The second level parking lot at Caruso’s Palisades Village was empty around noon on a weekday.
Caruso Knows Which Employees Park at Palisades Village
Rick Caruso’s staff has access to which of his employee/tenants are parking in his Palisades Village lot—and which are not.
In an October 22 posting on Nextdoor Palisades titled “Residents Want their Neighborhood Back,” an Alphabet Streets neighbor observed five employees in a single day parking on Embury and Fiske Streets and walking to work.
“When the resident inquired about where they were employed, they all stated Porta Via. Porta Via’s general manager was contacted, and he told the neighbor that ‘these were public streets, and he wasn’t going to tell his employees where to park.’
“Another neighbor reached out to Sephora about two employees parking on her street, the manager immediately dispatched the employees back to their car to move it to the parking garage–a rare victory for the impacted community.”
On Nextdoor, more than 70 people responded with comments about Caruso’s tenants parking on residential streets. One person wrote, “We live on Monument, just a few houses away from Porto Via. Parking on our street is now impossible. I watch employees park, then head to work in their uniforms. . . .I miss the days when friends could come over and park in front of my house.”
After that article, Circling the News promised to go store to store to ask about tenant parking, which happened late last week.
Many of the employees at clothing stores said that their parking is paid for. Another employee told CTN, “I park a ways a way and I would never park in front of someone’s house.”
Some businesses, like Edo Little Bites and McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams, don’t pay for employee parking, but CTN was told those employees take the bus or are dropped off.
CTN thought maybe there was not sufficient room in the three-level parking structure and perhaps that was the problem.
On Tuesday, October 30, at 11:30 a.m., the first level of parking had multiple spaces. The second level was virtually empty. It was impossible to access the third level because it is dedicated to valet/tenant parking.
CTN asked an employee at a store, who said that her employer pays for parking, if the lot on P3 is full, making it difficult to park.
The clerk replied, “If I can’t find a place in the neighborhood, then I have to take it to valet parking,” which is the only way to access P3.
The clerk assured CTN that her employer provides a key card to park and the clerk doesn’t have to pay for it.
If there is a key card for employees, there is a record of who is parking on P3. Caruso could easily access that information and follow-up with restaurants and retail stores, insisting on clerk/tenant parking in his parking structure. This would help give neighbors a much-needed respite from cars parking on their streets.
The sign warns Caruso Palisades Village tenants they should not park on residential streets.
Up to this point, Caruso has been relying on lawn signs at various street corners warning employees not to park in residential areas, which was dubbed the “placebo effect” by some residents.
Councilman Mike Bonin is “helping” neighbors out by fast-tracking through City Council a preferential parking district that will initially include Via de la Paz, Albright, Monument and Embury. That means that a car that does not have a parking permit will only be able to park two hours and then the car must be moved (presuming there’s consistent parking enforcement to scare people into obeying the signs).
This means that Caruso employees/tenants, as well as visiting shoppers and diners, would have to come move their cars every two hours.
A resident will be able to buy three annual resident passes at $34 per car (except where special conditions have been assigned by City Council), and two visitor passes good for four months $22.50 per car (and renewed three times a year). The total cost for a two-car family and two visitor passes will be $203.
The fine for parking without a residential parking permit is $68. A majority of that money ($45) goes into the general fund.
By not having Caruso enforce an agreement that he signed with neighbors that promised all employee/tenant parking would be in the Palisades Village garage, Bonin will now use the neighbors’ plight to increase the City’s general fund coffers.
Another angle of the second level of parking for Caruso’s Palisades Village during midday.
A brilliant comment from my husband who says “residents should not have to pay for these residential parking permits. Caruso should cover the cost.”
I think those in the Alphabets would agree.