Santa Clarita Parking Enforcement

By Jeff — Jeff Wilson

A reader sends in a report (and picture!) of Santa Clarita’s new parking enforcement patrol, the very idea of which I predict will challenge SCVers sense of parking entitlement:

Hi. Yesterday I saw something I’ve never seen before in SCVland. Someone in my neighborhood was getting a parking ticket for parking too close to a fire hydrant. I almost thought it was a joke, but the guy had on a uniform and was measuring the distance between the car and the fire hydrant. And he had a uniform on and an official vehicle. Later I saw him driving and my wife snapped this pic of his vehicle. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy this vehicle owner was being ticketed, but what is this, Santa Monica? Beware SCV!

Beware indeed!

The City’s parking enforcement program was approved by City Council last fall. The rational behind the program was that it’s more efficient to pay a private parking enforcement company to write citations than it is to pay a Deputy or two to do such low-level enforcement work. After the County cut back its budget on Community Service Assistants (who can write citations), the City estimated that Deputies spent some 900 hours in 2009-2010 writing parking tickets rather than busting pot-smoking teens on paseos, breaking down the doors of flophouses, arresting corrupt former Chamber officials, or pursuing pudding bandits. What a waste of resources,yes? Especially when you consider that the contract with the parking enforcement company provides 7 day a week, 10 hour a day enforcement, much more than what we got depending on the over-worked Deputies.

Way back in 2006, when this was just a baby blog struggling for readers, I went on a ride-along with a Deputy Sheriff in Canyon Country. The absolute worst part of the ride-along was the 50 minutes I spent twiddling my thumbs as the Deputy filled out paperwork and called a towing company to get an illegally parked car towed. He told me this was the second or third time the car had been cited by a Deputy. What a waste of time.

Of course, there’s also some level of revenue generation in parking enforcement too. The City’s staff report last fall said that the cost of contracting with the company was $300,000, but the program expected to bring in about $425,000.

So, beware of where you park your car, and don’t be shy about ratting out neighbors or scofflaws who park their RV (or, my personal favorite, the giant stomper trucks with 30 foot boats attached) on your street. The days of worry-free parking in Santa Clarita are at an end.

Comments (32)

MikeJuly 15, 2011 at 6:41 am

I live in unincorporated SCV, and the end of a secluded cul-de-sac. One morning a few years ago, I got a ticket for being parked in the wrong direction. Law is the law, I suppose, but I still can’t see what could have possibly come of me parking that way. Oddly, I see some mailman Jeep-looking LASD parking enforcement patrol out here all the time. Someone musta upset Antonovich.

LarMccJuly 15, 2011 at 7:59 am

My wife got a parking ticket for *stopping* her car to drop off our kids in the Vista Valencia Center at Kids Art. She never left the drivers seat, was not blocking anyone and the curb where she stopped was not even red. The ticket was for parking in a fire lane. The city outsourced ticket processing to a third party company and working with them to dispute the ticket was futile. I got a dismissal notice for someone elses ticket, then nothing for over a year. Then the delinquent notices started. It ended up in a front page article on the signal until it finally was dismissed after I had a hearing. It was a lot to go through for a $45 ticket. http://oldsite.the-signal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=45848&format=html

SplashGuardJuly 15, 2011 at 8:31 am

Great. I would be curious as to how many violations in a day involve abandoned vehicles, vehicles that actually pose a safety hazard or block needed access. That private company gets a percentage of every ticket issued, and so the profit motive is in place. Nit picking will be the standard. But income for our City, so there will be more money to play with, is the name of the game. They have to pay for that huge new library somehow. I just can’t figure out where they are going to put the parking meters. Maybe at City Hall? That should prove profitable. Free parking for employees, but a dollar an hour to park you car for City business or to attend City Council meetings. That should at least buy some good earplugs.

MikeJuly 15, 2011 at 9:01 am

I swear, we need a “Larry in your Corner” recurring feature on SCVtalk.

