The meters on city streets and parking lots will increase from $2 to $2.50 per hour; while meters in the county and state owned lots (beach parking) will go up to $3.50 per hour.

Meanwhile, the city's parking citation penalties will increase by $6 (for a total of $59 for most citations) and late penalties will increase by $7 for a total of $38. Monthly parking permits going from $27 to $45 and six-month permits going from $100-$160 to $250.

The rate increases would bring in approximately $3 million dollars, which would fund parking infrastructure needs, according to city staff. 

Manhattan Beach's parking meter rates were last updated in 2020 and 2021. A comparison provided by staff showed that Manhattan Beach is one of the lowest among local beach cities for parking meter and citation costs.

At its meeting, the city also directed staff to outline a plan to transition the parking payment infrastructure to payment kiosks and mobile pay options. 

Parking Situation Continues to Be Vexing

The city's limited parking, especially in the downtown area, continues to be vexing for residents, visitors, and employees. 

Councilmembers expressed concerns about placing an additional burden on those who seek to park in the downtown, but agreed that the rate increases were timely and necessary.

"The challenge of parking in our downtown is not new," said Mayor Pro Tem David Lesser. "It's been a constant challenge."

To replace the now-demolished Parking Lot 3, and to come up with other parking strategies all cost money, said Lesser, and the fact that the city is underwriting a shared trash enclosure on the interim lot costs additional money, which "has to come from somewhere," he said.

"Staff is trying to look at ways that are responsible to obtain additional revenue to be able to pay for these improvements that are partly motivated to offer more parking, so it's a circular issue that we're facing," said Lesser, adding, "People are going to be upset no matter what we do."