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I am also attaching this ticket as evidence of being issued a citation at what is basically 8pm. I dedicate my professional efforts to actively encouraging artists and patrons to come downtown Santa Ana to visit, shop, work and attend arts events, and I am reaching out to you and the Council to stop this overly aggressive and abusive parking enforcement in downtown Santa Ana. My first experience with the new parking environment actually occurred in September 2014, when we invited a Sundance Award-winning filmmaker to screen his film at the OC FIlm Fiesta. He was parked in front of the Frida Cinema and received a ticket during his presentation. Again, there was a parking officer waiting at his vehicle, ready to issue a ticket on a meter that was flashing green. He had arrived early to dine at a downtown restaurant before his screening, and thus had been parked in his space two hours. Even though I had coins in my hand and had put another quarter in the meter, the officer offered no sympathy and issued the ticket. An audience member, who is a resident of Santa Ana, also got a ticket that day. She told me she could have walked, but wanted to drive over and enjoy the downtown experience. She too was disappointed and said she would think twice before driving into her own downtown. Two hours is not enough time to park to see a film, and as we are bringing our OC Film Fiesta into downtown for a 6th year, I am worried about the draconian parking enforcement on our guests, who will be driving in from Orange County, San Diego and Los Angeles. As a resident of Santa Ana who also works in Santa Ana and promotes the downtown, I am respectfully requesting that the Council: 1. Stop the aggressive metering and practice of issuing citations on meters that are flashing green 2. Increase the parking limit to 3 hours instead of 2 hours 3. Allow a grace period of 10 minutes after the meter has expired before a ticket is issued If a $56 ticket is the welcome that visitors receive when shopping, dining and doing business in downtown Santa Ana, then we will lose visitors and business to neighboring cities like Orange, Tustin and others that offer free parking in their downtowns. That is the market rate for our area. If you drive through downtown Santa Ana on any weekday, you will already see the impact of diminished customers on the restaurants. I urge you to consider this in your discussion of the proposed parking plan. We all want to help increase revenue in Santa Ana, but let's work together to achieve this by increasing sales and not by punishing those who have chosen to take the Council up on its invitation to come and shop in Santa Ana. Sincerely, - Victor Victor Payan Director OC Film Fiesta Victor Payan