Cease and desist letter temporarily halts Paso's downtown parking fees 

Downtown Paso Robles visitors can expect to pay nothing to park after the city announced a pause to its parking program.

"The city has received a cease and desist letter regarding the modification to the paid parking program regarding violations of the Brown Act and other state laws," Paso Robles City Attorney Elizabeth Hull said at the Feb.6 City Council meeting after a nearly hour-long closed session.

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• File Photo By Steve E. Miller
• NO CHARGE Downtown Paso Robles visitors can expect to not pay for parking after the city received a cease and desist letter claiming that it violated the Brown Act with recent changes to its parking program.

The city said that it would not charge for downtown parking nor issue citations until at least Feb. 20, pending further review and City Council action.

New Times reached out to the city for further comment but didn't receive a reply before press time.

In November 2023, the Paso City Council voted to change the hourly parking rate downtown from free for the first two hours and $2 for every hour afterward to a flat rate of $1 an hour without any free hours. The city intended to roll out the changes in January 2024 but shifted course after complaints from residents and the realization that implementing the program would take longer than expected.

The cease and desist letter from Paso Robles resident Gary Lehrer claims that changes to the downtown parking program violated the Brown Act because they weren't on the agenda for that November meeting. The council could not make a change, the letter states, only give direction to staff to develop potential changes. Therefore, the only proper course of action, Lehrer said, would be to wait until the item is placed on the agenda so the public can make sufficient comments.

"I am not impugning the motives of the council, and there was no criminal intent," Lehrer wrote. "But under civil law, this was not permitted for the reasons cited about being in conformity with the Brown Act."

Lehrer told New Times on Feb. 7 that he was grateful that the letter had an impact.

"While I cannot comment more on the matter at the time, I am grateful the city took a look at this," Lehrer said. "I researched it thoroughly, and this clearly needs to be addressed." Δ