educational institution parking permit pilot 

Educational institutions that are located in areas of continued growth may experience difficulties with finding parking accommodations for school personnel to park within a close proximity to the school. A resolution for a pilot to address this need was passed by Sacramento City Council on August 9, 2018. The pilot was in effect during the 2018-2019 academic year at school sites within the city of Sacramento. An amendment to expand the pilot was approved on October 30, 2018. The pilot will continue through December 2021 with an expectation that a proposed City ordinance will be presented to City Council for review by that time.  

California Vehicle Code section 22507(b) authorizes that local agencies, by ordinance or resolution, may designate preferential parking privileges to school personnel to park on specified streets if the local authority determines that the use of the permits will not adversely affect parking conditions for residents and merchants in the area. 

WHAT ARE PREFERENTIAL PARKING PRIVILEGES?

Preferential parking privileges allow exemptions from posted time limit regulations and meter payment requirements. Most jurisdictions have ordinances relating to preferential parking only for residents, whom are issued special parking permits. Preferential parking privileges are authorized by California Vehicle Code section 22507 and may only be established within local jurisdictions through ordinances or resolutions.

Preferential parking privileges do not exempt permit holders from: 

• Any regulations enforced at colored curbs (red, white, blue, green, or yellow)
• Any  posted "No Parking" regulations
• Any regulations not related to time limit restrictions or meter payment requirements
• On-street regulations prohibiting vehicles parking on the street for more than 72 hours in the same space 

Sacramento City Code currently authorizes preferential permits for Residential Permit Parking (RPP) under Chapter 10.48. However, there is no Sacramento City Code authorizing preferential parking privileges to school personnel.  Educational institutions are typically located within residential areas to serve the local community. The increase of housing in many communities results in the increase in staff levels and construction of new facilities. The success of this pilot will depend on the effect any use of Educational Institution parking permits will have on nearby RPP zones. 

purpose of pilot

This pilot will assess whether implementation of an Educational Institution parking permit will adversely affect parking conditions for residents and merchants in the area. 

The City of Sacramento presently does not have the any provision in the Sacramento City Code to designate preferential parking privileges to school personnel. Therefore, a pilot is typically conducted to assess whether an amendment to the Sacramento City Code is justified. The pilot will require installation of new street signage and issuance of Educational Institution parking permits. A resolution will satisfy the requirements under section 22507(b) of the California Vehicle Code to conduct this pilot.

If the pilot is successful, an ordinance will be presented to the Sacramento City Council to establish a new preferential permit under an Educational Institution Permit Parking Program. This new program will allow eligible educational institutions, within Sacramento city limits, to register for permits. The new program will have eligibility requirements and permits will only be valid for one school year from July - June. The permits will require annual renewal.  

This pilot is an effort to meet the following goals in hopes of improving the parking supply in RPP zones, while supporting educational institutions that provide valuable services to their communities:

• Provide convenient and increased parking supply for school personnel, residents and visitors to the area
• Increase safety by providing parking in closer proximity to intended destinations
• Reduction of long-term parking by commuter vehicles in RPP areas and around the school
• Establish defined areas for student drop-off and pick-up to promote traffic and student safety
• Maintain short-term parking for non-resident vehicles visiting the area

pilot overview

The pilot will focus on restricting school personnel parking to on-street spaces that border the school-owned property line. This will prevent any intrusion on existing RPP regulations while keeping school staff parked adjacent to the school. On-street time limit restrictions are established by property owner vote. By keeping the educational institution permit parking limited to school-owned property lines, the governing entity of the school will be the only vote required to establish any regulations on those specific spaces. 

Educational institution permits are valid Monday - Friday, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the 2018-2019 academic school year. Parking is unrestricted for all motorists outside of those days and hours, including Saturday and Sundays. Holidays are not excluded from the restricted days, as school district observance of specific holidays may vary.  

Only designated parking spaces along the school-owned property line will require Educational Institution permits to park. Parking spaces not identified in the pilot will not require an Educational Institution permit to park, however any existing parking regulations will still apply.   

ENFORCEMENT OF PILOT REGULATIONS

Prior to full implementation of a pilot area, informational brochures are mailed to property owners and residents of residential properties located across the street from the designated pilot parking spaces.  Informational flyers are also placed on vehicles parking in designated pilot parking spaces. 

New regulatory signage to replace the existing signage on the street is then scheduled. Once installed, informational flyers will continue to be placed on vehicles parked in pilot parking spaces, along with warning notices (not citations) for an additional two weeks as part of the warning period. After the warning period, parking citations will be issued to vehicles parked in pilot spaces without an Educational Institution parking permit. 

pilot locations

William Land Elementary School and St. Francis High School were initially selected for the proposed pilot due to recent facility expansions at both sites. Both schools experienced an increase in student populations due to the attraction of their distinctive magnet programs. This resulted in a need for more parking when their off-street parking facilities were no longer sufficient to accommodate the growth in students, staff and visitors to the site. In October 2018, St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School was added.

The addition of Washington Elementary School to the pilot was approved by the Sacramento City Council on May 25, 2021. Signage was installed the week of June 7th and Informational Brochures were mailed out to property owners and residents the same week. The pilot spaces will only consist of 10 metered spaces on the north side of F Street, between 17th Street and 18th Street, which border the school property line. All remaining parking spaces on the north side of F Street from 16th Street to 17th Street will not be part of the pilot and regulations on those spaces will not be affected.   

comments or concerns

Comments or concerns may be sent by email to ParkingCSR@cityofsacramento.org or by mail to: Parking Services, c/o Pilot Programs, 300 Richards Blvd, Second Floor, Sacramento, CA 95811 (This is a mailing address. No customer service counter is available here). Messages may also be left with the Sacramento City 311 at 916-264-5011. Agents are available 24 hours, 7 days per week. 

Please note that all correspondence received will be the property of the City of Sacramento for reference purposes related to this pilot study.