EscoWatchDog wrote on Jul 2, 2008 9:08 PM:I think now that the city is struggling with money, even a smaller-area ordinance would not be worth it. Just abandon the ordinance already.

EscoCitizen wrote on Jul 2, 2008 9:23 PM:Why does consuelo not want immigration docs checked? Why do people not want laws enforced? These things always come full circle to the root of some of Escondido's major problems.

Lisa wrote on Jul 2, 2008 9:57 PM:Ohhhh....that should be a good one.

A study to counter the study.

A council of contradiction.

Who did they say conducted this "study"? Did that read: "a city analysis"?

And the saga rages on...

bogie wrote on Jul 2, 2008 11:29 PM:Let's just get this thing over with already. Boot out all people overcrowding a house or apartment.

Where do we draw the line you ask? If you don't know the answer to that question, Read the UBC.

Waste of Money wrote on Jul 3, 2008 12:07 AM:Why would the council do this when they don't have any money? They already cut alot of programs and now they are cutting the parades. I don't know why they would waste the little money we have on this. Does the city really think that if the cars aren't on the streets the crime will reduce? That's just stupid. What about when I stay over at my friend's house? Will I need a permit? The city is not being real clear.

WASTING TAX DOLLARS AGAIN wrote on Jul 3, 2008 1:56 AM:another study? more money wasted without reason!
at the end the infamous ordince with no cars on the streets for safety, won't happen because they will issued two permits per home;more contradictions!
this council need to be replace by one that makes sense and don't waste our tax dollars and instead focus in how to improve the budget of this city.

Joseph wrote on Jul 3, 2008 6:12 AM:Since my fine ride rests majesticly on the front lawn these rules would not apply to me anyway.It is a private property issue.I have lived in many cities before but Escondido is the only place that seem to allow cars to be parked on the corner.

Herb wrote on Jul 3, 2008 6:47 AM:We continue to hear about studies that are performed by the City Council - who does these studies? How much do they cost? Are the people that do the studies so-called experts? I am willing to bet that they are self-proclaimed experts and at least one of them has a PHD and knows no other way of making a living.
I challenge the Escondido City Council to publish a list on this website of the studies they have done in the past five years and the experts they have given the contracts to and the relationship to any of the Council.

Thank you Thank you wrote on Jul 3, 2008 7:55 AM:now the taxpaying citizens will be able to park on their own street! But hey we can steer the renters that have 10 cars to your neighborhoods if you would like.

to Herb wrote on Jul 3, 2008 7:56 AM:Herb,

The people that do the studies are hired consultants that are experts in the specific area they are being hired for. Relax. One thing they aren't are hate mongering losers that let their own bias affect their expertise and good judgement. I can't say the same for some of the people that post on this blog. The people doing the study are Walker Parking Consultants - Probably the best parking consultant nationwide you could ever hope to hire. Calm down and let the experts do the work. Any by the way, Ph. D's aren't "self proclaimed"......LOL

Something to think about wrote on Jul 3, 2008 9:01 AM:My family - White, middle class. 2 married working adults-2 cars. Two teenage children-2 cars. Grandparents living in the home-1 car. The American dream, wonderful supportive family dynamics. Beautiful well kept house with lawn - not concrete in front. Where are we supposed to park 3 of our 5 legitimate cars in our legitimate American household? Stop making this a racial issue - its a control issue by the City and I guess my family might be necessary casualties. How about your family? Are you next?

choo choo wrote on Jul 3, 2008 9:09 AM:Not being able to see or read the document the story is about leaves one at a disadvantage. But I will say any council member who votes to authorize parking permits for anyone but me to park overnight in front of my home will never again get my vote or support. Is that clear Marie, Ed, Sam, Dick? Remember, you have been elected to reverse the rot and decay in Escondido, not enable it.

to Thank You wrote on Jul 3, 2008 9:14 AM:I am a citizen, I pay taxes and I visit friends overnight, legally parking on a nearby street (not infront of any homes). Who are you to advocate for the regulation of my social life? It's none of your buisness. My tax dollars should not be wasted on these communist plots.

How about the garage wrote on Jul 3, 2008 10:09 AM:"Something to think about" above bemoans the fact that he/she owns too many vehicles. If you were to park two of those cars in your garage where they belong, you wouldn't have a problem. The other two go on the driveway, and one in the street. Voila! You can then rent your extra permit to your neighbor, who likely has 3 more cars than he should as well. To answer your question: no, I'm not next. Pave your lawn if you don't have a garage. We're in a drought anyway.

