According to Santa Monica Parking Coordinator Frank Ching, 2009 residential parking permits set to expire on December 31 will in fact be honored with their current conditions by Traffic Enforcement through January 31, 2010. The one-time extension is to help accommodate a change in issuance procedures. As in previous years, permit applicants could mail in their renewals by a mid-October deadline with guarantee of receiving their next year’s permits by mail before December 31. Unlike previous years, those who missed the deadline can no longer stop by City Hall before year’s end and renew their permits in person in real time. Starting this year, all permits are issued through the mail.
According to Ching, approximately 8,000 permits have been renewed already. Due to a variety of factors there is no way to know the number of renewals still outstanding, but given the year-end crush that used to descend upon City Hall in the last week of December, the number may be substantial. If you have yet to renew, you can submit your application in person at City Hall and your 2010 permit should arrive by mail before January 31. You can also mail or fax your permit application. Hurry, the sooner the city receives your application the better the chance of receiving the renewal before the new January 31 deadline.
“What if the 2010 permit doesn’t arrive by the end of January?” I asked.
“Call us,” was the reply from the Transportation Management Division.
The phone number for the Transportation Management Division is 310.458.8291 and fax is 310.576.9170. Fees remained unchanged at $15 per permit, including two visitor permits allowed each household. In addition to personal checks, Visa, Mastercard and Discover credit cards are accepted.
Note that permit parking citations are usually around $60 per occurrence, raised by City Council from $48 earlier in 2009.
Contact Dave Quick
copy@smmirror.com
