San Juan Capistrano Municipal Code Ch. 4 Parking Meters

Prior History: Art. 4, Ch. 4, Ord. 295, as amended by § 1, Ord. 340; § 1(A), § 2, Ord. 383; and § 1, Ord. 764, and § 1, Ord. 788.

The provisions of this chapter imposing a time limit on standing or parking of vehicles shall not release any person from the duty to observe other and more restrictive provisions of the California Vehicle Code or the ordinances of this City, prohibiting or limiting the standing or parking of vehicles on specified places or at specified times.

(Ord. No. 1121, 6/18/2024; Ord. No. 1123, 1/21/2025)

It is unlawful to willfully interfere with legal enforcement or metered or time-limited parking spaces, including, but not limited to, covering up of license plates, permits, erasing chalking or other markings made by any police officer or other employee or officer of this City from tires by any means other than to leave the parking space and drive along the street.

(Ord. No. 1121, 6/18/2024; Ord. No. 1123, 1/21/2025)

Under the authority of California Vehicle Code Section 22508, the City Council of the City of San Juan Capistrano shall by ordinance, immediately and hereafter from time to time as traffic conditions require, establish zones to be known as "parking meter zones," and upon such streets or portions of streets of the City of San Juan Capistrano as are selected for the location of the parking meter zones, shall cause parking meters to be installed and shall cause parking meter spaces to be designated as hereinafter provided. The City Council may change or eliminate any of said zones by ordinance. The City's parking meter zones are as follows:

(Ord. No. 1121, 6/18/2024; Ord. No. 1123, 1/21/2025)

The rates or fees for parking meters located within the designated parking meter zones shall be pursuant to the rates set forth in Section 4-4.03. Notwithstanding the foregoing, these rates or fees shall vary as determined by the City Council based on the following criteria:

• Special events

• Holidays

• Peak demand

• Reduction of traffic congestion

• Tourism and visitor management

• Promotion of public transportation

• Promotion of off-peak parking

(Ord. No. 1121, 6/18/2024; Ord. No. 1123, 1/21/2025)

The City Manager, or his or her designee, is authorized to install or place parking meters in such parking meter zones provided for herein, or to be provided for hereafter, and the City Manager is authorized to maintain said meters in good workable condition. Regulation and control of parking or standing of vehicles may be by parking meters, parking attendants, automated self-pay machines, app-based mobile pay parking or other appropriate means or technologies.

(Ord. No. 1121, 6/18/2024; Ord. No. 1123, 1/21/2025)

Parking meters installed in the parking meter zones established, as provided in Section 4-4.03, shall, upon parking in a designated parking space, display or confirm by some other means, including, but not limited to, a physical automated pay station receipt or an app-based mobile pay parking receipt, the amount of time purchased for legal parking and the expiration of said legal parking time.

(Ord. No. 1121, 6/18/2024; Ord. No. 1123, 1/21/2025)

The City Manager, or his or her designee, is authorized to have lines or markings painted or placed upon the lot or curb and/or the street adjacent to any parking meter for the purpose of designating the parking space for which the meter is to be used, and each vehicle parking alongside of or next to any parking meter shall park within the lines or marking so established. It is unlawful and a violation of this title to park any vehicle across any such line or marking or to park said vehicle in such position that the same shall not be entirely within the area so designated by such lines or markings.

(Ord. No. 1121, 6/18/2024; Ord. No. 1123, 1/21/2025)

It is unlawful to park any vehicle in any space controlled by a parking meter located in accordance with the provisions of this title, without immediately initiating the payment transaction using some form of legal payment of the United States and operate the parking meter in accordance with the instructions thereon.

(Ord. No. 1121, 6/18/2024; Ord. No. 1123, 1/21/2025)

Parking meters in parking meter zones, shall be operated in said parking meter zones at days and hours as established and amended by the City Council.

(Ord. No. 1121, 6/18/2024; Ord. No. 1123, 1/21/2025)

A vehicle will be deemed to have been stopped, parked or left standing for longer than the time allowed in this section, if it has not been moved at least out of the block face following the expiration of the posted time limit in a timed parking zone. A block face consists of the legal parking spaces on both sides of the street on a block in which the vehicle is parked, bounded by an intersection at each end. A vehicle may not re-park in the same block face sooner than a timeout period equal to double the posted time limit following the time at which a vehicle was initially parked.

(Ord. No. 1121, 6/18/2024; Ord. No. 1123, 1/21/2025)

It shall be the duty and responsibility of the City Manager to appoint a designee to make collections from and maintain parking meters.

(Ord. No. 1121, 6/18/2024; Ord. No. 1123, 1/21/2025)

Parking meters shall be installed for parking meter zones, except spaces in red, white, blue, or yellow zones, and excepting zones designated by the Traffic Engineer. The City Council, by resolution, may exclude the installation of parking meters, in the parking meter zone, in green zones existing or hereafter established adjacent to buildings used exclusively by any public agency for public or governmental purposes.

(Ord. No. 1121, 6/18/2024; Ord. No. 1123, 1/21/2025)

It is unlawful to park, or permit to be parked, in a metered parking space any vehicle, except a commercial vehicle when loading or unloading materials during any time the parking meter is expired. The time of loading or unloading shall not exceed 20 minutes.

(Ord. No. 1121, 6/18/2024; Ord. No. 1123, 1/21/2025)

Every person who operates a parking meter shall be responsible for establishing confirmation that the payment transaction has successfully completed. It is unlawful for any person to complete a payment transaction via a parking meter without the consent or knowledge of the owner or operator of the vehicle parked in the space for which the payment transaction is designated.

(Ord. No. 1121, 6/18/2024; Ord. No. 1123, 1/21/2025)

It is unlawful for any unauthorized person to open, or for any person to tamper with or impair the usefulness or appearance of any parking meter.

(Ord. No. 1121, 6/18/2024; Ord. No. 1123, 1/21/2025)

It is unlawful for any person to attach anything to or allow a bicycle, newsrack, or other article or thing to lean against a parking meter or parking meter standard.

(Ord. No. 1121, 6/18/2024; Ord. No. 1123, 1/21/2025)

The City Manager, or his or her designee, is authorized to have lines or markings painted or placed upon the parking lot for the purpose of designating the parking space each vehicle parking shall park within the lines or marking so established. It is unlawful and a violation of this title to park any vehicle across any such line or marking or to park said vehicle in such position that the same shall not be entirely within the area so designated by such lines or markings.

(Ord. No. 1121, 6/18/2024; Ord. No. 1123, 1/21/2025)

(a) The time limited parking lots are subject to a time limit on parking in addition to applicable rules and regulations as may be established by the City Council by resolution.

(b) It is prohibited to park in a time limited parking Lot for more than the applicable posted time limit as designated by the Traffic Engineer or as may be established by the City Council by resolution.

(Ord. No. 1121, 6/18/2024; Ord. No. 1123, 1/21/2025)

When fees have been established and pay machines have been installed in parking lots, pay machines shall post the amount of fees to be paid.

(Ord. No. 1121, 6/18/2024; Ord. No. 1123, 1/21/2025)

Unless otherwise included within an established parking meter zone as set forth in Section 4-4.03, the City Council shall establish or modify fees for parking within parking lots outside of designated parking meter zones by ordinance or resolution. When such fees have been established signs shall be posted in parking lots on pay machines giving such notice.

(Ord. No. 1121, 6/18/2024; Ord. No. 1123, 1/21/2025)