NateJuly 15, 2011 at 7:46 am

Nate is “madder than hell” that Petz’s new favorite blog site Right On SCV engages and feels entitled to steal Intellectual Property. Even when it was pointed out to them they made a joke, yet still didn’t purchase the artwork. How very tacky to put a watermarked “comp” image up. More to come soon.

MikeJuly 15, 2011 at 9:02 am

LOL “blog site” #wch

KLBJuly 15, 2011 at 9:17 am

Don’t worry about the days of worry-free parking in Santa Clarita being at an end. Just park your vehicles at our complex. Our management company refuses to do anything about the bad parking violators. Bring your broken down vehicles, boats, 40 foot RVs and trailers and store them in our complex. Really, it’s okay. You might get a ticket or two or twenty-one (yes, that really happened), but they’re not real tickets. They’re just from the security company. You can ignore them. Crumple up your ticket and throw it on the ground in front of security and tell them the ticket means nothing (really happened) if you’d like. After about six weeks of storing your inoperable vehicle, or receiving 20+ parking citations, you will eventually receive what seems like a real threat. You will be given ANOTHER 96 hours to remove your vehicle or it WILL be towed. But not to worry. You will receive countless courtesy calls from the manager of the complex to remove your vehicle. And chances are, you can work out a deal with the manager to leave your vehicle in the complex even longer, so long as you promise to remove it by the agreed upon date. Because the last six weeks, or 20+ parking tickets, didn’t give you enough time to get your act together. Oh, and the fire lanes? Feel free to park there, too. They’re supposed to be an immediate tow, but as long as security thinks you’re only parked for loading and unloading, you’re good. To accomplish this, you can leave one or more windows down, leave the door or trunk ajar, or leave your hazard lights on. All night if you like. You will not be towed. EVER. You will not be fined. EVER. So come on over to our complex and enjoy worry-free parking at its best in Santa Clarita.

Phil EllisJuly 15, 2011 at 9:25 am

KLB, would you mind posting that address. I have some friends who need a good vehicle storage place. Thanks.

KLBJuly 15, 2011 at 9:57 am

Hehehe. It is true, though. You really can park whatever and wherever in our complex and you will not be towed. I can’t tell if it’s the policy of the management company to not tow or if it’s just our property manager’s personal preference to not tow. I still own a unit in this complex, but luckily I no longer live in the complex. I’ll leave it up to Jeff if he wants to disclose the location.

MikeJuly 15, 2011 at 10:34 am

LOL, good one. KLB, it’s been outed by Bill Reynolds: “rundown hi-density apartment on the wrong side of Newhall’s train tracks” Neither this, that nor there, but it’s always good for a chuckle.

Timothy Myers SR.July 15, 2011 at 10:39 am

Wow! Out oldest son lived in a complex in the Clairemont area of San Diego that was honestly about a 6.5 on a 10 scale and he neglected to switch his university parking pass for his complex parking pass that hung from the mirror ONE EVENING and they toed it the next morning requiring a $300 tow payment and $100 cab ride to retrieve it.

Phil EllisJuly 15, 2011 at 1:10 pm

Bet he only did it once.

KellyJuly 15, 2011 at 10:32 am

I have a neighbor who parks their junked cars in front of everyone’s house but their own. I was delighted to see parking enforcement come and make them two out of the three derelict vehicles. One more to go…

spineflower2July 15, 2011 at 6:07 pm

It will be especially interesting when the City comes up with the “get out of jail free” cards that the City of L.A. are being busted for. You can bet those on the Council and the top of the city admin food chain will demand them.

