ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - Acting on citizen complaints, the City Council approved a “Preferential Parking Permit Zone” for four residential streets facing the impacts of overflow parking from nearby schools Pleasant Grove High School and Katherine L. Albiani Middle School.

The zone prohibits street parking on Amber Waves Way, Amber Fields Court, Purple Skies Court and Majesties Court from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on school days without a permit from the city of Elk Grove. Unpermitted parking would be allowed outside of these hours and on non-school days.

Only residents living along these streets may obtain a permit at no cost from the city. Residents are allowed one permit per registered vehicle at the residence and one guest permit.

The proposal to create the zone came after 80% of homeowners on each street in the area signed a petition asking the city to look into the situation. According to Elk Grove’s Municipal Code, the minimum threshold for action on such a petition is 75% of households on each street.

During public comment, resident Linda Moncrief said the main issue is high school students parking on these side streets. Moncrief said students “throw trash everywhere,” including items such as vape pens, condoms and marijuana “joints.”

She said students also park on the wrong side of the street facing the wrong direction, and often show up in the morning “blasting” music as they park. Moncrief added that her husband works nights.

“We’re just kind of tired of it,” she told the council.

Area resident Onkar Judge agreed. Judge said student parking has sometimes prevented collection of residential garbage because trucks “can’t get to the cans.”

 

One of the residential streets near Pleasant Grove High School, where residents reported issues with student parking, including littering and loud music. City Council approved a “Preferential Parking Permit Zone” on Jan. 14 for the four streets affected by overflow parking. 

He added his car was damaged in a recent hit-and-run incident on his block. He said the parking issue requires a long-term solution, but a short-term fix such as the permit zone could help.

Besides the petition, city staff literally took to the streets to determine the extent to which motor vehicles were parking in those neighborhoods during the timeframe referenced and under what conditions this activity was taking place. According to the staff report, “Field assessments confirm limited parking availability and that conditions meet the criteria in EGMC (Elk Grove Municipal Code) Chapter 10.26 required for approval” of the permit zone.

Staff also estimated the cost to the city for erecting signs delineating the zone area along with creating the permits to be less than $2,000 and would be funded within the existing Public Works budget.

Violations of the preferential parking permit zone regulations carry fines ranging from $50 for parking without a permit to $200 for using a fraudulently obtained or faked permit. Failure to pay a citation within 21 days may result in actions ranging from doubling of the parking penalty to potential impoundment of the vehicle after five or more unpaid citations, with the owner required to pay all fines and charges prior to release.

Ginger Kuhs, a parent of two students at Pleasant Grove, told the council she understood residents’ frustrations with overflow parking in their neighborhood. She said the problem is the high school only has 400 to 500 spaces for student parking, estimating 1,200 of the approximately 2,500 students drive to school each day. Kuhs added permits for these spaces are distributed through a lottery system.

Kuhs, who lives in Wilton, said students driving long distances have to compete for spaces with students who live closer to the school. She encouraged the city to work with the district on additional parking such as a parking lot or garage.

“Kids are idiots, I get it,” she said. “Don’t make the problem go from this neighborhood to the one next door.”

A request to the school district to clarify enrollment and parking program information was not returned at press time.

City Manager Jason Behrmann told the council he spoke with Elk Grove Unified School District Superintendent David E. Reilly and both agreed a problem exists with student overflow parking near Pleasant Grove.

Behrmann said the district is looking for additional parking spaces on campus, and that any real solution likely rested with construction of a planned new high school in Rancho Cordova.

 

Councilmember Kevin Spease said at the Jan. 14 meeting that “mega schools” like Pleasant Grove High School were designed to rely on buses, but reduced bus use has caused parking issues. 

“That solution is still years away,” Behrmann said. “There are no easy, good solutions right now.”

Behrmann added Elk Grove Police Chief Bobbie Davis said the department will add more enforcement to the area around the high school. The city will implement a public education campaign about the preferential permit program prior to issuing citations.

Councilmember Rod Brewer agreed a new high school was the best likely solution, but said some sort of mitigation measures were needed now. He said other neighborhoods near the high school won’t want to face similar impacts.

“This is not a new dilemma,” Brewer said. “A lot of neighbors have been talking about it for four, five, six, seven years.” 

Councilman Kevin Spease said “mega schools” such as Pleasant Grove were built with the intention of utilizing a lot of buses to transport students to school. Reductions in bus usage by the school district have led to the parking impacts, he claimed, and he expressed frustration with the school district for not better communicating their intentions to the city.

Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen said she understood the complexity of the issue, having previously served on the Elk Grove Unified School District School Board. She said educating the school community about the permit zone prior to issuing citations was proper and encouraged the use of public transportation.

“Where the bus routes are available, let’s use them,” she added.