SEBASTOPOL FREES UP PARKING SPACES FOR PUBLIC, WORKERS

In an attempt to free more parking in downtown Sebastopol for shoppers, the city will dedicate two underused parking lots for downtown workers.

"Parking has always been a big issue and you want to make the on-street spaces as available as possible," City Manager Jack Griffin said. "If people want to go to a store and they can't find parking, they won't go to that store."

The city of Sebastopol has just over 400 parking spaces in seven city lots and a private lot, plus a number of on-street parking spaces that have not been counted, Griffin said.

In an informal study conducted over the past several weeks, the lot on South High Street near the Veterans Building with 54 spaces is only 22 percent full, and the lot behind the Chamber of Commerce building with 36 stalls is only 10 percent full.

Those lots have a combination of reserved spaces and spots with 3-hour time limits, both of which could be removed and the parking spots provided to downtown workers.

Many downtown workers now park on the street, where parking is unrestricted, Griffin said. Removing limits on the two restricted lots should make more on-street parking spots available, he said.

"We have the ability to change the use of those two lots and the cost is minimal," Griffin said. "It would be an experiment worth taking."

The council approved the changes, which Griffin said would take a few weeks to implement by painting over the current restricted numbers and informing business owners.

The council also requested information on removing parking restrictions on a 33-space park-and-ride lot, which isn't used much since Golden Gate Transit stopped bus service. The lot could also be connected by a driveway to the adjacent chamber lot.

You can reach Staff Writer Bob Norberg at 521-5206 or

bob.norberg@ pressdemocrat.com.