As construction of Parking Structure III continues, the idea of a student-only parking structure doesn’t sit well with a number of Sacramento State faculty and staff members.

Up until this point complaints were limited to the loss of 1,100 student, faculty and staff parking spaces, said Director of Transportation and Parking Nancy Fox.

Construction on the structure began in July 2005 with a completion date set for January 2007.

However, as the completion date inches closer, concerns over whether the structure will be a student-only structure have resurfaced because of debates about Parking Structure II, which is student only.

It was decided with Parking Structure II that it would be a student-only parking area,” Fox said. “Legal action was then taken by the employee union and the faculty union. The decision came down in their favor but is still being appealed.”

Currently, faculty and staff members are allowed to park in Parking Structure I, but must wait until after 4:30 p.m. to park in Parking Structure II, Fox said.

If it is decided that Parking Structure III will be student-only then the same rules of Parking Structure II will apply, she said.

A number of students and student-based organizations said Parking Structure III should be student-only.

The new structure should be all student, said Tara Pekarsky a junior public relations major. The idea of splitting the spaces just doesn’t seem fair, she said.

“On average it takes me 45 minutes to get to campus and at least another 20 minutes to an hour to find a parking space,” Pekarsky said. “The whole point of the new structure is to make the task of finding a parking spot easier for students.”

Associated Students Inc. said with the difference between faculty and student parking permit fees and the daily difficulties students face in finding parking spots, students deserve full access to Parking Structure III.

ASI Vice President of University Affairs Chris Ramos said ASI passed a proposal requesting that the structure be exclusive for students.

“Faculty and staff members only pay $63 for parking permits while students pay $108,” Ramos said. “This means that students contribute consistently 11 times more money than faculty and staff do, which means that, essentially, students paid for Parking Structure III.”

President Alexander Gonzalez has supported ASI’s past proposals to make Parking Structure III student-only.

“The faculty need to pay what the students are paying,” Gonzalez said. (Students) are paying for (Parking Structure III), so they should get to park in it.”

Pat Gantt, director of the California State University Employees Union, said that the difference in fees should not play a role in the decision right now.

“The issue of increasing faculty parking fees is something we’re trying to discuss in bargaining,” Gantt said. “I get the point that students are paying higher fees, but it’s just not reasonable to increase fees for staff members without increasing salaries. You can’t just increase the fees right now without changing anything else because then it’s just extra money out of employees’ pockets.”

-A system that would increase salaries and would also gradually increase the amount faculty and staff members pay for parking permits is reasonable, Gantt said.

Faculty Senate Chair Michael Fitzgerald said he agrees and feels that there is no harm in making the new structure available to everyone without designating certain areas for one particular group.

“The new structure should be open to faculty, staff and students,” Fitzgerald said. “There doesn’t need to be a certain number of green spaces, but the parking should be available for the faculty and staff, as well.”

-The final decision is scheduled to be made sometime this fall.

If it is determined that faculty and staff members are going to be excluded from parking in the new structure, then the next logical step would be for them to file a grievance, Fitzgerald said.

While it seems that the actual battle is being fought over who will be granted access to the new structure, others see the problem as being something much bigger.

There should not be a competition for parking spaces, said Jim Chopyak, the immediate past president of Sac State Chapter’s of the California Faculty Association.

Chopyak said if a part-time or even full-time professor cannot find a place to park then there is no class, and if there is no class then students cannot learn.

In a period of eight years, the number of parking permits sold doubled, while only .03 percent of additional spaces were added, Chopyak said.

“It is astounding, and what’s even worst is that they are adding more and more buildings, which take up more student, faculty and staff parking.”

The people at the CSU chancellor’s office are control freaks, it wouldn’t surprise me if this situation had a bigger affect on the campus, Chopyak said.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if students and faculty members decided to leave,” Chopyak said.

Ashley Evans can be reached at [email protected]