survey ends at 9 p.m., on Friday, Nov. 17.
A few of the participants in the meeting gave their number-one takeaways from the meeting. Three participants noted the low turnout on Thursday.
“The parking committee really wants to get feedback from business owners and employees with the survey to read about their parking issues and pain points,” wrote Rob Jahncke, the Chamber’s appointed representative on the Parking Committee.
“It will help the committee to better understand how to proceed for recommendations. It will also help the council members determine what is best for the community,” Jahncke wrote.
“The other point is that ‘paid’ parking can be a useful tool to manage our parking in the city. Well managed parking could help to reduce visitors from spending a long time circling the area looking for a spot to parking,” ,” Jahncke wrote.
“Though I was disappointed in the turnout from Chamber members, I felt that our parking consultant Julie Dixon and Chief Henderson and his staff were able to answer many questions and concerns proposed by business owners,” wrote District One Council Member Joe Kalmick. He is a member of the Parking Committee.
“Hopefully those business owners that were able to attend will be able to bring the information learned back to their fellow Main Street business owners,” Kalmick wrote.
“My main takeaway was the lack of attendance by businesses that will be affected by any change,” wrote District Two Councilman/Mayor Tom Moore. He is a member of the Parking Committee.
“I am hoping businesses show up for one of the future townhalls, committee meetings to let their opinions be known and at a minimum fill out the survey that was created,” Moore wrote.
“My number-one takeaway was the continued level of engagement,” wrote Julie Dixon, the city’s parking consultant.
“Parking continues to be an important topic throughout the community that directly impacts the residents and businesses of Old Town,” Dixon wrote.
“I truly appreciate the community participation and thoughtful comments and questions that we received,” Dixon wrote.
“There are over 440 survey responses and I appreciate your ability to continue to promote the survey,” wrote Dixon in an Oct. 29 email.
“My primary takeaway from the town hall was that while Main Street business owners brought up valid concerns regarding the implementation of paid parking on Main Street, Julie Dixon, the city’s parking consultant, did an excellent job of providing successful real-world examples to illustrate how a paid parking program, employing various approaches, could address those concerns,” wrote Matthew Terry, a member of the Parking Committee.
“Attendees of the event displayed an impressive level of engagement and support for the City’s methodologies and parking studies,” said Seal Beach Police Chief Michael Henderson.
“They asked pertinent questions, indicating a genuine interest in the subject matter and the City’s initiatives. This strong participation underscores the community’s commitment to working together on improving our parking solutions,” Henderson said.
