District police plans to implement parking permits for all students enrolled at De Anza or Foothill College by spring 2026. That proposition has some students worried.
As of January, parking will remain free for faculty and students until further notice, according to the Foothill-De Anza Police Department’s parking and citations website.
However, the department will require students and staff to register for parking permits by fall quarter, with daily permits going for $3 a day for people without a student or staff permit at permit vending stations.
Outgoing district police chief Daniel Acosta said parking permits for students would not require payment.
“There is no cost to the students or employees,” Acosta said. “It (the new system) is going to be a virtual permit.”
Originally, the department wanted to implement paid parking as soon as students returned to campus from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, with pre-pandemic parking and citation information up on the police website through at least September 2021.
Over the years, district police has wanted to implement paid parking as soon as the district’s temporary policy expires, with paid parking “estimated to resume” by spring 2022, spring 2023, winter 2024, summer 2024, summer 2025, then eventually fall 2025.
Through at least Sept. 7, the parking and citations page said district police would start charging students for parking permits last fall quarter; by Oct. 18, however, the department backtracked, saying it would roll out free parking permits and would not charge students for the permits.
At that point, the police wanted to transition students onto the system and start charging people without permits $45 a citation for parking by winter quarter.
Despite that, by the time winter quarter rolled around, the department delayed its parking permit rollout to next fall, though district police still track permits for staff parking spaces and fine students accordingly.
Joe Mauss, district police records and communications supervisor, said the process to get a virtual parking permit would be straightforward.
“Once you have got a campus wide ID, then you’ll be able to log into the system and put in your license,” Mauss said. “It (the system) will give you a student permit.”
Some students said the idea of parking permits, or even free parking permits that could easily be converted to paid permits with a fee, would only add strain to the student body.
“If we (students) are already paying for classes, registration and materials, a parking permit on top of it is just more stress, “Ashley Osip, 22, photography major said. “It (De Anza) is a community college, we come here to spend less money.”
Other students said the idea of a parking permit and the tracking that follows it is excessive.
“People still have to come and park to go to class,” Felicity Chu, 17, computer science major, said. “They (district police) are taking advantage of that. I do not think it is fair.”
Middle College student Kennedy Ancheta, 17, said she believes the incoming system is just a way for district police to gain more revenue and that the permit feels unnecessary.
“I don’t exactly see the point in a parking permit,” Ancheta said. “I would understand if the parking garage was full, but there are so many empty spots here so it’s kind of useless.”