To Something wrote on Jul 3, 2008 10:11 AM:to think about. How about thinking of someone else besides your family, do you know how much pollution is caused by 5 cars in one family? Take the BUS!!
Man it is rough being a politically correct cop!

Transparent wrote on Jul 3, 2008 10:42 AM:The city council...so transparent.

They keep pushing this ordinance. I KNOW WHY!!!

It's because they are in the financial dog house and they are looking for NEW WAYS TO MAKE MONEY!!!

I mean all law-abiding tax-paying citizens should be honored to pay for city council pay, PENSIONS, medical and so on. I mean all Escondido residents should make sure that our council is able to make ends meet in this struggling economy. Who cares if many residents continue to stuggle in Escondido. We should be happy that the mayor & the four council stooges are getting a BIG FAT $9,000 a year gas allowance and that the residents will get parking permits (to park on the street).

The citizens should definately help the city pay for the Maple Pedestrian plaza and the new hotel and we should make sure the city can buy the H.Johnson building. And we should be happy our roads are full of potholes with bad transitions...we should be happy it wrecks our alignment! Who needs good roads, when you have a parking ordinance!

We should be happy to watch the parades go bye-bye and we should be happy all community groups (non-profs) should pay for all police coverage at their COMMUNITY events.

We should be happy that the council wants to spend hundreds of thousands for start-up costs for this...and we should be happy that they will print up tens of thousands of parking permits (even if some residents don't even need/want them). I mean NOTHING makes taypaying people happier than to watch money getting flushed in the toilet!!! Nothing!!! Brilliant - absolutely Brilliant!!!

We should be happy to be inconvenienced!

We should be happy that we will have to empty our garages (full of our "junk")...and we should be happy to put all of our belongings in a storage unit (see how the ordinance will generate money).

Nothing makes a person happier than to be penalized for somebody's else's wrongs.

More Transparency wrote on Jul 3, 2008 10:44 AM:Also, if we should get a ticket...then we should be ecstatic that we have such a fine ordinance and we should be happy to go to city hall to pay our fine. We should be happy that BIG BROTHER is in our face 24/7. We should be happy that our fine money (let's say $25.00) will go to city hall instead of the movies for our children!!!

We should be happy that when we visit one of our neighboring cities (like Rancho Bernardo) that people will know we live in Escondido (the city of intolerance). That should make a really good impression: Look Ma...that person is from Escondido...the city full of illegals and gangs and criminals and unlicensed drivers. I'm sure that will encourage us to walk with our heads held high. That should be a proud moment for us!

I MEAN: What is not to love about this proposed idiotic ordinance!!

We should be happy that when out-of-town family comes to visit...we will have the pleasure of securing a over-night permit for them! We should be happy that we will probably get to PAY for our family to visit us in Escondido! I mean our town is such a treasure...so much to offer!! Maybe if our family is lucky, after their twelve hour drive they will have to pass through a traffic checkpoint! Nothing like spending half a day in a car and then the minute you roll into town...you can sit in your car as you wait for your turn with the rubber glove!

And of course!! We should be happy that one of the brainless children behind this lives in a gated community and therefore WILL NOT be inconvenienced! I mean that's only fair!

Who the heck is running the city council? And why?

I'm wondering: Has the city council taken into account the problems this will cause for landlords? If a renter has a lease agreement and the landlord cannot provide the parking spaces needed (for the people on the lease), wouldn't that give the renter a valid reason to break the lease? Nah. I'm sure they never even considered it...why would they...they are firm believers in "make it up as you go along" and big believers is "change the rules as you go".

And what about this: IF a resident is given a permit to park on the street, HOW does that guarantee the resident a place? And how does that guaranteee the resident a parking place in front of their own home? Pretty sure - that it won't/it doesn't guarantee anything then the fact that you won't get a ticket...but you may have to walk a block or two to get to your car. See how this ordinance will solve your parking problem. Can you see it - just like the council does - problem solved - Presto - problem gone - no more crime from the evil parked cars!

Stupidity at full volume!!

Sounds like a good reason for a RECALL!!!

Jack wrote on Jul 3, 2008 10:59 AM:The dirty little secret is that there are a lot of expensive consultants available for the City to use. They are picked on the basis of the answer the City wants. A different consultant with just as many PhDs would have come to a completely different conclusion. These consultants do not use the scientific method and follow the evidence. They do a legalistic study where they emphasize the evidence that supports the desired result and ignore all contrary evidence.
The City does not do its own studies because these "consultants" give them plausible deniability.

