To offset an estimated $75,000 in costs due to Michael Jackson's arraignment in Santa Maria Friday, Santa Barbara County will charge $250 daily media parking fees this week - with an exception for local media outlets with small vehicles.

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved the temporary fees, effective through Sunday, on Tuesday in Santa Maria.

The fees are designed to cover costs including staff time related to the parking plan, police and maintenance staff, refuse and security services.

Jackson, 45, is accused of engaging in lewd acts with a boy under 14 on seven occasions between Feb. 7 and March 20. He is also charged with two counts of "administering an intoxicating agent" to the boy.

Because Jackson's arraignment date is a court furlough day, no other business will be conducted at the court on Friday. However, the supervisors expressed worries that local residents could get lost in the Jackson frenzy.

"What I'm concerned about Š is the trial starts and I'm an attorney that has a client and a child custody matter, am I going to have to pay $250 to park?" said 4th District Supervisor Joni Gray.

Terri Maus-Nisich, director of the Parks Department, clarified that the fees would only apply to media for the Jackson proceedings, and would be for parking in a designated area. While large media outlets typically have television broadcast trucks with large antennas, local television stations use smaller vans.

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It is unclear how many journalists and fans will descend upon the courthouse Friday.

Although only 109 media personnel and about 120 members of the public will be allowed in the courtroom and adjacent overflow room, Sgt. Charles Ward of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department's Court Services Division has said he expects the arraignment will draw twice as many people as Jackson's 2002 civil trial in Santa Maria. On the peak day of that trial, 400 people milled about the complex, according to Ward.

"We are attracting international media to this case in a way that they were never attracted for presidents or the Queen of England," said 1st District Supervisor Naomi Schwartz. "Santa Barbara County has been host to a lot of notable individuals, but I think this is an unprecedented level."

"A lot of this is speculation right now," said Mike Brown, county administrator. "We don't know exactly how many news vehicles will avail themselves of our property."

"We don't know how many fans will show up and what that will mean. We don't know how the cell phone facilities will be and will they be locked out."

This week's fees will serve as a "pilot" for future court proceedings in Jackson's case, Brown said.

At the board meeting Tuesday, John Palminteri of Santa Barbara station KEYT said the daily fees would cause an undue burden on local media and an unfair access advantage for large media conglomerates that can more easily absorb the fees.

"Favoring local residents as opposed to out of town media is risky," said Shane Stark, county counsel.

But allowing no-fee parking based on vehicle size would possibly be legal, he said.

* Staff writer Erin Carlyle can be reached at 739-2218 or by e-mail at ecarlyle@pulitzer.net.

Jan. 14, 2004