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Politics & Government

City May Spend Millions for North Beach Parking

Following a lawsuit by a resident over millions of dollars in unused tax revenue for parking, the city is looking at options for expanding parking in North Beach.

A $7.23 million proposal for expanding parking at North Beach will head to the City Council for a vote Tuesday night.

The proposal is one of five before city leaders aimed at alleviating the beach parking shortage and using tax funds at the center of a lawsuit alleging the city taxed Talega residents for parking improvements without making good on the improvements.

On Tuesday, the City Council will vote on proposals to add parking at the El Camino Real lot and the corner of Avenida Pico and El Camino. The El Camino Real lot is owned by the city and is the closest potential parking facility to the beach. Its conceptual cost for the design and preliminary costs is $581,640.
For the corner of Avenida Pico and El Camino Real, Community Development staff created five options for beach parking lot designs.

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According to the Community Development department, to satisfy parking needs, the best option is to provide optimal parking at 190 spaces and 7 surplus spaces. Added parking spaces will benefit residents of the ranch community inland of I-5 who are currently using temporary spaces.

If the council approves this option, the fiscal impact, which includes the total cost for, land acquisition of the Gallery site and construction is estimated to be about $7.23 million. Costs serving the commercial needs will be paid for with non-Beach Parking Impact Fee funds, and the spaces designed to meet the needs created by the ranch housing development inland of the 5 Freeway will be paid with the Beach Parking Impact Fees.

Find out what's happening in San Clementewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Those fees were at the center of a lawsuit filed by San Clemente resident Brad Malamud in 2012. Malamund contended the city is legally obligated to give back $9 million in fees it collected to build beach parking that never materialized. Malamud, who owns an accounting-related business in town, said the city owes  $750 to $1,500 to each of the homeowners east of the I-5 Freeway in homes built after 1988.

The City Council meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the San Clemente Civic Center, 100 Ave. Presidio.

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