Senior Planner Zach Ream briefed the Planning Commission on Nov. 13 on progress toward a citywide parking and transportation demand management (TDM) plan and responded to commissioner questions about next steps.

Ream said staff and the consultant are updating maps to distinguish private lots, publicly leased private lots and city-owned public lots, and are tracking active parklet licenses. "We have about 30 spaces in 10 parklets active right now downtown and then 3 or 4 more near the pier," he reported. Ream said the state has extended authorization for parklets and the city will consider whether to opt in or refine local policy.

On technology and enforcement, Ream said the consultant recommended automated license-plate-reader (ALPR) technology for real-time occupancy monitoring but noted the cost and the need to pair ALPR with payment systems that capture license-plate entries. As an incremental step, staff will analyze replacing roughly 100 coin-only meter heads with credit-card-capable devices. Ream told commissioners the city collected "about 1,200,000.0" from meters and about $600,000 from enforcement last year; staff will use those figures to model potential revenue changes under different policy options.

Longer-term options include evaluating parking structures (the library site ranked best in prior engineering studies) and refined lease strategies to expand public availability of privately owned leased lots. Ream said staff will circulate a written draft of the TDM recommendations in the coming weeks for commissioner review and expects to return for additional hearings in December or January.

Commissioners asked staff to consider employee parking alternatives and options that balance residential needs with business access on Avenida Del Mar and adjacent streets; Ream said the consultant and staff will study hybrid approaches that avoid wholesale residential permits that could harm downtown businesses. Staff will provide a written pro forma and options for implementation timelines and financing.