Since I posted my “Here Comes the Stampede” column about the elitist, anti-tourism movement here in town, some of the usual trolls have come out to school me on how tourists exploit us, cost us a fortune, and ruin our joie de vivre.
So allow me to put some more meat on the bone as to how indispensible tourists are to our economy. Not just any tourist. But the ones we solicit—those who stay overnight in one of our 1,300 hotel rooms and pay a healthy transient occupancy tax (TOT) on top of their already spendy rooms. The city projects to receive about $13.6 million in TOT revenue in Fiscal Year 2021-22. Say what? And this is the only tax money the city keeps 100% of and has 100% discretion on how to spend.
Gavin Curran, director of administrative services, wrote in an email “about $4 million is allocated toward the City’s Capital Improvements Program, $7.4 million toward government services (police, fire, marine safety, public works, etc.), and $2.2 million toward Measure LL related programs (programs that enhance City services). All the TOT revenue is spent on City services (local services), benefiting both residents and visitors to the community.”
This windfall is only made possible because we are a dreamy resort destination. In fact, the Montage alone doubled our TOT revenue and tripled our overall discretionary funds. So yes, overnight visitors are good. Besides resting their weary heads, they dine, shop, support our artists, and are such a relatively small number there’s no way they impact traffic. So stop demonizing our lovely tourist bureau, Visit Laguna. Any bump they can add to our nearly 80% year-round occupancy is financial mana from the heavens. And their funding comes from an additional $2.2 million generated by yet another room assessment. This revenue is also allocated to programs coordinated by the Arts Commission, Laguna College of Art and Design, Laguna Playhouse, Laguna Art Museum, and Cultural Arts Grants. In other words, money that supports our local artist economy.
Now let’s look at the far more prolific visitors, those high octane day trippers who crowd our streets, beaches, neighborhoods, use up our resources, and barely spend a dime. First off, we don’t market to them. But they are coming and coming in droves. Why? Because the rest of the world is in flames and we remain cool as a (sea) cucumber. Also because of the ongoing, rapacious developments going up just east of us. And finally, because Laguna looks so groovy on Instagram and Facebook. You can thank yourselves for sharing our little nectar with the world.
However, the “great unwashed” do generate $8.1 million in parking revenue. $3 million of that goes to funding parking enforcement and operations, leaving a 62% gross profit margin. Not too shabby. In Fiscal Year 2021-22, $1.1 million of the profits are used for the Neighborhood & Environmental Protection Plan; $2 million goes to the Transit Fund; $525,000 goes to the General Fund; and the rest goes to transit capital improvements, including $1 million for future parking facilities. Can you say windfall!
So the answer is not to perniciously tax day-trippers (they already shoulder the ever-increasing parking burden), but simply manage them better. In other words, keep them from circulating endlessly around and through downtown. It’s time to put a parking garage either right downtown or at Act V. Visitors can park and walk. The rest of us can ride and glide on all of the proven alternative transportation options. This will remake downtown as a modern, pedestrian-friendly, car-free village.
A garage would also allow us to keep all the amazing outdoor dining nooks we are currently enjoying downtown (parklets, alleyways, courtyards) courtesy of the pandemic, all of which are scheduled to be rolled up by December to restore the lost parking. Don’t believe for a minute a permanent promenade on Forest Avenue is a done deal just because Council approved a plan to study the idea. The biggest cudgel that the agents of “no” will employ to kill the project will be to leverage Coastal Commission’s requirement that each of the 40 lost spaces must be replaced (despite the Complete Streets Act that allows the state panel far more latitude in blessing changes that incorporate multi-modal transport solutions). But if we commit to replacing all those spaces with a beautifully retro “Digester” garage, all of our downtown dining and pedestrian spaces will stay, and Laguna will prosper and shine as a community of people, not cars.
Then we’ll look at all those tourists and instead of waving a fist we will blow them a kiss and thank them for helping us out.
Billy hosts “Laguna Talks” on KXFM radio at 8 p.m. on Thursdays.
Very well stated.
When parking lots are full, cars will continue to circle through town. It just makes room for more vehicles. Accomodating more vehicles just encourages even more vehicles. Build it and they will come.
Day-trippers come for cheap thrills like Sawdust. If the quality of attractions were higher, like Santa Barbara, the bearded over-weight-tattoed-green-haired people from the I.E. wouldn’t come and ruin the artful lovely environment that we all aspire Laguna Beach to be.
“The elitist, anti-tourism movement” got it right – 6,000,000 visitors per year do cost us a fortune (some say up to $4 per person in services) and do ruin the joie de vivre for a small community this size.
As for “the usual trolls” who are coming out to school people (name calling much?), please include yourself in that mix.
PS. Let’s not forget to mention you own a local business that profits from a glut of tourists, ok?
As usual, BF conveniently looks at only the side of the equation that supports his flimsy argument and his personal interests. This article includes some real whoppers:
„ leaving a 62% gross profit margin. Not too shabby.“ A 62% gross profit margin on the revenues collected from visitor parking. He conveniently avoids considering the costs of the triple-sized police, fire & marine safety departments we must fund YEAR ROUND and for which we are left paying the pensions (which commit us to decades of payments).
As to the Visit Bureau, they love to claim that they only market to high-spending visitors yet a simple review of their recent activities would have shown Mr Fried that this isn‘t so; they‘re trying to entice EVERYONE to come to LB. Finally, as to a parking garage; business owners would love for resident tax payers to pick up the 8-figure bill for a garage. That allows them to further socialize the costs of running their tourist-focused businesses while continuing to privatize the profits. No thanks.
Oh Poor Michael,
It’s such a burden to live here! Did you not read that the TOT generates $13.6 million in revenue for the very services you mention? Pay attention. And how is Visit Laguna marketing to “everyone?” Can you cite specific mass media, like broadcast TV or the LA Times? Finally, this garage is for YOU, if you leave your home and go downtown to dine, shop, mingle or for basic services. Why? Because it alleviates traffic circulation in search of parking. It allows us to have a Promenade and all the other wonderful outdoor dining options. This is for the 22,000 residents who live here. Such a parochial view to say it only benefits the businesses. And you want your cohorts to vote on every development? No thanks.