Fine Roots:

Cabrillo College has been administering parking tickets to those who park without a valid parking permit since 1959, but where and what does the money go to?

According to the Office of the Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services, Calvin Yu, the college has issued 484 tickets between January and March of 2025, totaling $16,803.64 in tickets alone. The amount of money collected is equivalent to 26 full-time students who pay for a single semester.

According to Yu, the total amount of money collected from 2024 to 2025 is $49,594. This amount helps pay for the parking operations, including parking enforcement, and maintenance of parking infrastructure at Cabrillo’s Aptos and Watsonville campuses.

Yu also explained that the state does not provide parking for maintaining parking areas or parking facilities, which are expected to be self-sustaining as part of their auxiliary service status.

According to Yu, the 2025 annual cost of parking facilities is $970,076 with $260,264 spend on parking operations and $709,812 spent on parking maintenance. Yu said $40,000 has spent on parking enforcement in 2025 with roughly 4.1% of the annual budget.

According to the 2024-2025 Cabrillo College Final Budget report, revenue generated from parking fees is designated for the upkeep and maintenance of parking lots, parking machines, and campus security.

Yu has also reported the “county fees and county citation fees” are budgeted for $15,000 from the parking operations budget, which includes the cost of software and services to track and progress citations.

Historically, Yu said the $40 parking ticket that current students have become familiar with was only $28 in the early 2010s.

The price of the $40 parking ticket rose from $28 on July 1st, 2011, through a decision from the Cabrillo College Governing Board on June 13th, 2011.

The board approved the rise in parking ticket fees in response to county fees related to parking enforcement on campus.

After multiple attempts to reach out, Yu didn’t respond to the request for comment regarding the county citation fees Cabrillo College pays and their relation to the Cabrillo College parking budget for 2025.

Yu provided no comment about the fiscal year parking budget for 2025.

However, Public Information Officer Ashley Keehn from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said, “The Sheriff’s Office is contracted with Cabrillo to provide a number of police services. Parking Citation Management is one of the many services we provide, but all revenue generated from parking goes directly to Cabrillo.”

Yet, for some students, it’s unclear where they can and can’t park on campus. One student,
Cory Robie, a single dad and a returning college student at the Cabrillo College campus, received a parking ticket for staff parking in lot “I” behind the 700 building earlier this year.

“I went and parked in staff-only parking by accident. I feel like it wasn’t really marked,” said Robie, who explained that he had parked there to attend his stat class.

When asked what improvements he’d like to see, Robie said it would be helpful if the signs were consistent around Campus.

“They need to put warnings about the (parking enforcement) grace period,” Robie added.

However, Employed students, such as Bridgette Madrigal, a Student Aide at The Nest, shared her thoughts about student workers being unable to qualify for staff parking.

She explained that she had parked in a staff parking spot in parking structure P, assuming she was a Cabrillo College staff member. However, when she returned to her car, she found a ticket.

When Madrigal attempted to appeal the ticket in person at the Sheriff’s Office, she explained that the process was lengthy and drawn out.

“I felt as if the chances of it getting approved were not likely. So I just paid it right then and there,” she said.

When asked what feedback she has regarding her experience receiving and paying a parking ticket, Madrigal expressed that she wishes Cabrillo staff would warn student aides that they aren’t allowed to park in staff spots.

Even Cabrillo staff and faculty aren’t immune to the $40 parking ticket, as a staff member from the Aptos campus library had received one last year for not having her parking permit.

Staff at the Cabrillo College library shared their ticket experience with one librarian staff member being ticketed for $40 last year for not having their parking permit.

And while cutting through the bureaucratic tape to appeal a ticket may seem daunting, people like Olga Diaz, the manager of the Watsonville Educational Center for Cabrillo College, aim to support those who find themselves in the process.

According to Diaz, students of Cabrillo can arrive at her office to fill out the ticket appeal form, which she’ll send through the mail to the Sheriff’s Office at the Aptos campus.

Before the start of Fall and Spring semesters, the college has implemented a 2-week grace period at the start of the semester where ticket enforcement is briefly on hold for students to purchase their parking pass.

When asked about postings of the grace period for parking enforcement, Diaz emphasized that staff try to be consistent with messages encouraging students to purchase their parking permits through the weekly bulletin, monitor screens in high student traffic areas, and through staff and faculty before allowing for full parking enforcement.

The grace period for the Spring semester is between February 3rd and February 14th, according to Cabrillo College’s Parking Permits webpage.

Recipients of parking tickets can also appeal the ticket online or in person by filling out a form at the Sheriff’s Office at the Cabrillo College Aptos campus, according to Yu.

He emphasized that the agent overseeing the appeal process is not part of the ticket issuing process and uses the “basic rules of evidence” to evaluate the appeal submission, including photos and statements from the ticketed party.

He explained that if the appeal process is denied, an administrative hearing can be requested at the cost of a non-refundable fee of $15, which is a partial payment of the total cost of the hearing.

The total cost of the administrative hearing is $50, and the ticketed party pays a $15 fee, as Cabrillo College substitutes $35 for the total cost of the administrative hearing, says Yu.

When asked how the ticket enforcement policy is applied fairly and equitably to the student body, Yu stated:

“The college exists to provide a service to the community. We are a community college. The college also states this in our mission. And it’s something that is reviewed regularly. We have a governing board that lays out our mission. Our vision, as well as policies.”

As to any updates about parking enforcement policies, Yu said:

“The purpose of parking is to provide this environment where we can educate and have a community. And similar to how we regularly update the mission statement, policies, or procedures, we welcome feedback,” he added.

“I’m a big proponent, big advocate for continuous improvement, and my office is always open,” Yu said.

Regarding the use of the funds obtained from parking tickets, Yu explained:

The way they’ve developed the budget previously is all part of a building fund, so it’s all connected to the revenues they bring in from parking. It also helps fund our campus protection, security, and maintenance of the lots.”

Yu also explained that the grand total of Cabrillo’s annual cost for maintenance and operations was $946,416, with $236,604 of the total going to parking facilities and $709,812 for upkeep
As of Mar. 25, 2025, $14,194 worth of parking tickets have been unpaid, according to Yu.