Los Gatos Weekly-Times

EDITORIALS

Keep excess parking dollars downtown

Officially, the town is taking very tentative steps toward adopting parking fees in public lots. First, there would be a trial run. Then, the fees would be adopted only if they prove acceptable to users.

But at last week's public hearing, most everyone seemed to accept the inevitable, with much of the discussion focusing on the approximately $500,000 surplus that would be left after the town builds a new garage. Some argued for the surplus going into the general fund for long-needed street repairs.

The new Town of Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce took a different stance--one that was pro-business and, we think, reasonable.

While lack of parking does affect everyone who comes downtown, it is the downtown businesses who bear the brunt of the town's inadequate parking. And it is the downtown merchants who have the most to lose if visitors to Los Gatos balk at the fees once they're imposed.

Many business owners have paid for--or are still paying for--parking spaces as part of the price of doing business downtown. If and when parking fees are imposed, it is those doing business downtown who will have to deal with daily parking fees for employees.

To turn excess funds collected for a downtown parking garage into pothole money for the entire town doesn't make much sense, especially considering that the new parking facility theoretically will ease parking and encourage more visitors.

The town recently adopted a downtown streetscape plan, but the implementation could be years away. The town needs a healthy downtown, and putting excess parking fee dollars to work downtown seems like the most expedient way to make downtown healthy.

The town keeps talking about the need for economic development. Creating more parking spaces is a good first step. Investing the excess funds into downtown beautification is the logical next step.

Meaningless vote

Anyone who attended last week's public hearing on the town's restaurant policy walked away thinking the four councilmembers present were in agreement. After all, the decision requiring applicants for new restaurants in the central business district to go before the Planning Commission was unanimous.

The story in today's Los Gatos Weekly-Times reports on the unanimous vote. The story also indicates that council member Steve Blanton wasn't really serious about his vote. He plans to argue against it when it comes up again--as it always does in such votes--for formal approval on the consent calendar.

Blanton now says he misunderstood and thought that there would be another public hearing. Nonetheless, he says he will ask that the item be pulled from the consent calendar so he can express his concerns about the issue.

If a public hearing isn't the time for a councilmember to voice concerns, when is the right time?

On July 25, Mayor Randy Attaway is inviting the community to attend a 4:30 p.m. meeting in the Council Chambers to discuss how the town can better communicate with its constituents.

We'd like to suggest that one step councilmembers might take would be to give those who attend public hearings the courtesy of honest debate.