Parking is Such Sweet Sorrow in Sierra Madre
By admin
Published: Thursday, August 27th, 2009
The last thing you might expect after a night of dining and entertainment is to walk out to an empty parking lot and a number of parking and towing fees ahead. Some Sierra Madre patrons have dealt with just this, however.
An ordinance passed nearly six months ago prohibiting parking after midnight in the city-owned Auburn lot behind the Sierra Madre Playhouse has led to a number of cars being cited and towed.
According to city officials, the ordinance was a result of noise complaints from city residents whose homes border the parking lot.
“Currently, because of the numerous complaints that we have, we’re towing all the cars,” said Sergeant Ruben Enriquez of the Sierra Madre Police department. “The complaints are endless – we get phone calls immediately.”
There is parking available for patrons on the street, as well as arrangements that can be made for overnight parking, he said.
According to Enriquez, the parking lot has multiple signs posted both at the entrance and throughout, warning drivers that their car will be cited and towed after 12 a.m.
However, not everyone is pleased with the new ordinance. Last Friday evening Karen Harper, a Sierra Madre homeowner, was out with her daughter and one of her friends for a night on the town. They attended a performance with some other friends at the Sierra Madre Playhouse and went to Lucky Baldwin’s for dinner and a drink. Harper says she specifically wanted to spend locally and support local businesses. She thought she was doing everything right.
At around 12:20 pm the mother of two Alverno High graduates returned to the parking lot behind the playhouse only to discover their two vehicles were no longer there. Harper immediately called the police only to discover that their cars had, in fact, been towed away. Even though she has lived in Sierra Madre for the past 5 years, Harper was unaware of the new regulations.
Karen Harper was told that she needed to come to the Police Station to sign release forms and pay $93 cash, exactly, per vehicle for said release. That was the first leg in a series of red tape procedures to get the cars back.
Harper said, “I just wanted to spend some quality time with my daughter and her friend in quaint, quiet Sierra Madre. I’m so offended by what happened.” Harper then quipped, “I felt like I was about to meet my firing squad – ‘give me the blindfold and my last cigarette.”
With all the fees imposed including the towing, it cost Harper $636 to get the cars back. When the unsuspecting Sierra Madre residents parked their cars, they did not notice the signs that said cars will be towed. Even so, Harper said she thought a later time might be more appropriate for towing vehicles or perhaps a warning for a first time offence. She noted that the time the vehicles were towed was just past midnight.
The citation fee for parking in Sierra Madre is $38. The cars are towed to Jan’s Towing, Inc., located in Azusa, with a towing fee of $175 and a storage fee per day of $50.
If the cars are not picked up after three days, there is an additional fee of $70 to $100 to notify the registered and legal owner of the vehicle.
“People were parking and stopping there before they went home, and talking,” said City Clerk Nancy Shollenberger.
“It’s a residential area, so the residents are very happy about the ordinance. One resident came out to a city council meeting to thank them for passing it.”
By Sameea Kamal and Terry Miller
2 Responses for “Parking is Such Sweet Sorrow in Sierra Madre”
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I believe the posted notices said violators “may” be cited and/or towed.
It’s no parking after midnight in a parking lot designed to accommodate patrons of nearby businesses that are still open after midnight. What’s wrong with that picture??? Duh!
This was a first offense, and I understand the cars were cited and towed three minutes after midnight. That’s rather ambitious and aggressive enforcement, wouldn’t you say?
Yes, it was all legal. But was it the right thing to do?
Sierra Madre cops are a joke, they wait for things like this to happen so the 5 older people who complain constantly about noise in the city can be happy and have one person applaud them at a city council meeting. What about the 10,000 other residents who want to use the city resources on a normal basis? Wheres their voice if they want to drive downtown and use the city lots. How much noise can the few people in that lot possibly make to bring the city into it? Sometimes you have to be a little more realistic and not give in to just a few peoples complaints to change the whole services for a city. I am a resident of 5 years.