Santa Clara considers adding parking fees to city lots, but merchants fear loss of business

SANTA CLARA NEEDS to bolster its city budget — and public parking fees could be on the menu. Small businesses aren’t on board and worry customer traffic could drop because they won’t want to pay.

Although the proposed 2025-26 city budget anticipates a $9.3 million surplus, the following five years are projecting red ink. To bridge the gap, the city is hiring a consultant to study charging for parking at city-owned lots, including the Santa Clara Convention Center and Franklin Square mall, the latter of which is part of the city’s historic downtown and home to more than a dozen small businesses.