POLICY

A. Purpose

Parking is a limited resource at Berkeley Lab. This policy describes how Berkeley Lab manages this resource, including parking permit eligibility, parking enforcement, and exceptions.

B. Persons Affected

This policy applies to all Berkeley Lab employees, affiliates, and visitors.  

C. Exceptions

Exceptions are described in section D.4 of this policy.

D. Policy Statement

D.1 General

1. Limited on-site personal vehicle parking is available to eligible employees, affiliates, and visitors.
2. Parking at Berkeley Lab requires a parking permit that is issued by the Security and Emergency Services (SES) Site Access Office. Eligible individuals are limited to one valid parking permit which must always be displayed on the vehicle while on Berkeley Lab property.
3. Individuals authorized to park their vehicles on Berkeley Lab property must provide their vehicle information to the Site Access Office.

D.2 Parking Permits and Eligibility

Berkeley Lab parking permits are issued to individuals who meet the established eligibility criteria for each permit as follows:

1. Forgotten Permit. Persons who forget their parking permit may request a temporary one-day parking permit at any entry gate. The issuance of a Temporary Parking permit will be reported to the Site Access Office. Abuse of the temporary permit provisions is subject to suspension of parking permit and/or other disciplinary actions.
2. Replacement of Lost or Stolen Parking Permits. To replace a lost or stolen parking permit, contact the Site Access Office.
3. Return of the Parking Permit on Termination of Employment. Parking permits are the property of Berkeley Lab and must be returned to the employee's division office or the Site Access Office no later than the last day of employment. If the permit holder leaves after hours, parking permits can also be turned in to the security officer at the entry gates.

D.3 Additional Parking Considerations

1. Official Vehicles. Vehicles with license plates issued by the federal government or the state of California are authorized to park in Government Vehicle parking spaces, and General parking spaces unless otherwise reserved. Official vehicles must park in established parking areas. Vehicles with government plates (including low-speed EVs) may not park in EV charging spaces which require a special parking permit.
2.  Stack Parking
   1. Stack Parking spaces are reserved for vehicles with valid parking permits that display a Stack Parking card. Movement of a vehicle in Stack Parking may be necessary to accommodate unforeseen circumstances and to allow for the exit (or entry) of other vehicles parked in Stack Parking.
   2. Valid parking permit holders who choose to park in Stack Parking spaces must observe the following:
      1. All vehicles must display a valid Berkeley Lab parking permit.
      2. All vehicles, including the first vehicle in the stack, must display a Stack Parking card with the driver’s contact information. Stack Parking cards are available on request from the Site Access Office or at lbl.gov/resource/parking.
      3. Park as close as possible to the vehicle, stop line, or barrier in front and/or behind the driver’s vehicle (maintain a less-than-30-inch gap between vehicles).
      4. Vehicles must not extend into a red zone or a pedestrian walkway.
      5. Drivers must be prepared to respond to requests to move their vehicle within 5 - 10 minutes of the request.
      6. Display the approximate time of day that drivers will need to move their car, to better inform those parking nearby.

 D.4 Exceptions to Policy

In order to meet the business needs of Berkeley Lab, exceptions to current policy may be approved as described below. Exception request approvals should be made in adherence to Berkeley Lab stewardship values, and equity and inclusion principles.

1. Deputy Director for Operations Exceptions. 
   
   1. The Deputy Director for Operations or their designee may approve exceptions to policy by granting Temporary General parking permits to ineligible employees or affiliates for one of the following reasons:
      1. A temporary assignment not to exceed 90 days.
      2. Working hours outside of the Berkeley Lab shuttle operating hours.
      3. A major impact on Berkeley Lab operations and/or scientific research if the requested exception is not granted (e.g. authorized vendors who need their personal vehicles to perform their job requirements).
   2. The Deputy Director for Operations or their designee may approve exceptions to Orange Circle permit requirements to individuals with a mission-critical need to work on-site, including supervision of technical personnel involving significant safety or risk where in-person oversight is essential. These exceptions are based on the following guidelines:
      
