LADOT proposes lowering some parking fines, new universal payment plan and mobile app; committee holds item for more review

Ken Husting, acting assistant general manager for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation’s Office of Mobility Services, presented a fine-optimization study that evaluated parking citations issued between Jan. 1, 2022, and Dec. 31, 2023, and overlaid citation locations and registered-owner ZIP codes with census median household income.

Husting said the study identified opportunities to reduce fines for 23 violation codes — primarily quality-of-life citations such as overnight parking without registration and vehicle-for-sale signs — because those citations were disproportionately issued in disadvantaged areas. The study also identified 16 violations for potential fine increases that LADOT estimated could yield about $6.9 million over five years. "So the study revealed that there's opportunities to reduce fines, for 23 violation codes," Husting told the committee, and said the changes aim to improve compliance while reducing burdens on low-income residents.

LADOT described existing relief options: a community assistance parking (CAP) program that allows people experiencing homelessness to reconcile citations through volunteer service or enrollment in homelessness services, installment payment plans, and a legal-services referral partnership with Bet Tzedek. The department said its new citation-processing contract will include a universal payment plan and a mobile payment application, with the mobile app expected to launch in late summer.

Councilmembers pressed LADOT on enforcement capacity, methodology and unintended consequences. Councilmember Rodriguez asked how reducing fines would aid enforcement when the city is not towing frequently and staffing and court rulings have limited tools such as booting. Husting acknowledged the constraints and said certain safety-related citations would not be adjusted; he also said the plan could be piloted for a year with the option to revert changes if outcomes do not meet expectations. He noted the city’s boot-related receivables had grown from about $40 million to "well over $120 million" after the city’s ability to boot vehicles diminished.

The committee did not vote to adopt the study’s recommendations; members asked LADOT to return with additional detail and held the item for further review and intercommittee consideration.

Next steps: LADOT will provide further detail on methodology and enforcement implications to the committee and to the Transportation Committee; staff will return with additional analysis before any ordinance or fee changes are proposed.