The End of Free Parking at the Century City Mall

[Flickr pic by Seaside Signs.]
Every once in a while I forget the parking card to my Century City office, which is why the free three-hour parking at the Westfield Century City mall comes in handy. Well, that emergency option is about to get expensive: According to Westwood-Century City Patch, that free parking is about to end:

The Westfield Century City mall has the green light to eliminate its three-hour free parking policy and start charging customers to use what is currently the only free parking structure in Century City.

The Los Angeles Planning Commission gave Westfield its stamp of approval in August but it is now up to the mall to decide when to begin charging patrons. It could be as soon as fall of 2013, coinciding with completion of 500 new parking spaces, but the company has not set a date, Westfield spokesperson Katy Dickey said.

The mall has offered free parking since 1988, according to the Planning Commission report. Under the new plan, the shopping center will no longer need to provide three hours of validated free parking to patrons, nor will restaurant and food court lessees be required to advertise a validated parking policy.

The parking fees have not yet been set, Dickey said.

"Everybody likes free stuff, but we believe that [prices are] going to be consistent with and comparable to similar centers in similarly dense areas," she said.

Things are falling apart at the Westfield Century City mall -- a good 50% of the mall's food court has shut down in recent months due to escalating rents, including major chains like Baja Fresh.