BY ADRIANA HERNANDEZ
Daily Post Staff Writer
Tensions flared in East Palo Alto as two longtime councilmen clashed with the newer council members over a controversial proposal to charge residents to park on their own streets.
“I’m sure if all of you were not here (new Councilman Mark Dinan) would be making a motion to approve the ordinance right away,” longtime Councilman Rubin Abrica said to the packed room Tuesday night.
Abrica sent out flyers to residents telling them to attend Tuesday’s meeting and speak up against the previous vote of council members Martha Barragan, Dinan and Webster Lincoln. On March 18, the three council members voted to move forward with a parking permit plan when Abrica and Carlos Romero were absent.
The program is intended to free up more space for residents to park on their streets. The program will charge residents for parking permits and also limit the number of permits each household can buy, said Michelle Hunt, vice president of Hexagon Transportation Consultants.
Program delayed
Council voted 3-2 to delay the project and address the community’s issues with the proposal. Dinan and Lincoln voted no.
Abrica said that there was no consideration to ask the community what their thoughts were and disagreed with removing the option for residents to advocate for their neighborhoods to restrict parking.
“There are legitimate reasons for not wanting to make the permit parking free, and there are also legitimate reasons for wanting to remove the community participation part of this,” Dinan said at the meeting.
Dinan said that several times community-driven programs didn’t work. He said with community engagement, things get overcomplicated and instead it would be easier for council to make decisions.
“Arguably, I would say this has more impact for working-class folks in this community, for people of color, for folks who have to survive,” Romero said at the meeting.
Romero said Tuesday’s meeting should be considered a community meeting where residents should be heard. He also said that the city survey, which received 198 responses, should not be used to consider how to move forward with the program.
What residents said
Resident Ravneel Chaudhary, who started a petition against the survey, raised awareness for residents to attend the meeting. Around 200 residents attended the meeting with signs reading “Gentrification took our homes, now it wants our streets” and “1st it’s ICE, now it’s City Council.”
“Martha, Martha, Martha, you are a disgrace. You let your people down. I bet your momma is not proud of you. Mark is excused because he doesn’t know any better. Lincoln doesn’t know any better either. But you have been in our shoes, you know how hard we work to make ends meet,” East Palo Alto resident Maria Elena Gaona said during the public comment segment of the meeting. “Some of you moved here because you didn’t find a place in a rich, quiet neighborhood, so you’re trying to turn this into the city of your dreams that you couldn’t afford.”
Gaona said there was a lack of consideration for homes that have more than one family living under the roof and consideration for free permits.
“Not listening to the community should be illegal and inhumane,” East Palo Alto resident Laura Rubio said.
Dinan was called out by residents for being on his phone during public comment.
Rubio said that there is a parking issue, but has found 40 cars in a recent walk around her neighborhood that are not from East Palo Alto. She said that the city should focus on cleaning the streets of abandoned cars or on enforcement before continuing with the paid parking program.
Oh thank the lord for Dinan making decisions without community input. What a Gem! Stay strong EPA! Don’t let city council run all over your city while lining their own pockets
Councilors Martha Barragan, mark Dinan and Webster Lincoln are out of touch if they supported paid parking and they need to find new jobs.
So Dinan is saying he doesn’t need community input because council makes better decisions without residents providing feedback? Who elected him King? Council members are supposed to represent the opinions of residents, their constituents! What a mistake we made electing this wannabe dictator. Get rid of him.
And here’s the kicker — he actually posted in his Facebook group, “Reminder that City Council, not the general public, is voting tonight.” Sounds like he’s forgotten where his power comes from. The people gave him that seat, and the people can take it away too.
What’s with Mark Dinan scrolling through his phone during public comment? He should be listening to the speakers. What an insult that he can’t even look up when we’re talking. We elected the wrong guy to council!
I listened to all the comments last Tuesday and most of those against focused on the cost which has not been agreed rather than suggesting alternative solutions to the parking problem. Those who did were not reported in this article. One that was discussed was code enforcement. There are many cars which for vaious reasons are parked longer than the 72 hour limit permitted by current code. This was discussed in January, but nothing has changed. Mark and Webster focused on ways to solve the problem which was why they were elected. Carlos and Ruben focus on maintaining the status quo. Let’s suggest some positve and practical solutions to this problem. Check on us in September.