Restaurant and nightclub owners in Hollywood are eagerly awaiting a new city ordinance that would require valet parking firms to carry insurance, do background checks on attendants and get permission to park customer cars.

After four years of effort, the Los Angeles City Council last week passed the ordinance in an effort to crack down on rogue valet operators. The ordinance, which Mayor Eric Garcetti is expected to sign, would go into effect next year.

It’s being welcomed by restaurant and nightclub owners who for years have borne the brunt of customer ire when cars left with unofficial valets are damaged, ticketed or even lost.

While problems with valet parking operators have occurred citywide, the situation has been most acute in Hollywood, where dozens of valet stand umbrellas pop up in front of the area’s bustling bars and nightclubs at peak hours.

“This ordinance can’t come soon enough,” said Jay Krymis, co-owner of Saint Felix Restaurant and Bar on Cahuenga Boulevard.

Krymis said he never knows what valet operator will set up shop in front of his restaurant. Numerous times over the years, customers patronizing his restaurant often go on to nightclubs; when they return after hours, the valet operator is gone and they have no idea where their car is.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been called out after midnight by an angry customer who can’t find their car,” Krymis said. “I have no way of contacting the valet operator. I try my best, but I’ve lost many customers to this.”

Krymis and other business owners in Hollywood note that the ordinance requires that valet companies sign agreements with the businesses they serve and with parking lot operators. They say that will go a long way toward eliminating problems.

Under the ordinance, valet operators will have to pay $314 to get a city permit. They must also conduct background checks on all employees and attendants, and carry $2 million in liability insurance. They also must adhere to the prices they post; some operators boost prices beyond posted amounts at times of high demand.

Those familiar with the regulations say they could drive up rates, but not by much because of the competition among valet services.

One of the ordinance’s strongest supporters, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, has said the current situation is intolerable.

“The lack of oversight of the valet industry in Hollywood and throughout the city has led to abusive practices by some valet operators,” chamber Chief Executive Leron Gubler said in testimony before the City Council in December. “Once this ordinance is adopted, we believe it will lead to more effective enforcement of the valet industry, increased consumer confidence, less congestion, improved parking management and enhanced public safety.”