Lot 613 sits at 2010 S. Pisani Place, where Pisani meets Orson Bean Way. It has 53 free spaces, open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. A second parcel of the lot sits behind Fire Station 63. Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, SPARC, Pacific Resident Theatre and the Safe Place for Youth community garden all depend on it, according to the Free Venice Beachhead's account of the October 27 hearing.
Under the City's LA Express Park – Venice proposal, Lot 613 would charge $0.25 per 30 minutes with a $5 daily maximum, and its hours would stretch to 9 p.m. That is the lowest hourly rate anywhere in the plan. It still drew more testimony than anything else at the hearing, including the roughly 200 Abbot Kinney curb spaces that would get meters for the first time.
The price is low. People are objecting to who would pay it. The plan is described as managing turnover on Venice's busiest commercial streets, but the change neighbors feel most would come at a lot that the City itself places more than a mile from the beach.
What the Plan Does on Abbot Kinney
The Bureau of Engineering's project description puts meters on approximately 200 free, unmetered spaces along Abbot Kinney Boulevard from Main Street to Venice Boulevard. It does not add or remove any curb spaces. About 300 existing meters, including those around Windward Circle and on Washington Boulevard, would get new hardware. The plan also adds up to 20 vehicular wayfinding signs and up to 30 pedestrian ones. According to Yo! Venice, the upgraded meters would have color LED screens, occupancy sensors, tap-to-pay and text-to-pay.
Base rates go up in both of the City's Venice sub-zones. In Venice Sub-Zone 1, the summer rate from May 1 through September 30 would rise from $2.00 to $2.50 an hour. The winter rate from October 1 through April 30 would rise from $1.00 to $1.50. Sub-Zone 2 would go from $1.00 to $1.50 year-round. The two Washington-Pacific sub-zones get the same increases.
The base rate is a starting point. Occupancy sensors would let the hourly rate fall as low as $1 or rise to double the base rate, with a ceiling of $5. The City's own example is a busy summer Saturday afternoon costing more than a quiet winter Monday morning. LADOT describes the system as raising prices when demand is high and lowering them when it is low, so that a few spaces stay open on each block. Prices do come down under this system. In LADOT's rate change effective December 1, 2025, Venice average rates dropped by 6 to 10 cents an hour compared with the previous fall and winter season.
Nine City Lots, Moving in Different Directions
The off-street changes vary a lot by lot. The beach-facing lots get the steepest increases. The three inland lots go from free to the cheapest rate in the plan. Winter rates are shown below because the October through April season will be in effect for months after any decision.
Lot | Address | Spaces | Current rate | Proposed rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
701 | 2150 Dell Ave. | 150 | Oct.–Apr.: $4 for 7–9 a.m., $7–$15 for 9 a.m.–5 p.m. | Oct.–Apr.: $8 for 8–9 a.m., $10–$25 for 9 a.m.–5 p.m. |
731 | 200 N. Venice Blvd. | 177 | Oct.–Apr.: $7–$15 midday; honor box after hours at $2 Mon.–Thu., $3 Fri.–Sun. | Oct.–Apr.: $10–$20 midday; pay station after hours at $5 Mon.–Thu., $10 Fri.–Sun. |
740 | 301 S. Main St. | 41 | Weekdays and Oct.–Apr.: $1/hour, $4 daily max | Unchanged; summer weekend rates rise |
759 | 1301 S. Electric Ave. | 66 | $0.50 per 15 min., $8 max | $0.75 per 15 min., $12 max |
760 | 1600 Irving Tabor Ct. | 50 | $0.50 per 15 min., $8 max | $0.75 per 15 min., $12 max |
761 | 1608 S. Pacific Ave. | 14 | $1/hour | $1.50/hour, hours extended to 9 p.m. |
613 | 2010 S. Pisani Pl. | 53 | Free | $0.50/hour, $5 max, hours extended to 9 p.m. |
616 | 1411 Electric Ave. | 29 | Free | $0.50/hour, $5 max |
617 | 1511 Electric Ave. | 22 | Free | $0.50/hour, $5 max |
The Venice Farmers' Market exemption stays in place. Lot 701 on Dell Avenue remains free on Fridays from 7 a.m. to noon.
The project description gives one reason for metering Lots 613, 616 and 617. It says they are "located more than a mile from the beach" and that converting them "encourages vehicle turnover." That distance from the beach is the point opponents built their case on.
