TITLE:
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RESIDENTIAL PERMIT PARKING PROGRAM - CABRILLO STREET BETWEEN ORANGE AVENUE AND SANTA ANA AVENUE
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DEPARTMENT: PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT/ TRANSPORTATION SERVICES DIVISION
PRESENTED BY: RAJA SETHURAMAN, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
CONTACT INFORMATION: PAUL MARTIN, TRANSPORTATION SERVICES MANAGER, (714) 754-5343
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Staff recommends the City Council adopt the proposed Resolution No. 2025-xx, approving the implementation of a Residential Permit Parking (RPP) only restriction on Cabrillo Street between Orange Avenue and Santa Ana Avenue, and authorizing the Transportation Services Manager to extend the restriction within a 1,000-foot radius as needed, based on a qualifying petition from affected residents and Council-adopted guidelines.
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BACKGROUND:
At the July 19, 2022 regular meeting, the City Council approved the amendments to the Costa Mesa Municipal Code (CMMC) incorporating proposed changes to the Residential Permit Parking (RPP) program through a Public Hearing process. The guiding principles employed in the development of the City’s revised RPP program include:
• Equitable access: Develop equitable programs that appropriately balance the parking needs of all residents, businesses, and visitors, while enabling the on-street parking supply to serve the community fairly, and enhance access for all.
• Sustainable solutions: Implement financially sustainable strategies that modernize and streamline parking program management.
• Efficient program management: Create an efficient and adaptable parking system that is optimized for the City’s current needs, but can be incrementally updated and adjusted over time.
In April 2025, a petition was received from the residents of Cabrillo Street requesting the implementation of a Residential Permit Parking only restriction. The petition was signed by 46 out of 87 households that would be directly affected by the requested parking restriction. These residents expressed concerns about the lack of on-street parking due to external impacts.
ANALYSIS:
According to the revised RPP program guidelines adopted by the City Council (Attachment 2), new requests for RPP will be limited to areas experiencing external parking impacts such as commercial areas, neighboring cities, the Orange County Fairgrounds, schools, and recreational areas. All housing types within impacted areas are eligible for permits.
Following the request for a new RPP zone, Transportation Services staff conducted several parking surveys during various times to determine the source and level of parking impacts. The parking surveys indicated both customers and employees of the shopping centers located on 17th Street are utilizing Cabrillo Street for parking during business hours, which qualifies as an RPP-defined external parking impact to Cabrillo Street. In addition, neighborhood parking intrusions are considered significant if 70 percent or more of available parking is utilized by vehicles at any time. Staff conducted a parking occupancy survey and found that during the times when external impacts were present, more than 70 percent of available parking was utilized on the subject street. Staff found that the requirements in the RPP Guidelines for consideration of establishing Residential Permit Parking on the subject streets have been met. A map (Attachment 3) of the location of the subject area under consideration is provided.
If Residential Permit Parking is approved for this neighborhood zone, residents on these streets will have the opportunity to purchase permits through the online parking permit management system. After a majority of households purchase at least one permit, signs will be posted restricting parking on the affected streets to only vehicles with a valid permit, and letters will be sent to residents with an anticipated enforcement target date (approximately one month after the installation of signs).
If the City Council approves the implementation of a Residential Permit Parking only restriction on the subject street, parking intrusion onto other nearby streets is possible to occur. Therefore, the attached resolution provides the Transportation Services Manager with the authority to extend the limits of the permit parking area up to 1,000 feet in distance from the subject street, as necessary to address continued resident concerns. This action will be based on each “extended” area meeting the criteria in the Council adopted RPP guidelines including a qualifying petition.
ALTERNATIVES:
The City Council could choose not to approve the resolution. However, this alternative would leave the externally impacted street of Cabrillo Street without any Residential Permit Parking restriction and will result in continued resident concerns for the lack of available street parking due to external parking intrusion.
FISCAL REVIEW:
The annual operating costs of administering the program for this neighborhood zone are anticipated to be self-funded by revenues collected from the program. Revenue collected from this program will also offset future hardware, software, and on-call support expenses related to the program.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed this report, prepared the proposed resolution and approves them both as to form.
CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND PRIORITIES:
This project supports the following City Council goals:
• Achieve long-term fiscal sustainability.
• Strengthen the public’s safety and improve the quality of life.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends the City Council adopt the proposed Resolution No. 2025-xx, approving the implementation of a Residential Permit Parking (RPP) only restriction on Cabrillo Street between Orange Avenue and Santa Ana Avenue, and authorizing the Transportation Services Manager to extend the restriction within a 1,000-foot radius as needed, based on a qualifying petition from affected residents and Council-adopted guidelines.