HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/7/2023 Item 6a, Cohen
Wendy Cohen <
To:Johnson, Derek; E-mail Council Website
Subject:11/7/2023 Council meeting: 6.a Parking Program Update
Attachments:City Council proposal.docx
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Good Afternoon Derek Johnson and City Council Members,
Attached please find our letter regarding our concerns and desires for the upcoming
meeting on 11/7/23.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
1
November 1, 2023
TO: City Council Members
FROM: Leonard and Wendy Cohen, Owners La Esquina Taqueria
RE: 11/7/2023 Council mee�ng: 6.a Parking program update
Dear City Council Members:
This leter has been generated to aid in raising your awareness of the hardships we as owners,
our employees and our customers are experiencing due to the lack of parking in our area as well
as the added hourly parking expense everyone is incurring. Listed below are a few examples of
how everyone has been impacted:
- We are experiencing major construc�on all around us:
-Destruc�on/building of the parking lot across from Mission College Prep.
-Destruc�on/building at the corner of Marsh and Nipomo Streets.
-Destruc�on/building of the parking lot behind the Creamery.
- We have lost a substan�al amount of parking spaces for employers, employees, and customers
due to the above-men�oned construc�on sites.
- The loss of parking on Dana Street.
- The extreme increase in hourly parking as of July 2023 is crea�ng a financial burden on the
employees who o�en work 6–7-hour shi�s and are paying $4.00 an hour or $24.00 - $28.00
a day for parking. This equates to $120.00 - $140.00 per week for some employees. We
are also experiencing constant complaints from our customers ci�ng their lack of desire to
frequent the downtown businesses because of how hard it is to find parking and the extreme
expense.
A�er mee�ng with the City Manager, Derek Johnson, and because of the above-men�oned
details, we would like to propose a possible solu�on to some of the hardships we are incurring.
For a temporary period, we would like to propose that our employees and those of the
Creamery be allowed to park on one side of Dana Street and that each business be issued
parking passes for said employees. We would like for this arrangement to con�nue un�l the
parking structure on Nipomo Street opens. We are aware that the residents of Dana Street
have said they need all the parking on the street for themselves. However, on any given day
over half of the street is empty of cars. We would also ask that you take another hard look at
the extreme infla�on of the hourly parking rates you have inflicted on the downtown
businesses, our employees, and customers. Please consider the hard-working employees that
cannot afford the daily parking rates that cut into their daily wages.
Thank you for your �me and serious considera�on of the above-men�oned concerns.
Best Regards