Jaque wrote on Jul 3, 2008 11:29 AM:My neighbor, on our culdesac has 5 vehicles, and they actually put one in the garage. However, one of the is perennially parked in front of the shared curb we have between our house. This is the vehicle that moves maybe once a week, with the other nearby curbside parking spaces in the culdesac taken up in the evening when they get home. The they that I'm referring to are 3 adult males, 1 adult female and two small children. In my everyday experience, this bundling in what should mostly be a residential area is getting out of hand.

anotherview wrote on Jul 3, 2008 11:30 AM:While perhaps needed, the proposed parking restrictions represent a mere band-aid in the campaign to remove the illegal aliens. If truly dedicated to this removal campaign, then city officials would adopt a policy of full cooperation with federal authorities, to identify and detain the illegal aliens for their due deportation. After all, the illegal aliens have no right to live and work in America. By enforcement of the law, America can remove the illegal aliens, and will prosper all the more.

To How About the Garage wrote on Jul 3, 2008 12:23 PM:Your comment regarding pave the driveway to "something to think about" isnt a real solution as I have a relative who did just that and got ticketed because their driveway was not ZONED for an extra car--never mind there was plenty of room and he had checked with the city prior to making the improvements. Yes, he lives in the targeted area and is considering contacting the ACLU for the BS ticket he received. He has a car in the garage, his business vehicle in the street and his grown son's vehicle in the driveway and while there were no other cars in the driveway, because the car was not directly in the driveway, but the front tire was on the walkway (parked crookedly by the son) he got ticketed. So dont tell me it's not a racial thing. There is a parking problem I will agree, but this is America where last I heard, the government cant mandate how many cars you own regardless of your skin color.
On top of that, with all the foreclosures going on, doesnt the council realize that there are a LOT of mixed families living together of all ethnic backgrounds-white, latino, etc., due to losing a home, a job, etc. Sam, Marie, Dick and the gang need to realize it's probably going on with their families too and their cutting off their nose to spite their face. There's other things far more important to make ordinances about than just trying to make things harder for those not quite as priviledged as they are.

To Transparent wrote on Jul 3, 2008 1:34 PM:No need for a recall, a referendum can put an immediate end to this silliness. Spend a little time with the Government Code, then start lining up those signatures.

Then the voters can take care of half the "Council Change" in the course of the November election.

For Sale wrote on Jul 3, 2008 1:40 PM:For Sale by the City:

Ocean front property in Escondido. Get it now while it's HOT!

It cracks me up how wrote on Jul 3, 2008 1:52 PM:people use the blogs for a way to vent their feelings, myself included. Now if we had any spine, instead of critizing the City Council and the Police Department we would get our little or big in some cases rear ends out and run for these offices.

East Escondido Homeowner wrote on Jul 3, 2008 3:03 PM:I am so grateful that the City Council has taken this bold action. I am tired of not being able to park anywhere near my house, due to the number of cars belonging to "neighbors." The house to our immediate west has 8 vehicles, the one on the immediate east has 6. Most of the houses near ours have 4-6 vehicles per household. This is a problem!!! I actually think they should go further, and not allow ANY overnight street parking!!!!

Escott wrote on Jul 3, 2008 3:14 PM:I have a few questions that I don't feel were answered with enough information.

Escondido City Council will send every home 2 Parking Passes, Every condo/apartment 1 Parking Pass and you can only use these passes to park on the street. What if you need another pass, they never said the cost or how about to even get an extra pass to park on your own street.

I agree with the concept of this plan but it needs to be ironed out a little more with some fresh details explaining how it will all work.

I'm all for it because the people who live next to us have 8 cars and they take up almost a fourth of our streets public access parking and they are all legal, tax paying citizens but it's like hell, you don't need 8 cars.

Escondeeter wrote on Jul 3, 2008 3:37 PM:To "cracks me up":

Possibly nobody wants to run because nobody wants what is, essentially, a full time job with part time pay, where every individual in the city with a problem (whether it's business, financial, emotional, legal, or racial) wants to make his problem your problem. The job is like going to work at a firing range and being assigned to the 'moving target' position.

Frustrated wrote on Jul 3, 2008 4:16 PM:What a WASTE of money! Escondido doesn't need a parking ordiance or more parking restrictions. Try accomplishing something positive for a change like making it possible to view and pay COE utility bills online so people have the option not to receive paper bills.

another notherview wrote on Jul 3, 2008 4:22 PM:yes, this is how whimpy Californians passive-aggressive address the illegal immigration issue. Develop integrity, grow a spine and do what they do in Irving Texas, enforce the law. Just enforce the law. Yes, discriminate agains criminals.

