As the city pursues a potential lessee for the city's parking inventory, there is an important question to ask: Could the city parking validation program end? If it does, is there a risk of damaging existing businesses - some of which have struggled in the downtown area for years?
According to city parking services manager Howard Chan, Sacramento currently validates parking at city-owned garages for many local businesses and venues, providing an incentive to business owners: They buy the parking at a discount, and they have something to offer patrons as a courtesy.
Merchants buy discounted parking tickets worth $5 of parking for 50 cents each, and the validation is good in any of nine city-owned downtown and Old Sacramento parking garages.
Depending on which garage a shopper uses, that comes out to about two hours of free parking.
In the downtown area, 116 businesses took part in the parking validation program in 2011, according to Chan, bringing in roughly $100,000 in revenue to the city.
Tony Sheppard, co-director of the annual Sacramento Film and Music Festival, said several arts and cultural events that are hosted at venues like the Crest Theatre might be threatened if patrons were not offered validated parking.
"It's difficult with some arts and cultural events to get people to come from long distances," Sheppard said Thursday.
"Depending on the time of day, or day of the week, the cost of parking changes," Sheppard said. "If parking rates go up, validation becomes even more important."
In an economy where businesses struggle and many come and go, parking validation can be an important incentive for shoppers to go downtown.
If downtown loses the benefit of parking validation, are we championing the cause of one business - an arena for the Kings - at the expense of others downtown?
Assistant City Manager John Dangberg said it's premature to ask that question.
"In a parking monetization, you go through a lengthy discussion period on the concession agreement," Dangberg said. "It deals with everything from rates to special events to non-competition - all those get wrapped up in the agreement."
Once the city gets into those discussions, Dangberg said, then details such as parking validation programs are considered.
Dangberg said, however, that it's important to remember that any concession agreement is subject to existing agreements - such as parking validation contracts some businesses have with the city already.
"Those are legally binding contracts," Dangberg said. "They don't just go away."
Lisa Martinez, spokeswoman for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, said Thursday that the DSP is concerned with maintaining strong customer service for the businesses in the downtown core.
"Parking validation is something that supports the businesses and provides a perk for customers," Martinez said.
Martinez agreed with Dangberg that it's too early in the process to know what impact - if any - a parking lessee might have on parking validation programs in the city, but it's a good idea for business owners to stay aware of the situation.
"There will be opportunity for businesses to weigh in on the process," Martinez said, "and we encourage them to do that. We've also been advocating for (city officials) to consider all the impacts on a private business owner."
Raelene Trumm, general manager for Westfield Downtown Plaza, said that if the city leases its parking inventory - which would include the parking garage at Downtown Plaza - it would have no real impact on the mall.
"It doesn't affect us at all," Trumm said. "We're covered under contract with the city (for parking validation) until about 2055."
Trumm said that any change in parking operations at the city level would need to incorporate the plaza's legally binding contract.
Not all plaza businesses have parking validation as part of their lease, Trumm said, but most permanent tenants in the mall do participate in the validation program.
Other local business owners who take advantage of the city's validation program say losing it might make a difference in their business.
Nathan Sorgenfrie, a staff member at Chef's Mercantile in Old Sacramento, said that roughly half of the people who come into the store want parking validation - although not all customers knows it is available until it's offered to them.
"We ask everyone," Sorgenfrie said Thursday, "and some are surprised by it. But only the first time. When they come back, they usually ask right away."
Sorgenfrie said that he doesn't think parking validation is really what drives people to visit Old Sacramento - but it could be the reason they return for a future visit.
Connie Carlson, manager at G. Willikers Toy Emporium in Old Sacramento said her store gives out at least 100 validations a month during busy months - but not every month is that busy, and not every customer needs parking validation.
"I think losing (validation) would make some difference," Carlson said, "but over time it would be forgotten. It's a small percentage of our customers."
While the city is going through the "request for qualifications" process, Dangberg said his office is compiling questions received from interested parties about the city's parking inventory.
Interestingly, none of the questions received to date address parking validation programs.
It may be too soon to tell what the city's parking validation program will look like if the city finds a lessee parking operator.
"The question should still be asked," Sheppard said. "It should at least be on the radar."
