Santa Barbara intends to move its waterfront parking lots to a “pay-by-plate” system.

The city’s three-member Ordinance Committee discussed the matter Tuesday and voted 3-0 to push the matter to the full City Council for a vote.

Under the new plan, the city would install license plate readers and motorists would pay at the kiosks one time. Currently, people have to park, get out of their vehicles, enter their license plate number and then return to their cars to display the permit on the dashboard.

“I am very excited about this,” committee member and Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon said. “This is real progress.”

Annual waterfront permits would not be affected.

The Ordinance Committee breezed through the item in about 15 minutes.

Committee member Mike Jordan supported moving the matter to the City Council, but expressed concerns about not being able to pay with a phone.

“So, when you implement this from day one, I won’t be able to park, sit in my car, enter my information in my phone app, get a notification of payment and walk away from my car?” Jordan asked.

“That is correct,” said Cesar Barrios, waterfront business manager. “From the beginning, the user will have to go to the machine directly.”

Barrios said it “takes time and planning” as well as “contracts to implement the system.”

He said the city has been in contact with vendors to allow people to eventually pay with an app.

“To me, that’s not really a selling point of moving to this system,” Jordan said. “You are not really giving me a timeline other than it is coming.”

The Waterfront Department operates eight parking lots totaling about 2,580 parking stalls. Two of the parking lots, at Stearns Wharf and Harbor Main, are staffed and use revenue control/point of sale systems, and those won’t be changing.