Herb wrote on Jul 3, 2008 7:15 PM:In reply to the person who calls himself, "To Herb."
Actually the so called experts are what the city Council calls "The Staff." (I hope there are no PHDs that call themselves experts on the staff.)
The best I can remember the experts used a study and the parking ordinances of a place called "Menlo Park" as a model to draw their great parking ideas from.
As to your defense of PHDs: Sometimes they are beneficial if they are required to stick to there chosen field. But before turning them lose to spend the tax-payers money they should be required to prove that they are expert in the discipline in need. PHDs have proven themselves to be good students with a knack for pleasing their mentor. However, I don't remember ever meeting a PHD who represented himself to be an expert in parking. (A little levity there to clear the cob webs of your mind.)
I know what you are after and you can't get it from me, and I don't think you are going to get it from the staff of "PHDs?" Parking in Escondido will be a subject under discussion for years to come if the Council continues on this course; i.e., These people are trying to use it, as you are, to achieve a hidden agenda.

Local wrote on Jul 4, 2008 4:08 AM:Escondido has been designated as a third world mecca. Overpopulation and all of the repercussions should be expected. If you object to this you need to step up and get busy. We are looking at the results of apathy. Termites do their damage while no one is watching. Repairing the current situation will separate the men from the boys. It won't be popular and it won't be easy. Legal voters need to pay attention.

Kimmie wrote on Jul 4, 2008 9:36 AM:Paving front yards to the side property line for parking line will result in car doors opening over the line, vehicle bodies extending over the line, and drivers/passengers exiting/entering vehicles having to cross over the property line and worst of all enables overcrowding. If some residents choose to have more vehicles than they can fit in their garage and on their current driveways, allow them to apply for a number of on-street parking permits (strict criteria) and if approved to purchase permits ($200 per year per vehicle) to park at the curb in front of only their residence. Not in front of someone else's residence up to 1,000 feet away as staff suggests. IMO staff has made a complete farce of a good idea. Let's see where the council members go with this. I know Daniels, Abed, Gallo, and Waldron have all said at times that any parking permit would be for use in front of the permitee's residence.

To Kimmie wrote on Jul 5, 2008 4:54 PM:And how will anyone (police or city council or code enforcement or neighbor or whatever...)know which car goes to which home?

I know that some people just love to know EVERYTHING about their neighborhood, they look our their windows constantly...in some places, they are called "Gossips".

Again, how will anyone know which car goes to which house? How will the city monitor the ordinance? How will they pay for it?

Just wondering.

To to kimmie wrote on Jul 5, 2008 7:54 PM:Very simply. The permits which hang on the rear view mirror are bar coded with the address of the resident they are issued to. The enforcement officer uses a bar code reader to determine whether or not the vehicle is parked in the correct location. Income from violations pay for enforcement.

stop this nonsense wrote on Jul 6, 2008 4:20 AM:IT'S TIME TO HEAD A DIFFERENT WAY TO IMPROVE ESCONDIDO, IN NOVEMBER VOTE OUT SAM AND ED AND THEN LET'S RECALL MARIE AND DICK. HOW MUCH ESCONDIDO CAN TAKE?

Bryan wrote on Jul 6, 2008 10:55 PM:I vote NO for Open Border Olga Diaz.

Long time resident wrote on Jul 26, 2008 8:26 AM:The main targets are people who tried to get rich by buying a house they could not afford, so they rent out every room including the garage. Yes, a lot happen to be Hispanic.
It is starting to look like Mexico City; it was not always this way. Something needs to be done. It is not my fault people cannot afford their house payment. Why should I have to suffer? All of their cars are blocking my front yard, just so my kids have a better chance to be hit by a car that did not see them? If you cannot afford to live in a house, get an apartment!

The comment in the article above:
"But opponents have argued that Escondido's conservative City Council is targeting poor Latino families who congregate in single-family homes to save money."
Many Hispanic workers are saving money and sending it to family back in Mexico, they can afford to live in an apartment, but choose not too! They want to maximize their savings while making everyone’s quality of life go down the tubes.

Bottom line: Any average, reasonably minded individual, surveying our streets, will see there is a problem.

If you need any more than 4 cars per house, you should look in the mirror and realize you are a redneck, drop the crack pipe and move to a trailer park in the mid-west.

-Pissed old time Escondido resident.