San Gabriel : Parking Proposal Rejected

The slide projector proved to be a potent secret weapon Tuesday as merchants persuaded the City Council to reject a controversial proposal to toughen off-street parking requirements for buildings that are expanded.

The council rejected 4 to 1 the proposed ordinance after business leaders argued it would unfairly punish growing businesses, which the cash-strapped city should support.

The Planning Commission had endorsed the plan.

During an hourlong debate, Harold Jeffs, owner of a sporting goods store, stole the show with an impromptu slide presentation of near-empty parking lots, which he said showed the city already has plenty of spaces.

The Chamber of Commerce, which elicited more than 50 postcards to prove that point, opposed the measure.

The proposed ordinance, which had bounced between the council and commission since January, would have closed a loophole in the city’s strict new parking-space rules by removing so-called grandfather protection for existing buildings.