Parking pass plan set for Blaine’s Lakeside Commons Park
by Tim Hennagir
Life Editor
The city of Blaine has announced details of a new parking pass plan for Lakeside Commons Park.
City councilmembers are expected to approve a residential and non-residential parking pass fee schedule this Thursday (June 2)
Beginning June 11, all vehicles utilizing the public parking lots at Lakeside Commons Park would have a city-issued parking pass.
Seasonal parking passes would be free for Blaine residents; non-residents would purchase a seasonal pass for $20 or a one-day pass for $5.
Parking passes would be available during normal business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., from the Parks and Recreation Office at city hall beginning June 6.
Blaine residents would have to present photo identification with proof of residency to acquire a pass. Non-residents would be able to purchase daily or seasonal parking passes with cash or check only.
Parking passes would also be available in the boathouse at Lakeside Commons Park when it opens for the season on June 11.
The new policy would go into effect June 11 through Aug. 28 and will be enforced daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Blaine councilmembers briefly discussed the Lakeside Commons parking situation as an “Other Business” item at the end of their May 19 meeting.
City Manager Clark Arneson, Bryan Schafer, community development director, and Robert Therres, public services manager, provided staff reports.
Arneson said city staff also wanted the council to provide feedback on logistical issues associated with developing a permit parking system at Lakeside.
Schafer reported the commercial area owned by developer Main Street 1000 was originally issued a conditional use permit (CUP).
Next week, the council is scheduled to review a two-year CUP renewal that would allow Main Street more time to market its property. The city would use part of the land for parking.
Therres said city staff is still conducting research on parking rules, regulations and pricing at different parks and lots in the area.
Therres told the city council the parking permit system could be enforced via a honor system with random checks or the addition of a park gate supervised by a paid attendant.
Therres said the honor system would be less expensive. It would cost the city about $3,000 for signs and stickers but fees would tally $10,000 to $15,000.
Councilmember Russ Herbst wanted to implement the non-resident parking fee as soon as possible. Councilmember Katherine Kolb disagreed with Herbst.
“We need to do this process carefully,” Kolb said during discussion. “Once we set a fee, it will probably go farther out than this park,” she said. “Once we take that step, we are making a huge commitment.”
Kolb said there are people who have said the beach is overcrowded.
“Our staff has clearly used what information was available by park and recreation programs and other research, and some people have the perception the beach is overcrowded. We need to be careful,” she said.
Mayor Tom Ryan was skeptical that 72 permanent spaces at Lakeside Commons would be enough.
“I think it sounds a lot simpler that it’s going to be,” Ryan said of the proposed plan. “Everybody pulls into the first driveway, then they look for a spot. It’s a mess. It’s designed to have one driveway.”
Arneson said it was likely that the city would have parking attendants at Lakeside Commons Park the first few days of operation, and especially on June 11.
Councilmember Dave Clark said he struggled with asking people to pay $5 to park on a grass surface.
“We will have to make some course corrections as we go through. I would like to see Blaine residents who use the lot pay for it. But, I was outvoted 6-1, so life goes on,” he said.
Clark said the city would have to set up the correct fee structure right so it isn’t cheaper to pay for a ticket as opposed parking. “We will have to have signage. There are some things we have to figure out,” he said.
For example, Arneson said the Lakeside Commons pavilion was booked for the summer prior to any council action on parking.
“Those people have a reasonable expectation to arrive and get parking,” he said. “We’ll probably have to assign them parking spots and give them a set number of parking passes.”
For more information, about Lakeside Commons parking, contact Nate Monahan, recreation program supervisor, at 763-785-6151.
Tim Hennagir is at tim.hennagir@ecm-inc.com
