![A parking meter on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles’ Koreatown. [Sangjin Kim, Korea Daily]](https://www.koreadailyus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/1014-newsletter-parking.jpg)
Los Angeles residents are facing a new wave of cost increases — not just from Washington’s trade policies or global inflation, but from City Hall itself. In recent weeks, the city has approved sharp hikes in both parking meter rates and garbage collection fees, hitting households and small businesses already strained by rising prices for imported goods. Together, these changes reveal a troubling reality: even the basic costs of urban life are spiraling upward, and for many Angelenos, there’s no escape from the mounting squeeze on their wallets.
For the first time in more than a decade, Los Angeles will raise its parking-meter rates, with hourly fees climbing by 50 cents across the city. Depending on the district, the price of a single hour at a curbside meter can now reach as high as $8.50. The City Council also voted to extend operating hours and expand paid-parking days, eliminating Sunday-free parking and keeping meters running until midnight in areas with heavy late-night traffic.
The justification sounds reasonable enough: the Los Angeles Department of Transportation argues that nearby cities such as Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and Pasadena already charge seven days a week, and that LA should align with regional norms. But behind the policy language lies a fiscal motive. The city faces a nearly $1 billion budget deficit, and officials project the higher fees will generate more than $16 million in new revenue next year. That money, they say, is needed to cover maintenance costs and shore up city finances.
The changes won’t stop at street meters. Twenty-eight city-owned parking lots — many in working-class or small-business districts such as Venice, Highland Park, and Wilmington — will soon lose their free-parking status. They’ll start charging 25 cents every 30 minutes, up to $5 a day, once new payment systems are installed early next year. Even the residential permit-parking program is under review, with possible adjustments to annual fees for residents.
The parking-fee hikes come on the heels of another major source of frustration: skyrocketing garbage-collection costs. Across many neighborhoods, residents are reporting trash fees nearly doubling under the city’s new waste-management system known as RecycLA. What was once a $24 monthly bill has jumped to $46 for some condominium owners, while small-business operators face even heavier burdens.
RecycLA, launched by the Department of Public Works in 2017 and expanded citywide this summer, divides Los Angeles into 11 zones, each assigned to a single private contractor. The city defends this model as a way to improve recycling rates and reduce illegal dumping. But critics call it a monopoly — and an expensive one. Because each company holds exclusive rights to its district, there’s no competition to keep prices in check.
In the San Fernando Valley, for example, one contractor reportedly charges more than $400 a month just to move a commercial-size bin a hundred feet. Homeowners associations and property managers, forced to absorb the costs, have passed them directly to residents. Meanwhile, the number of citations for “waste-handling violations” has also increased, with fines reaching hundreds of dollars — sometimes even when the trash in question didn’t belong to the cited business.
A downtown café owner recently shared that he was fined $320 because inspectors claimed garbage outside his shop was his responsibility. His protests fell on deaf ears. Such cases are becoming common, as enforcement agents empowered by the city’s new waste contracts appear to wield their authority with little accountability.
City officials maintain that the system is working as intended. A representative from the Bureau of Street Services insists the fee increases are within “reasonable limits” to promote sustainable recycling. But for residents already struggling with rent, gas, and groceries, “reasonable” feels like a cruel joke.
When local government policies start resembling private-sector surcharges, public trust erodes. Los Angeles leaders argue these measures are about long-term sustainability — cleaner streets, more recycling, better parking turnover. Yet the timing and scale of the hikes suggest a city using its citizens as a revenue source rather than serving them as taxpayers.
City Hall faces legitimate financial challenges, but solving them through relentless fee hikes is shortsighted. Before raising costs on residents, the city should examine inefficiencies, hold its contractors accountable, and ensure that any new revenue truly benefits the public.
By Mooyoung Lee [lee.mooyoung@koreadaily.com]