PetzJuly 16, 2011 at 4:38 am

“Ratting out your neighbors”….seemed to work for Jeff . Where did everyone’s sense of humor go? From Joe Messina at http://www.rightonscv.com,recently voted the best blog site in the SCV. When I was asked to manage this site I agreed. I agreed because when I attempted to post my conservative view on a particular site I was immediately accosted by the left side in NUMBERS and also in nasty’s. I saw other conservatives trying to get their point across and also getting attacked. Some of them dropped off and decided it wasn’t worth the battle, I disagree, BUT so be it. I dropped off ’cause I didn’t want to spend most of my day arguing with 3 or 4 select people. The owners started this site to allow OPEN and CIVIL discussion. Not attacks to the Left blog that it seems many are mad at, not attacks on a certain individual so he/she can have a taste of their own medicine. This blog was to allow OPEN, HONEST, HEATED discussion about issues and ideas. Call an idea dumb, OK, call a PARTY idiotic, OK, you can even say in your opinion someone is acting stupid… OK. NOT OK…. Joe Smith is a D…BAG, JOE SMITH is an A..Hole… There is no need for this in a intelligent society, and if some of you, as you have told me in the past, didn’t like it happening to you on the other blogs why would you pay it back out. There is a famous book that says “Don’t repay evil for evil”. So like I said get over yourselves… So grow up and stop attacking people… or I WILL SHUT OFF COMMENTS ON ALL BLOG’s!! and only allow them on the Facebook connection. Web Master

CCJuly 16, 2011 at 4:26 pm

I haven’t lost my sense of humor. This is one of the funniest postings I’ve seen in ages.

PetzJuly 16, 2011 at 4:44 am

Everyone with half a brain knows that this tactic is right out of Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals 4. “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules. You can kill them with this, for they can no more obey their own rules than the Christian church can live up to Christianity.”

SaugushomeownerJuly 16, 2011 at 6:05 am

This is good news. I am going to call and have them cite all the food trucks and illegal vendors parked illegally in Newhall.

PetzJuly 16, 2011 at 6:33 am

East Germany had the Stassi-the SCV has Jeff and his minions.

PetzJuly 17, 2011 at 1:15 pm

Petz regrets equating Jeff to the Stassi and apologizes.

LindaJuly 16, 2011 at 7:53 am

It’s deja vu all over again for the new site, I’m afraid. There are always a couple of hooligans trying their best to stir the pot and spoil things for everyone. You have to have thick skin to run a blog like this — I don’t care which political party you’re with. Joe Messina now finds himself with “minions” of his own — with some of whom he’d prefer not to be associated, I’m sure. And that’s what will kill the new site (that or indifference) — not lobs from the “loony left.”

CCJuly 16, 2011 at 4:41 pm

Out of curiosity, I finally checked out the site. It is geared towards politics and more mud flinging by the same crowd that have closed down 3 or 4 other sites. I did find it humorous that the topic with the most comments was the one about bad behavior. So I guess you’re right Linda, it is more of the same. I hope they enjoy themselves. For me, I have no interest.

Alan FerdmanJuly 16, 2011 at 10:08 am

Outsourcing parking enforcement was sold to us, by City Management, as a way to offload the Sherriff Department and allow them to work on more important issues. But now it seems the truth has come out, this is just another MONEY GRAB by the City of Santa Clarita. Great!!

SplashGuardJuly 16, 2011 at 2:28 pm

They have to pay off that library “start-up” money somehow.

Phil EllisJuly 16, 2011 at 11:11 am

Alan, would you prefer that the law breakers be ignored?

Alan FerdmanJuly 16, 2011 at 11:30 am

I think there is a big difference between violent crime and parking an inch over a red zone. What I do not want to see is roaming bands of city contractors looking to ticket homeowners for very minor things. There is a big difference between government providing for public safety and government being too intrusive in our daily lives in order to obtain more revenue so they can be even more intrusive.

MikeJuly 16, 2011 at 12:20 pm

This is going to be interesting. The city is generally hands-off when it comes to parking, maybe to a fault. But the city is also designed in such a way where the parking infractions you commonly see are also harmless. So much of our parking here is on private lots anyway, where the ticket-able infractions are fewer. At any rate, I wish everyone a happy Apple Day.

