By Vic Cox

A new, tiered rate structure for residence hall students’ parking permits has been unanimously proposed to Chancellor Henry Yang by the Ratepayers Board (RB).

The changes, which would become effective on July 1, 2008, are estimated to increase parking revenue initially by around $56,000 a year.

They also move the campus one step closer to what RB Chair Kostas Goulias calls “a tiered system of parking in which users that receive enhanced privileges are charged a higher rate.” Usually, “enhanced privileges” means proximity to living quarters or workplace.

“The overall objective,” wrote Goulias in a message to the chancellor, “is to raise revenues while at the same time promote fairness in service provision.”

If approved by Yang, the permit cost would double—from $36 to $72—for the 95 students allowed to park in Lot 2, the small lot between Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz residence halls that requires a B1 permit. Those residence hall students buying 22B permits to park in 22 Parking, the new structure adjacent to Isla Vista, would see a 50 percent increase—from $36 to $54—in their current monthly cost.

Holders of B3 permits, which allows parking in Lot 38 near Harder Stadium, would pay $36 a month, which is the same as the current rate.

As of July 1, other changes would abolish B2 residence hall permits, removing those parkers from Lot 30 adjacent to Caesar Uyesaka Stadium, according to Robert Defendini, director of Transportation and Parking Services.

This, he said, would have the added benefit of “virtually eliminating the potential for vehicle damage due to baseballs during practice and games.”

Under his plan, the 200-odd spaces formerly saved for B2 permit holders in Lot 30 would shift to 22 Parking, moving those vehicles closer to the residence halls but raising the permit cost.

“Residence hall students can choose to park at either Lot 2, 22 Parking, or Lot 38,” Defendini told the RB last month. “Actual assignments will be made on a first-come, first-served basis” until the spaces are filled. He promised to remain flexible.

“All these changes are a trial,” Goulias explained. “I’d like to try them for a year, like we’re doing with storage parking (in the new structure), and modify them if they’re not working.”