A new state law requires private parking lots to display their rules, but residents say more regulation is needed to combat price gouging and unscrupulous practices.
In mid-October, in a rush to watch his son play a soccer game at Coconut Grove’s Peacock Park, Ernesto Arrue pulled into the underground parking garage connected to Hotel Arya on McFarlane Road, across the street from the park.
But the garage – which had no parking attendant – did not display its parking rates. Visitors were instructed to use a mobile parking app, which Arrue’s phone could not access within the bowels of the garage. Comforted by signage promising a 15-minute grace period before parking charges would accrue, Arrue left his car and walked across to the park.
When the app did load Arrue was shocked by the rate he and others would pay to watch their children play: $55. “Several of us decided not to pay this ridiculous amount of money,” Arrue told the Spotlight.
But it was too late. By the time he retrieved his car the 15 minute grace period had just lapsed.
A few days later he received by mail a violation notice from the private company that operates the garage — Miami-based South Park Management — demanding the $55, and a threat that the debt would be turned over to a collections agency if payment were not promptly received.
Arrue’s frustration with the McFarlane Road garage is no outlier. Local officials say complaints of outrageous parking rates and predatory practices among privately operated parking lots and garages in Coconut Grove are increasing. And while state lawmakers passed a watered-down bill earlier this year to address some of the concerns, residents and visitors to the Grove’s business district say much more can be done to regulate an industry in dire need of consumer protection oversight.
While the City of Miami collects a 15 percent surcharge from revenue derived at all privately run parking facilities, the city has virtually no authority to regulate pricing, terms of service, or signage.
Any complaints, like Arrue’s, of price gouging or unscrupulous practices are routed through the Miami Parking Authority (MPA) — a semi-autonomous government agency that oversees public parking citywide — but then passed on to the City of Miami’s Department of Code Compliance, an office which more commonly addresses complaints of illegal tree cutting, late-night noise, after-hours work crews, or unkept properties.
Despite operating with little city oversight, many private lots create the appearance and impression that they are publicly run. For instance, a parking facility at 3150 Grand Avenue, across the street from the Grand 7th convenience store and Last Carrot restaurant, features a large blue and white “PUBLIC PARKING” sign at the entrance and requires vehicle owners to pay for parking with the same mobile app used by the MPA for visitors to its publicly owned lots and garages.
In Coconut Grove, the MPA runs a lot next to the shuttered Coconut Grove Playhouse with 235 spaces, and another one at Dinner Key near Regatta Harbor with 212 spaces. It also oversees street parking throughout the village.
Meanwhile, Center Grove boasts 12 privately operated parking lots with a combined total of 1,788 spaces, a map compiled by the Coconut Grove Business Improvement District shows.
A lot on Commodore Plaza, also operated by South Park Management, was among the facilities that caught the attention of state Rep. Vicki Lopez, who says she began hearing complaints about private lots almost as soon as she took office two years ago.
“There are some lots in Coconut Grove that seem to be the big culprits,” Lopez said. “The one [across from Grand 7 and Last Carrot] had a lot of complaints about not having proper signage.”
Lopez, who represents parts of Coconut Grove, said that residents have complained about parking lots not posting their hourly rates, and of charging exorbitant prices. Other complaints included malfunctioning mobile apps, the inability to reach a live customer service representative to dispute charges, and vehicles being booted or towed from parking lots.
In 2023 Lopez introduced state legislation that forces private parking operators to be more transparent about their fees and policies. Under the new law, which took effect last July, private lots are required to place signage informing vehicle owners that they are using a privately run lot, and are subject to the rules of the company, which may include fines for non-payment. The law doesn’t require operators to post fees for towing or booting – a frequent source of both outrage and complaints.
The law also mandates that private parking operators grant customers a 15-minute grace period to use a lot or garage before they are subject to charges. They are also required to send invoices to customers who fail to pay the parking fees within five business days of the violation, as well as to advise them of a process – albeit one administered by the company itself – to appeal any fines.
Lopez is particularly irked by the facilities that design their signage to resemble city-owned lots. “People get confused,” Lopez said. “More so when [the lots] make you pay by phone. Recently, I tried to park in a lot near Brickell. When I went on the app and put in the number, the rate was $25 an hour. I drove right out.”
South Park Management President Daniel Radrizzan and the owners of three other private parking companies with facilities in the Grove’s business district did not respond to multiple requests from the Spotlight for comment.
While the new law is a step forward, critics argue it falls far short of what is needed: regulating parking rates, limiting towing and booting practices, and eliminating the “fines” that operators impose for alleged policy violations.