Phil EllisJuly 17, 2011 at 8:53 am

What about two inches?

AnAtheistJuly 16, 2011 at 9:01 pm

Lawbreakers, especially parking violators, should be taken outside the City Gates and stoned to death, after they confess to the crime and sign over all their property to the City. The City should hire a separate contractor (inquisitor) to collect such confessions, and keep detailed records regarding those confessions. A portion of the money derived from these criminals shall go to the inquisitor, another to the contractor revealing the heretical and criminal parking behavior, another for payment to the stoners, another to a special City educational publicity fund (TheSignal for advertising), purposed to explain the sanctity of privatization, and another to the City’s general fund coffers.

Phil EllisJuly 17, 2011 at 8:53 am

Why waist time with the confession?

Phil EllisJuly 17, 2011 at 8:54 am

Why waste time with the confession?

AnAtheistJuly 17, 2011 at 10:04 am

To help the offender set aside heretical beliefs and pass on to a world with unlimited parking (and not the 5 during gridlock), and to justify the confiscation of personal property.

MikeJuly 15, 2011 at 6:41 am
I live in unincorporated SCV, and the end of a secluded cul-de-sac. One morning a few years ago, I got a ticket for being parked in the wrong direction. Law is the law, I suppose, but I still can’t see what could have possibly come of me parking that way. Oddly, I see some mailman Jeep-looking LASD parking enforcement patrol out here all the time. Someone musta upset Antonovich.
LarMccJuly 15, 2011 at 7:59 am
My wife got a parking ticket for *stopping* her car to drop off our kids in the Vista Valencia Center at Kids Art. She never left the drivers seat, was not blocking anyone and the curb where she stopped was not even red. The ticket was for parking in a fire lane. The city outsourced ticket processing to a third party company and working with them to dispute the ticket was futile. I got a dismissal notice for someone elses ticket, then nothing for over a year. Then the delinquent notices started. It ended up in a front page article on the signal until it finally was dismissed after I had a hearing. It was a lot to go through for a $45 ticket. http://oldsite.the-signal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=45848&format=html
SplashGuardJuly 15, 2011 at 8:31 am
Great. I would be curious as to how many violations in a day involve abandoned vehicles, vehicles that actually pose a safety hazard or block needed access. That private company gets a percentage of every ticket issued, and so the profit motive is in place. Nit picking will be the standard. But income for our City, so there will be more money to play with, is the name of the game. They have to pay for that huge new library somehow. I just can’t figure out where they are going to put the parking meters. Maybe at City Hall? That should prove profitable. Free parking for employees, but a dollar an hour to park you car for City business or to attend City Council meetings. That should at least buy some good earplugs.
MikeJuly 15, 2011 at 9:01 am
I swear, we need a “Larry in your Corner” recurring feature on SCVtalk.
NateJuly 15, 2011 at 7:46 am
Nate is “madder than hell” that Petz’s new favorite blog site Right On SCV engages and feels entitled to steal Intellectual Property. Even when it was pointed out to them they made a joke, yet still didn’t purchase the artwork. How very tacky to put a watermarked “comp” image up. More to come soon.
MikeJuly 15, 2011 at 9:02 am
LOL “blog site” #wch
KLBJuly 15, 2011 at 9:17 am
Don’t worry about the days of worry-free parking in Santa Clarita being at an end. Just park your vehicles at our complex. Our management company refuses to do anything about the bad parking violators. Bring your broken down vehicles, boats, 40 foot RVs and trailers and store them in our complex. Really, it’s okay. You might get a ticket or two or twenty-one (yes, that really happened), but they’re not real tickets. They’re just from the security company. You can ignore them. Crumple up your ticket and throw it on the ground in front of security and tell them the ticket means nothing (really happened) if you’d like. After about six weeks of storing your inoperable