HomeMy WebLinkAboutAdditional Material_5hCorrespondence
Item No. 5h
THE BALBOA VILLAGE CITIZENS ADVISORY PANEL, numerous staff members, councilman Henn
and several professional consultants have spent many months considering various ways to
revitalize the Balboa Village. After reviewing previous reports written over a period of more than
15 years and hearing the proposals and comments from many people, including the public, the
advisory panel and staff have laid out for you the Neighborhood Revitalization Committee what it
considers to be viable, progressive and sensible recommendations for making the Village a more
vibrant destination for both the resident living on the Peninsula and visitor alike. Some specific
details must still be worked out by staff regarding implementation, but many of the proposals are
fairly simple and already modeled by other cities in Southern California.
Parking encompassed a large portion of the discussion and many people including the public
offered input. All the reports that were reviewed by us, including the most recent Walker Parking
Study and the West Balboa Village Neighborhood Parking Study, of which I was a participant,
recommended some form of permit parking for residents west of the Balboa Village. The reasons
for this recommendation were as follows:
1. Many visitors to the Balboa Village area sought free parking on the streets west of the
Village rather than parking in public lots.
2. Residents west of the Village and their guest often find it difficult if not impossible to
park on the street anywhere near their homes.
3. Catalina Flyer patrons, overnight fishermen and boat owners with moorings parked
multiple nights on the streets west of the Village
4. The late night bar crowd used the streets to park, often causing damage to other cars,
urinating on private property, and leaving trash in the streets and parkways.
5. The Balboa Village and Tidelands areas were losing needed revenue by making it
possible for visitors to the area to park for free.
6. Huntington State Beach, Huntington City Beach, Bolsa Chica State Beach, Long Beach,
Laguna Beach, and Santa Monica Beach charge to park along the coast.
7. It has been shown that our Balboa Village parking lots are underutilized for much of the
year.
B. The neighborhood west of the village is unique from other areas on the peninsula in
that it presents all three of the following characteristics:
a. It has a large area for public parking in close proximity.
b. It draws a large number of oceangoing visitors.
c. It has a large area of free on- street parking.
While 1 have focused primarily on parking in my comments, the other recommendations being put
forth by the CAP are critical to the overall success of the revitalization process. Coupled with a
new look at parking they will help make the Balboa Village a much better place. I encourage the
Neighborhood Revitalization Committee to move these recommendations made by the Balboa
Village Citizens Advisory Panel forward in concept to the next step in the process.
In conclusion I would reiterate again that the implementation of these recommendations is a
multi -step process in which the public will have continued input.
Sincerely,
Jim Stratton