Valet parking has long been a fixture of the L.A. scene, whether for clubs, restaurants or even parties. It’s a must-have service in a city where finding a place to park is difficult and sometimes impossible.

As L.A. nightlife experienced a resurgence in some areas, especially Hollywood, problems with valet parking proliferated. Among the complaints: alleged price gouging, valets who take up metered spaces, valets who tear up parking tickets and upstart valet companies that undercut established businesses.

As a result of complaints by valet companies, and owners of restaurants and nightclubs, the City Council this week will consider an ordinance that would impose regulations on valet parking. The ordinance would require all valet companies in Los Angeles to register with the city and obtain operating permits. Valets that do not could face fines or be shut down.

The proposal is supported by established valet companies that have felt price pressure from more nimble competitors.

“We had an account at a West Hollywood restaurant and we were undercut by a company that pays employees in cash and doesn’t pay payroll taxes,” said Brad Saltzman, president of Regent Parking Inc. in Los Angeles. “I’ve spoken with a couple of honest valet companies and we’re tired of this.”

Upstart valet operators could not be reached or did not want to comment.

However, Adrian Moore, vice president of Reason Foundation, an L.A.-based think tank, does not see the proposed regulation as necessarily a good thing. It appears established valets that are getting beat by more entrepreneurial competitors are trying to use the ordinance to rescue their businesses, he said.

“It’s much easier to get to regulate the competition than to beat the competition,” Moore said. “They’re trying to create regulations that would benefit themselves.”

City officials see a potential revenue stream. They believe the city misses out on almost $1 million per year in tax annual revenue because the valet companies aren’t registered, according to Antoinette Christovale, director of the city’s Office of Finance. Also, upstart valets can be a threat to public safety, since their drivers may not be licensed or insured.

“The valet ordinance focuses more on safety and traffic issues and creating a mechanism for enforcing the guidelines we develop,” said Councilman Eric Garcetti, one of the key sponsors of the valet regulations, in an e-mail interview.

He said the city received input from established valet companies when it crafted the ordinance.

“There are good operators who are interested in creating a permitting and monitoring system because they are getting undercut by rogue operators,” he said. “We want to make sure that people who are playing by the rules aren’t at a disadvantage.”

Business problem

Some business owners also support establishing official guidelines for valets. They say the recklessness and disorganization of some valets can discourage potential customers from returning to their restaurants and clubs.

There are also allegations of wildcat valets, without ties to area businesses, who overcharge customers and park cars illegally, causing customers to get tickets – or worse.

“I’ve had customers that have had their cars ticketed and they didn’t park them, the valet did,” said Tricia LaBelle, owner of Boardner’s, a bar on Cherokee Avenue in Hollywood. “Some of the cars have been towed. This is the No. 1 issue for business owners.”

Other cities have already regulated their valets. Pasadena, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills require valets to pay a fee to get an operating permit, and valets can have their permits revoked if they violate rules. Beverly Hills requires all valet drivers to wear badges certifying that they are part of an incorporated company and that they have undergone background checks.

Currently in Los Angeles, police officers can only cite valets for violating traffic laws or if they find them driving without insurance.

“Valets don’t have a requirement today to be permitted, and they’re doing nothing today that is illegal,” said Richard Tefank, executive director of the Los Angeles Police Commission, which enforces the city’s regulations that govern parking lots. “But it’s an industry that should be regulated, and it’s regulated in surrounding jurisdictions.”

The proposed rules that go to the City Council this week would require all valet companies to register as a business, and show that their drivers carry insurance and have passed criminal background checks.

The companies would also have to show that they have an agreement with a parking lot operator and any surrounding businesses the valet would service. Finally, valet services would have to provide a traffic plan to show how they would move cars through the area.

Proponents of the regulations said the documentation is necessary to ensure that valets are above board. But Moore of the Reason Foundation suggested the new rules are simply superfluous bureaucracy.

“This is time-consuming,” he said. “You can wait months to hear back from the city on a permit, and they turn them back for trivial mistakes. You might want to start a valet parking operation, but can’t afford to wait six months for a permit to come through.”

Of course, if valet services are discouraged from starting, it will mean the relatively few operators can charge higher prices.

Meanwhile, the valet business is dragging due to the downturn. Business has fallen at many clubs and restaurants, which in turn has decreased demand for valets.

On a recent Friday night in Hollywood, many valets stood by for up to 30 minutes at a time without a single customer. That’s a contrast with the days of 2007, when there were lines 10 or 12 cars deep of people waiting to drop off their cars for a night out, according to people in the industry.

The tough times extend beyond Hollywood. In the last 18 months, Culver City-based Allied Parking Corp., which has operations throughout Los Angeles County, has shut down 27 valet stands, almost half its operations.

But Bruce Silverman, president of Allied, blamed the decline in business not only on the economy but on stiff competition – from upstart valets and from more established businesses.

“The competition is out there,” he said. “Some is good, some isn’t.”