vehicle, or receiving 20+ parking citations, you will eventually receive what seems like a real threat. You will be given ANOTHER 96 hours to remove your vehicle or it WILL be towed. But not to worry. You will receive countless courtesy calls from the manager of the complex to remove your vehicle. And chances are, you can work out a deal with the manager to leave your vehicle in the complex even longer, so long as you promise to remove it by the agreed upon date. Because the last six weeks, or 20+ parking tickets, didn’t give you enough time to get your act together. Oh, and the fire lanes? Feel free to park there, too. They’re supposed to be an immediate tow, but as long as security thinks you’re only parked for loading and unloading, you’re good. To accomplish this, you can leave one or more windows down, leave the door or trunk ajar, or leave your hazard lights on. All night if you like. You will not be towed. EVER. You will not be fined. EVER. So come on over to our complex and enjoy worry-free parking at its best in Santa Clarita.
Phil EllisJuly 15, 2011 at 9:25 am
KLB, would you mind posting that address. I have some friends who need a good vehicle storage place. Thanks.
KLBJuly 15, 2011 at 9:57 am
Hehehe. It is true, though. You really can park whatever and wherever in our complex and you will not be towed. I can’t tell if it’s the policy of the management company to not tow or if it’s just our property manager’s personal preference to not tow. I still own a unit in this complex, but luckily I no longer live in the complex. I’ll leave it up to Jeff if he wants to disclose the location.
MikeJuly 15, 2011 at 10:34 am
LOL, good one. KLB, it’s been outed by Bill Reynolds: “rundown hi-density apartment on the wrong side of Newhall’s train tracks” Neither this, that nor there, but it’s always good for a chuckle.
Timothy Myers SR.July 15, 2011 at 10:39 am
Wow! Out oldest son lived in a complex in the Clairemont area of San Diego that was honestly about a 6.5 on a 10 scale and he neglected to switch his university parking pass for his complex parking pass that hung from the mirror ONE EVENING and they toed it the next morning requiring a $300 tow payment and $100 cab ride to retrieve it.
Phil EllisJuly 15, 2011 at 1:10 pm
Bet he only did it once.
KellyJuly 15, 2011 at 10:32 am
I have a neighbor who parks their junked cars in front of everyone’s house but their own. I was delighted to see parking enforcement come and make them two out of the three derelict vehicles. One more to go…
spineflower2July 15, 2011 at 6:07 pm
It will be especially interesting when the City comes up with the “get out of jail free” cards that the City of L.A. are being busted for. You can bet those on the Council and the top of the city admin food chain will demand them.
PetzJuly 16, 2011 at 4:38 am
“Ratting out your neighbors”….seemed to work for Jeff . Where did everyone’s sense of humor go? From Joe Messina at http://www.rightonscv.com,recently voted the best blog site in the SCV. When I was asked to manage this site I agreed. I agreed because when I attempted to post my conservative view on a particular site I was immediately accosted by the left side in NUMBERS and also in nasty’s. I saw other conservatives trying to get their point across and also getting attacked. Some of them dropped off and decided it wasn’t worth the battle, I disagree, BUT so be it. I dropped off ’cause I didn’t want to spend most of my day arguing with 3 or 4 select people. The owners started this site to allow OPEN and CIVIL discussion. Not attacks to the Left blog that it seems many are mad at, not attacks on a certain individual so he/she can have a taste of their own medicine. This blog was to allow OPEN, HONEST, HEATED discussion about issues and ideas. Call an idea dumb, OK, call a PARTY idiotic, OK, you can even say in your opinion someone is acting stupid… OK. NOT OK…. Joe Smith is a D…BAG, JOE SMITH is an A..Hole… There is no need for this in a intelligent society, and if some of you, as you have told me in the past, didn’t like it happening to you on the other blogs why would you pay it back out. There is a famous book that says “Don’t repay evil for evil”. So like I said get over yourselves… So grow up and stop attacking people… or I WILL SHUT OFF COMMENTS ON ALL BLOG’s!! and only allow them on the Facebook connection. Web Master
