You can park for free in downtown Paso Robles — for now. Here’s why
People can once again park for free in downtown Paso Robles — for the time being, at least.
On Tuesday, the Paso Robles City Council voted to pause the city’s paid parking program during a closed session meeting, according to the city’s legal counsel Elizabeth Holt.
The council decided to pause the parking program after receiving a cease-and-desist letter accusing the city of violating the Brown Act and other state laws by modifying the program, Holt said at the meeting.
“The pause to the program is to ensure compliance with the city’s parking ordinance 12.42 and associated laws and/or regulations,” the city’s news release said.
Last year, people could park downtown for free for two hours before being charged $2 per hour.
In November, however, the City Council voted 3-2 to do away with free parking starting in January, opting to charge people $1 per hour from the moment they arrive.
In the cease-and-desist letter, county resident Gary Lehrer said the city did not indicate on the agenda of its Nov. 21 meeting that the council would vote to change parking rates.
Lehrer alleged that this violated the Brown Act, California’s open meetings law.
“City Council and staff should draw up a detailed plan, put it on the agenda as required and allow for public comment,” Lehrer wrote in the letter. “This would comply with the spirit and letter of the Brown Act. The end result would hopefully be a well thought out, cohesive plan that has been properly vetted and works to the greatest benefit possible to city residents.”
With the recent halt to the program, parking will be free until at least the Feb. 20 City Council meeting, when the council will review the legal findings, according to the news release.
This story was originally published February 9, 2024 at 9:00 AM.
