Santa Barbara County Municipal Code Ch. 23E Parking Lot Meters

The chief executive officer of the county or his or her designee may install or cause to be installed, parking meters in all parking zones established by this Code.

(Ord. No. 4730, § 1, 10-13-2009)

"Parking meter" shall mean any device controlled by the county which is designed, upon the lawful deposit of a fee, to measure in minutes or hours the period of time during which a vehicle may be parked in the parking space for which the fee was deposited, and so constructed or equipped that the same will, upon expiration of the time for which such fee was deposited, indicate such expiration of time. "Parking meter" shall include pay station devices that control multiple parking spaces.

(Ord. No. 4730, § 1, 10-13-2009)

Parking meter zones are hereby established for the following areas:

Public parking lots owned by the redevelopment agency of the County of Santa Barbara or the County of Santa Barbara and located within the boundaries of the Isla Vista Master Plan adopted by the board of supervisors on August 21, 2007. Parking lots, or portions thereof, that are reserved for use by employees or residents of publicly owned property are not included within this definition.

(Ord. No. 4730, § 1, 10-13-2009)

The hours of operation shall be from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., seven days per week, holidays excluded.

(Ord. No. 4730, § 1, 10-13-2009)

Parking meter fees shall be established by resolution of the board of supervisors and may be updated from time to time by the chief executive officer. The maximum amount of meter time that may be purchased at a time is seventy-two hours.

(Ord. No. 4730, § 1, 10-13-2009)

In the event that a parking meter is rendered inoperable due to mechanical or other failure, the parking space or spaces controlled by that parking meter shall be treated as a one hour parking zone until such time as the parking meter is operational. It is a violation of this chapter for a vehicle to remain parked in a parking space controlled by an inoperable meter beyond one hour.

(Ord. No. 4730, § 1, 10-13-2009)

No person shall do any of the following:

(a) Fail to pay the parking meter fee immediately after parking a vehicle in a parking meter zone during the parking meter hours of operation.

(b) Deposit in a parking meter a defaced coin, slug, foreign object, or counterfeit bill.

(c) Pay the parking meter fee by illegal or fraudulent use of a credit card or other means of electronic payment.

(d) Deface, injure, or tamper with any part of a parking meter.

(e) Deface, injure, or tamper with the parking stall numbers painted on the street.

(f) Attach any article to a parking meter.

(g) Allow a vehicle owned or operated by such person to remain parked in a parking meter controlled parking space after the purchased time has expired. This provision does not apply to the period necessary after initial occupancy of a parking meter controlled parking space for the immediate deposit of the parking meter fee.

(h) Park a vehicle across a line or marking designating a parking meter controlled parking space.

(i) Park a vehicle which exceeds sixteen and a half feet in length.

(j) Allow a vehicle parked by such person to remain in a parking meter controlled parking spot after receipt of a citation for failure to pay the parking meter fee.

(Ord. No. 4730, § 1, 10-13-2009)

The parking of a vehicle in a parking meter controlled parking space for which the purchased time recorded on the parking receipt and recorded by the parking meter has expired shall constitute prima facie evidence that the vehicle has been parked in such space longer than permitted by this section. If there is a discrepancy between the time recorded on the parking receipt and the time recorded by the parking meter, the latter shall control.

(Ord. No. 4730, § 1, 10-13-2009)

Mechanical or other failure of a parking meter shall be a defense to a citation for failure to pay the parking meter fee provided that the person cited is not responsible for such failure.

(Ord. No. 4730, § 1, 10-13-2009)

A violation of this section shall constitute an infraction punishable by a fine of five times the daily rate for parking in the lot where the violation occurs.

(Ord. No. 4730, § 1, 10-13-2009)

Persons who have been issued a parking permit by the county or the redevelopment agency of the County of Santa Barbara for a vehicle that allows them to park that vehicle in the space it occupies will not be subject to provisions of this chapter during the time their permit is in effect.

(Ord. No. 4730, § 1, 10-13-2009)