Tuesday, June 25, 2013

How Meter Maids killed Manhattan Beach parts 1 and 2



Below is a letter I sent to the City Of Manhattan Beach after receiving a parking ticket. The lot contained meters and in every way appeared to be a standard 2hr metered lot. However, the fine print revealed that it was an employee lot--7 days a week. It was Sunday when we parked. Sigh...


Violation #: 61040632 Lot 1
June 6/ 2013           


To Whom It May Concern:

I write to you concerning a parking violation I received Sunday June 2/2013. The ticket was issued because I parked in a lot that is reserved for merchants only. This was merely a mistake. Both my wife and I missed the sign. Manhattan Beach being a difficult city to find parking found us overjoyed when we found a lot with a meter. I assure you we were not attempting to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes, which is why we paid for two hours and returned before the meter expired.

A few months earlier I received a ticket for failing to curb my wheels. Even though the signage was diminutive at best, I simply paid the fine and moved on. It seems Manhattan Beach is the only beach city that hits me in my pocket book. On this recent occasion my wife and I ate a delicious meal at the newly opened Fishing With Dynamite restaurant. After lunch my wife purchased a tunic from one of your local shops. In early May I performed at a charity event for one of Manhattan Beach’s local schools.  So as you can see my wife and I contribute to the Manhattan Beach economy as well as the community and are happy to do so. However, it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth when one returns to a meter with time remaining to find a big bright ticket on the windshield.

I don’t deny parking in the wrong spot, and as I said it was an honest mistake; but I ask that you consider throwing the ticket out or at the very least reducing the $48 ticket to a more reasonable amount.



Thank you for your time,



As it turned out the great city of MB did not throw the ticket out nor did they reduce the amount. Below is my response...


Adjudication Processing Dept.                                            
Manhattan Beach Processing Ctr                                        
P.O. Box 1109                                                                    
Tustin CA                                                                               
92781


June 25th/ 2013



Dears Madams/Sirs


Attached to this letter/payment is my previous letter with regard to my ticket (citation # 61040632). If one were to take the time to read letter #1 they’d find that the letter is polite and courteous. It is a document where I simply throw myself ‘on the mercy of the court’ so to speak. In the letter I do not deny the parking violation. I point out that my wife and I not only bring commerce to your city but I have also done charity work in Manhattan Beach.

As to your response: I cannot claim surprise when I see that not only is there no reduction in the ticket charge but your response arrived in typical bourgoeise bureaucratic unimaginative dimwitted city-speak. To wit “After careful review we have determined that the citation is valid”.

If you had taken the time to read the letter you would see that at no time was I questioning the validity of the over priced citation. I approached as a decent tax-paying individual and simply asked ‘have a heart.’ Show a sliver of compassion for a guy that made a simple mistake. Give a guy who helped raise money for a Manhattan Beach elementary school, a break. How about a reduction in fee for decent folk that have sunk thousands of dollars into your city’s businesses? But no such luck. No can do. You at Manhattan Beach Processing are by the book and the book says suck, squeeze and siphon as many pennies from all who visit no matter what. Revenue is revenue. The bottom line is the bottom line.

I caution you extortionists for you are putting an ugly face on your fair city. We the people have choices in Hermosa, Redondo and El Segundo and perhaps we’ll exercise our choice and move on. And when the masses vacate (which you will have driven away one vehicle at a time), it will be your local businesses that will suffer—and then close. Next, property values will plummet and finally the once great city of Manhattan Beach will crumble like a city in a Michael Bay movie. When the smoke clears and the forensic crew picks through the rubble all will be revealed: the meter maids (and meter maid-men) and pathetic pencil pushers destroyed the once great city of Manhattan Beach.

Does this seem farfetched? Perhaps. Be that as it may, we bid thee farewell Manhattan Beach, my wife and I are done with you. But before you utter ‘good riddance’ know this; both letters are going on my blog where I have countless followers. It’s also going to be shared on Facebook where my hundreds of friends will tell two friends…and so on. Let us not forget the abridged version, which I’ll be sharing on Twitter. Shh, do you hear that? That’s the sound of the exodus.




Formerly a patron (while still a Patriot),















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