Pay for parking in West Covina

So, where do cities go when they need revenue? Some ask for taxes, others raise fees. In West Covina, the City Council on Tuesday will vote on adding parking fees to park at City Hall and at the courthouse. The good news is that the evenings are free.

The move is expected to generate nearly $110,000 annually, according to the staff report.

Here's what the city proposed:

Staff would propose a pay-per-space plan for the Civic Center. In order to implement this, approximately four (4) or five (5) pay machines would be purchased and installed in convenient, key locations and each parking space would need to be numbered.

A visitor would park, note their space number, go to a pay station, select the number of hours to park, and pay the fee by cash, debit card, or credit card. Fees would be collected five (5) days a week, Monday through Friday.

The fee would be between twenty-five cents ($0.25) and one dollar ($1.00) per hour with evenings (6:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.) being free for City Council and other public meetings. Weekends will also be free for other Civic Center events. City and County employees will be exempt by permit.

Jurors will be exempt for County leased spaces by a County permit. Parking is currently and will be prohibited overnight. A flat rate between one dollar ($1.00) to three dollars ($3.00) per day could be charged for Park and Ride Spaces. Staff will return with the annual fee resolution in June 2009 to set the actual fees.