CCJuly 16, 2011 at 4:26 pm
I haven’t lost my sense of humor. This is one of the funniest postings I’ve seen in ages.
PetzJuly 16, 2011 at 4:44 am
Everyone with half a brain knows that this tactic is right out of Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals 4. “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules. You can kill them with this, for they can no more obey their own rules than the Christian church can live up to Christianity.”
SaugushomeownerJuly 16, 2011 at 6:05 am
This is good news. I am going to call and have them cite all the food trucks and illegal vendors parked illegally in Newhall.
PetzJuly 16, 2011 at 6:33 am
East Germany had the Stassi-the SCV has Jeff and his minions.
PetzJuly 17, 2011 at 1:15 pm
Petz regrets equating Jeff to the Stassi and apologizes.
LindaJuly 16, 2011 at 7:53 am
It’s deja vu all over again for the new site, I’m afraid. There are always a couple of hooligans trying their best to stir the pot and spoil things for everyone. You have to have thick skin to run a blog like this — I don’t care which political party you’re with. Joe Messina now finds himself with “minions” of his own — with some of whom he’d prefer not to be associated, I’m sure. And that’s what will kill the new site (that or indifference) — not lobs from the “loony left.”
CCJuly 16, 2011 at 4:41 pm
Out of curiosity, I finally checked out the site. It is geared towards politics and more mud flinging by the same crowd that have closed down 3 or 4 other sites. I did find it humorous that the topic with the most comments was the one about bad behavior. So I guess you’re right Linda, it is more of the same. I hope they enjoy themselves. For me, I have no interest.
Alan FerdmanJuly 16, 2011 at 10:08 am
Outsourcing parking enforcement was sold to us, by City Management, as a way to offload the Sherriff Department and allow them to work on more important issues. But now it seems the truth has come out, this is just another MONEY GRAB by the City of Santa Clarita. Great!!
SplashGuardJuly 16, 2011 at 2:28 pm
They have to pay off that library “start-up” money somehow.
Phil EllisJuly 16, 2011 at 11:11 am
Alan, would you prefer that the law breakers be ignored?
Alan FerdmanJuly 16, 2011 at 11:30 am
I think there is a big difference between violent crime and parking an inch over a red zone. What I do not want to see is roaming bands of city contractors looking to ticket homeowners for very minor things. There is a big difference between government providing for public safety and government being too intrusive in our daily lives in order to obtain more revenue so they can be even more intrusive.
MikeJuly 16, 2011 at 12:20 pm
This is going to be interesting. The city is generally hands-off when it comes to parking, maybe to a fault. But the city is also designed in such a way where the parking infractions you commonly see are also harmless. So much of our parking here is on private lots anyway, where the ticket-able infractions are fewer. At any rate, I wish everyone a happy Apple Day.
Phil EllisJuly 17, 2011 at 8:53 am
What about two inches?
AnAtheistJuly 16, 2011 at 9:01 pm
Lawbreakers, especially parking violators, should be taken outside the City Gates and stoned to death, after they confess to the crime and sign over all their property to the City. The City should hire a separate contractor (inquisitor) to collect such confessions, and keep detailed records regarding those confessions. A portion of the money derived from these criminals shall go to the inquisitor, another to the contractor revealing the heretical and criminal parking behavior, another for payment to the stoners, another to a special City educational publicity fund (TheSignal for advertising), purposed to explain the sanctity of privatization, and another to the City’s general fund coffers.
Phil EllisJuly 17, 2011 at 8:53 am
Why waist time with the confession?
Phil EllisJuly 17, 2011 at 8:54 am
Why waste time with the confession?
AnAtheistJuly 17, 2011 at 10:04 am
To help the offender set aside heretical beliefs and pass on to a world with unlimited parking (and not the 5 during gridlock), and to justify the confiscation of personal property.