Now, parking problems continue in the Heart of Orange County in Santa Ana.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Residents there say finding parking while getting home from work can be a Herculean task, with many having\u00a0 to leave their cars blocks away and hoof it all the way back to their place.<\/p>\n
[Read: Tired of Walking Blocks to Get Home, Santa Ana Residents Take Action to Find More Parking<\/a>]\u00a0<\/p>\n And it\u2019s unclear if residents are going to get significant relief anytime soon from that long time predicament as they continue to be left with a decades old permitting street parking system that some residents say is inequitable.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an issue that city officials have long struggled to solve as they continue to wait for the results of a citywide residential parking permit study staff says was formally started in 2023 with the goal of overhauling their over 30-year permit parking program.<\/p>\n Years later, residents are still waiting to receive the results of that study, which city staff started in 2021, hoping elected officials will use it to improve their parking permit program.<\/p>\n Angela Capoccia, a resident, criticized the permit program for excluding a majority of condo owners and said city leaders are dragging their feet to make adjustments, telling residents to be patient for a parking study that never seems to finish.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I purchased my condo, I was able to park near my home. Today, because permit eligibility is only for single family homeowners and people who live in condos with less than four units. I cannot legally park anywhere near my home,\u201d she said at the July 7 meeting<\/p>\n \u201cWhether intended or not, single-family homeowners\u2019 interests are being prioritized, while condo owners are asked to wait indefinitely. I have to choose between receiving a citation, walking nearly a mile after dark or putting my car at a business and risk being towed.\u201d<\/p>\n City Manager Alvaro Nu\u00f1ez told elected officials last week they can expect an update on the long awaited parking study after questions from elected leaders and residents on its status.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re aware that this is a study that has been requested for many many years so we just put it as part of our checkup list,\u201d Nu\u00f1ez said.<\/p>\n His remarks came amid a discussion requested by Councilman David Penaloza calling on Nu\u00f1ez to switch the parking permit stickers with hanging placards for residents \u2013 an idea he had previously brought up in 2022.<\/p>\n Penaloza was told to hold off on his request because city officials were pursuing the parking study \u2013 one Penaloza publicly said has taken more than six years to finish.<\/p>\n \u201cWe still have not seen the results of this parking study or an update,\u201d Penaloza, who is running for state assembly, said at the July 7 meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u200b\u200b think it\u2019s important that we just get an appropriate timeline from Public Works on when we could get this parking permit study, whatever it is. If it\u2019s not happening anymore, then just tell us.\u201d<\/p>\n In a Wednesday email, City Spokesman Paul Eakins said the study results will be presented to the city council on Oct. 6.<\/p>\n Santa Ana\u2019s Parking Permit Program & Marbury Park<\/p>\n The permit parking program, established in the early 90s, allows city officials to establish districts on different blocks where permits are required to park vehicles on the streets in an effort to ensure parking spots for neighborhood residents.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Residents living on a non-permit parking block can petition elected officials to establish a new permit district in their neighborhood by getting support of 51% of residents in the area.<\/p>\n At the same meeting, city council members voted unanimously without discussion to expand the Marbury Park Permit Parking District\u2019s boundaries east to Tustin Ave between 4th and 17th street.<\/p>\n It came after 70% of residents living in an area adjacent to the Marbury Park parking district showed support to join the permit program.\u00a0<\/p>\n Capoccia criticized the expansion of the district.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not the action of a city council that is looking to overhaul an inequitable system,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe message that sends to the city is that when it comes to expanding restrictions, everything is easy, but when you try to have a more equitable distribution of parking, it\u2019s going to take years, whether intended or not.\u201d<\/p>\n How Long Does it Take to Complete a Parking Study?<\/p>\n Eakins said the study<\/a> formally started in March 2023 to get input from residents on how to improve the program.<\/p>\n Later that year, public works staff started using a phone app that uses automated license plate readers to start collecting street parking spaces data to help them revamp the program, according to the city website<\/a><\/p>\n But discussions on surveying residents and overhauling the permit program have been brought up and requested multiple times in the years prior to that \u2013 stretching back to at least 2018.<\/p>\n In September 2021, city staff told elected leaders they are looking to do a comprehensive evaluation of the program, including getting input from residents, studying programs in other cities and seeking out consultants.<\/p>\n By February 2022, former Public Works Director Nabil Saba told council members at the time they were going to start the bidding process to retain consultants to study their parking permit program and make recommendations to address the city\u2019s parking challenges.<\/p>\n Saba also said they would be surveying and getting feedback from residents on the program before seeking a consultant and estimated the study would be completed by June 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cThis way we could take all of the feedback to our consultant to study, tabulate, and bring back hopefully good revisions and improvements on the program,\u201d he said at council meeting in February 2022.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Parking-Santa-Ana-Leopo-2026-0335.jpg\")
A neighborhood in central Santa Ana that struggles with parking on July 11, 2026. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n