Why a 50-Cent Lot Drew the Room
The Beachhead's hearing account reports that most of the testimony on October 27 was about Lot 613. Speakers said the lot serves neighborhood institutions, not beachgoers or Abbot Kinney shoppers.
The institutions spoke for themselves:
- Beyond Baroque. Executive Director Jimi Vega asked the City to deny the permit for Lot 613. He said the organization's 1906 building has no on-site parking and that meters would weigh on seniors and students who come to evening events. A staff member said the lot is the only parking option for people attending its free and low-cost weekly programs.
- Pacific Resident Theatre. Artistic Director Marilyn Fox said the theater serves 12,000 patrons a year and called the adjacent lot an essential lifeline.
- SPARC. Cory Martin said Venice's arts organizations have served the community for more than 150 combined years. He cited the Coastal Act's protections for affordable community resources.
Neighbors on Oakwood, Amorosa Place, Brooks and Superba Avenue said their homes have no driveways or street parking. They described the lot as the release valve when streets fill up with construction, filming or street cleaning. One longtime Pisani Place resident cited a 1994 Coastal Commission report finding that the lot does not serve the beach. She also asked for protections for Fire Station 63 parking and for ADA spaces. Several speakers argued that removing free parking conflicts with Coastal Act Sections 30213 and 30253.
So the City and the opponents agree on a key fact. Lot 613 is not a beach lot. The City says that distance makes it a good place to manage turnover. Opponents say it shows the turnover being managed belongs to people who live and work in Venice. The Venice Neighborhood Council's committee material points toward the opponents' reading. It recommends adding meters on street segments without residential frontages, keeping initial metering off residential streets and away from Oakwood Park, and reinvesting meter revenue locally in parking management and enforcement.
Abbot Kinney Has Been Here Before
The 200 curb spaces on Abbot Kinney drew less testimony than Lot 613, and the people who spoke about them disagreed with each other. A store manager on the boulevard said the existing two-hour limits are never enforced and that meters would make the street less welcoming to shoppers. A property owner on the boulevard supported meters to improve turnover and discourage all-day vehicle camping. Brennan Lindner of the Venice Chamber of Commerce asked for monthly permits for retail workers and for clarity on enforcement and on tickets stacking up along Abbot Kinney.
The City has tried this on Abbot Kinney before. The Venice Public Access, Parking, & Mobility Study, dated June 2026, says metering on the boulevard has been pursued since January 2020. Marked stalls and other curb changes went in, but meters did not. As of December 2025, LADOT was seeking a coastal permit to install them. One merchant at the hearing said the community turned back a similar plan in 2020. The 2026 application is the one that reached a formal coastal permit hearing, and it now includes the inland lots that were not the focus on Abbot Kinney.
The Calendar From Here
The proposal is case number CDP-26-002-BE. It covers areas in both the single and dual permit jurisdictions of the Coastal Zone, so it needs a determination from the City Engineer and one from the California Coastal Commission. The Bureau of Engineering's permit page and the City's coastal permit code lay out the steps ahead:
- Written comments close at the end of the day on Tuesday, November 24, 2026. Email them to [email protected], or mail them to the Bureau of Engineering, Environmental Management Division, 1149 S. Broadway, Suite 600, Mail Stop 939, Los Angeles, CA 90015-2213, attention Lauren Rhodes.
- Review the record. The City said a recording of the October 27 hearing and its slide deck would be posted after the meeting. The application and exhibits are available at the Broadway office.
- The City Engineer decides. The City Engineer is the initial decision-maker on the local permit.
- Appeals and state review. Under the City's coastal permit code, a City Engineer decision on a public project can be appealed to the Board of Public Works. After local final action, the decision goes to the Coastal Commission, which has its own appeal window before the permit becomes final.
This is a summary of a public process, not legal advice, and anyone planning to comment or appeal should confirm the current rules and deadlines with the Bureau of Engineering or their own counsel.
The interactive map on the project page shows each proposed meter and sign location. For neighbors on Pisani Place, Electric Avenue and the blocks off Abbot Kinney, the map shows exactly which curb and which lot each proposed change would affect.
At Pence Hathorn Silver, we follow changes like this block by block because curb access affects how a Venice home works day to day. If you'd like to talk through what the parking plan could mean for your street or a property you're watching, schedule a free consultation with our team.