      1. The individual manages a program or significant value to Berkeley Lab and the DOE complex.
      2. The individual makes critical and demonstrable impact to Berkeley Lab and/or DOE strategic goals.
      3. The individual makes critical contributions to organizational improvement and/or Berkeley Lab and DOE-level strategic initiatives as part of the scope of their job.
      4. Responsibilities include major participation in service opportunities that impact Berkeley Lab-wide strategic goals and overall culture.
   3. Exception requests to the Deputy Director for Operations must be submitted to the Transportation & Parking Office at [email protected].
   4. A request to Transportation & Parking shall not be made on the premise of convenience, unavailability of alternate commute options, financial hardship,  employee performance/retention, or as a hiring incentive. Requests for exception based on the aforementioned reasons should be considered by the respective Associate Laboratory Director.
2. Associate Laboratory Director Exceptions
   1. An Associate Laboratory Director (ALD) or their designee may approve exceptions to policy to divisions in their area by granting Temporary General parking permits to ineligible employees or affiliates. Exceptions should be grounded in the Lab’s IDEA  (inclusion, diversity, equity, and accountability) principles; upholding these principles are a core part of your stewardship responsibilities. Consideration should be given for:
      1. Accessibility and mobility needs that necessitate the use of a personal vehicle, particularly for those with ADA placards.
      2. Parental and care-giving responsibilities that require use of a personal vehicle and schedule flexibility.
      3. Limited access to public transit and significant barriers to alternate commute options, resulting in an extraordinarily long commute (>2 hours, on average) without use of a personal vehicle.
      4. Significant barriers to securing alternate commute options aside from using a personal vehicle.
      5. Opportunities to carpool if provided a permit to park on-site during regular work hours.
      6. Contract workers from temporary agencies who are covering for actively recruited vacant positions, or covering for employees on a leave of absence.
   2. ALDs may approve a limited number of Temporary General parking permit exceptions to policy each fiscal year. Parking permits are non-transferable among areas and individuals.
   3. ALD exception requests are made by supervisors or hosts directly to the ALD. Operations divisions requests will be submitted to the Deputy Director for Operations. Laboratory Directorate requests will be submitted to the Deputy Director for Research.
3. Student Employee Exceptions. In addition to section D.3.b, each area will be provided a limited number of Temporary General parking permits to distribute to student employees (Graduate Student Research Assistant and Student Assistant employee classifications) who work onsite three or more days per week. Permits will be for the duration of the upcoming school semester.
4. User Facility Exceptions. Users (Facility User affiliate classification) can request temporary parking permits through the respective user facility, per the standards maintained by the user facility and Transportation & Parking.

D.5 Parking Enforcement

1. Security and Emergency Services (SES) enforces Berkeley Lab's Parking at Berkeley Lab policy by patrolling parking lots throughout the main Berkeley Lab site and issuing parking violation notices to vehicles that are parked in violation of parking policy.
2. The University of California Police Department (UCPD) patrols the Berkeley Lab site and issues citations for moving and parking violations of the California Vehicle Code.  A vehicle may be issued citations by both SES and UCPD. UCPD citations include monetary penalties.
3. SES will leave one copy of the parking violation notice on the vehicle and retain a copy for its records. An email will be sent to the vehicle owner on record, their immediate supervisor, and Division Director within 48 hours of the issuance of the notice, informing them about the type of violation, penalty, and other relevant information.
4. SES will review each parking violation notice for accuracy and enter information about the violation into a database that will track all parking violations.
5. After receiving a second violation notice during a 12-month period, an employee's parking permit will be suspended for five working days.
6. Upon notification by SES of a parking permit suspension, the employee shall surrender the permit within two business days as instructed by SES. The employee may collect the permit after the five-day suspension is complete.
7. Repeat violators are subject to additional corrective action in accordance with Berkeley Lab's Corrective Action and Discipline policy or applicable collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
8. Parking permit holders who believe they were issued a parking violation notice in error may submit a written appeal through SES at [email protected]. If needed, SES will forward the review request to the Transportation Advisory Committee for further review and recommendation.
9. All construction contractor violation notices will be reported to the chief of projects and construction or designee for follow-up. Repeat violations by a construction worker may result in permanent revocation of parking privileges.
10. Visitors may receive parking violation notices and their hosts will be informed about the violation. Hosts are expected to take appropriate actions.
11. Unauthorized extended parking of a vehicle is strictly prohibited. Any vehicle parked for over 48 hours without displaying an extended parking permit may be removed by SES at the owner's expense.

E. Roles and Responsibilities

Managers, supervisors, employees, affiliates, and visitors have the responsibility to adhere to the provisions of this policy.

F. Definitions/Acronyms

G. Recordkeeping Requirements

None

H. Implementing Documents

I. Contact Information

Operations Directorate, Transportation & Parking, [email protected]

J. Revision History

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

Source Requirements Documents

• California Vehicle Code (CVC)

• University of California Berkeley Traffic and Parking Code

• Berkeley Lab policy, Vehicles, Use of Laboratory or Government

• Berkeley Lab policy, Site Access and Security