The Chico City Council held a meeting on Oct. 15 in which they discussed the Holiday Parking Meter Forgiveness Program of 2024. 

Mayor Andrew Coolidge proposed the idea of free parking in Downtown Chico on Thursday nights in December. The idea stems from the fact that some local businesses on Thursday nights, amidst the holiday season, will have special sales as part of new promotions and more customers will need parking downtown.  

“We’ve talked about parking in the city forever, and never really made any big changes other than a new kiosk,” said Council Member for District 1 Sean Morgan. “I think it’s worth doing. Let’s see what happens, and if it’s a complete disaster, we’ll stop.”

District 3 Council Member Dale Bennett said he fully supports the idea and it will require innovation and collaboration with the Downtown Chico Business Association. 

The two-hour parking enforcement is still up for discussion with parking consultants. City Manager Mark Sorensen said he’s not sure how easily parking meters could be reprogrammed for this change. The proposition has three parking systems in Downtown Chico to consider; the kisokos, the smart meters and the older meters. It’s anticipated the City will need a different strategy for each of these. 

“People keep talking about the idea that we should not charge for parking and there’s a reason we do and it’s to make sure that there’s turnover so that customers can use spaces and employees, students, long-term parkers don’t use it all the time,” said District 4 Council Member Addison Winslow.

Council Members Bennett, Morgan, Tanden, Winslow and Mayor Coolidge all voted in favor of the new Holiday Parking Meter Forgiveness Program.

The nights with free parking are proposed to be Dec. 6, 13 and 20 starting at 5 p.m. 

“If this goes terribly for two weeks, we’ll change it,” Morgan said. “Let’s try something different and see what we can do to help the downtown business owners, particularly through the holiday season.” 

Bea Williams can be reached at [email protected].