Chicago's 75-year lease of its parking meters to an LLC puts revenue decisions in the hands of private investors.
The editorial board of the Chicago Tribune strongly opposes a new deal to sell the city's parking meters yet again. According to the board, a 2008 deal leasing Chicago's 36,000 parking meters to Chicago Parking Meters LLC (a group led by Morgan Stanley, Allianz Capital Partners and the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Abu Dhabi) netted the city about $1.15 billion. The investor group more than made up for its initial investment with over five decades left on its lease, and is now looking to sell the meter operation to Stonepeak Partners, pending city council approval.
The editorial board calls on the city to impose some significant conditions on the deal. "We have a whole menu, including eliminating the egregious convenience fee that comes with every transaction and time addition, sold initially as a way to pay for the parking app, which is now ubiquitous in the industry. Or no longer charging city taxpayers those egregious and unrealistic “true up” fees when the city holds street festivals and permits outdoor dining places (the current owners sued, just cause they wanted yet more money from us). Or giving us Sundays as a day off. Or helping the Loop by reducing those usurious evening parking rates that confound theater and concert goers and undermine our arts audiences."
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