Why should you need to pay a fee before you're allowed to park a car?
This week L.A. Weekly's Dennis Romero declared that the Los Angeles City Council had "criminalized valet parking" when it passed a new law Tuesday night requiring valet parkers to apply for a $70 permit in order to work. The law makes parking cars without the permit a misdemeanor. Romero also bemoaned a provision requiring private lot owners to verify that they are allowing valet companies to use their parking spaces, and a few other strips of red tape created by the law.
For instance, here's the list of what L.A. valet companies have to furnish when they apply for a permit:
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the seating capacity or other occupancy capacity of the businesses to be served
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a signed statement from the owners or managers of the businesses to be served requesting the services of the applicant.
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the routes to be used between the passenger loading/unloading zone or other vehicle pickup point and the parking or storage location;
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a copy of a valid Automobile Parking Lot permit issued under Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 103.202 to any parking facility designated as the parking or storage location, if applicable;
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the location of any proposed Valet Parking signs and any proposed attendant stands;
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Site plan (at an appropriate scale) showing the proposed Tandem parking arrangement, if any, the lay-out and dimensions of the existing public right-of-way and adjacent private property, proposed location, size of proposed mobile stands, tables, chairs, umbrellas, keybox, location of doorways, location of trees, parking meters, bus shelters, sidewalk benches, trash receptacles, driveways, and any other sidewalk obstruction either existing or proposed within the pedestrian areas.
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Photographs, drawings, or manufacturers' brochures fully describing the appearance of all proposed mobile stands, tables, chairs, umbrellas, keybox or other objects related to the valet parking service;
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Copy of the agreement/contract for the provision of the off-street parking spaces that includes identification of the location of vehicle storage spaces
The Permittee shall not allow any employee who has been convicted within the previous seven (7) years of a felony or any offense involving violence, dishonesty, automobile theft, automobile vandalism, reckless driving or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol to drive a patron's vehicle or handle a patron's vehicle keys.