As a point of comparison, public parking facilities in Coconut Grove operated by the MPA are far cheaper than private lots. The Playhouse lot charges between 50 cents and $1.75 per hour, depending on the day and time, or $12 for a maximum of 12 hours. The MPA also provides a discount to Miami residents who register their cars with the authority.
On a recent weekend, a Spotlight reporter visited five private lots that charged hourly rates ranging for $6 to $10 an hour. A lot next to St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church charged a flat rate of $20.
Most private parking operators in the Grove’s business district are abiding by the new signage requirement. The five lots and the McFarlane Road garage all displayed the same sign with a blue background and white lettering, including the Commodore Plaza lot.
The signs warn motorists that failing to pay for parking would lead to a fine of between $45 and $125. That figure doesn’t include charges for booting or towing a car, the signs declared. It also informs potential customers about the 15-minute grace period, and that the facilities are “monitored by license plate recognition technology that records and identifies the vehicle and the license plate.”
At a private parking lot near Mayfair, an additional sign warns people that if “no payment is made in advance your vehicle will be issued a parking charge notice and/or booted or towed.”
At the McFarlane Road garage, multiple signs inform motorists that “they are entering a private pay-to-park facility” and about the 15-minute grace period. The entrance also features a sign stating, “Failure to pay will result in a parking violation.”
Mark Burns, executive director of the Coconut Grove Business Improvement District, told the Spotlight that he has walked around the neighborhood to make sure private parking operators have the proper signage after he learned of the new state law.
“I have heard some complaints about the lots from a few different people but nothing specific,” Burns said. “I am looking into seeing if we can put any limits on fees.”
Indeed, some Grove residents would prefer city staff and elected officials address what they describe as “price gouging.” Lisa Gandolfo, a realtor who lives in North Grove, makes a weekly trek to CocoWalk for a one-hour Pilates class, but she tries to avoid using its garage, which not long ago doubled its parking rates.
Gandolfo said the garage operator – Laz parking – gave no notice to regular customers, like her, of the sudden price increase. Laz Parking CEO Alan Lazowski did not respond to phone messages seeking comment.
Another garage generating the ire of residents is attached to the newly completed Grove Central, a massive, mixed-use project near the Coconut Grove Metrorail Station at SW 27 Avenue and U.S. 1. The garage, which serves customers for an adjacent Target, Sprouts Farmers Market, Total Wine & More and other retailers, provides two hours of free parking – no ticket required.
Earlier this month long time Grove resident and realtor Silvia Cherry was surprised to find in her mail a letter from Professional Parking Management, the company that operates the Grove Central lot, declaring “Notice of non-compliance – Do not ignore.”
The notice said Cherry owed $85 for exceeding the two-hour free parking limit. Professional Parking would reduce the fine to $45, the letter said, if she paid it within 30 days. Also included were images of Cherry’s car as it entered and exited the garage with timestamps. She had stayed six-and-a-half minutes past the second hour.
Failure to pay the fine would result in the violation being sent to a collections agency, the notice warned.
“I was so shocked,” Cherry said. “When I got back to my car, there was no parking ticket. Two weeks later, I got that notice. I emailed them and told them that it was crazy to charge me $45 for staying a few minutes over the two hours.”
In the end, Professional Parking waived the violation as a courtesy. “I would have paid it because I am one of those people who really believe it when someone tells you they will send you to a collections agency and ruin your credit,” Cherry said. “But some people can’t afford $45 or $85. This is unconscionable.”
Private parking lots/garages in in Coconut Grove’s central business district:
- Commodore lot, 3121 Commodore Plaza, 220 spaces
- Florentine Plaza, 3105 Commodore Plaza, 185 spaces
- Coconut Grove Elementary, 3062 Grand Avenue, 160 spaces
- CocoWalk garage #1, 3059 Grand Avenue, 182 spaces
- CocoWalk garage #2, 3351 Virginia Street, 222 spaces
- Mayfair Rice Street garage, 3300 Rice Street, 217 spaces
- Mayfair Florida Avenue garage, 2800 Florida Avenue, 134 spaces
- Mayfair Promenade garage, 2911 Grand Avenue, 157 Spaces
- Yacht Harbor lot, 2984 Grand Avenue, 122 Spaces
- Garage at Hotel Arya, Coconut Grove, 2889 McFarlane Road, 172 spaces
- St. Stephen’s lot, 2980 McFarlane Road, 88 spaces
- King’s lot, 3431 Main Highway, 189 spaces
Public Parking Lots/Garages:
- Coconut Grove Playhouse lot, 3500 Main Highway, 235 spaces
- Regatta Harbor lot, 3336 Pan American Drive, 212 spaces
Frankly. All they need to do is not be deceptive. If a lot wants to charge $100 per hour then who are we to say they can’t. What they can’t do is trick you into owing it.