Revised Ban on Overnight Parking to Be Considered

The City Council is scheduled Monday to take up the touchy issue of overnight parking.

The council will consider a proposal to ban street parking in a selected residential area between 2:30 and 5 a.m. except for cars bearing a permit sticker.

Citizen complaints about excessive all-night parking on narrow streets led to passage of an ordinance in August, but it was sidelined in September after critics complained that the $65 annual permit fee was a hardship on poor residents and people who had no garages.

A revised proposal by Mayor Gregory Slaughter and Councilman Larry Leonard would reduce the annual permit fee to $25 and provide two free permits to residents without garages or on-site parking spaces. A temporary parking permit for 15 days could be obtained for $10. Overnight parking of vehicles weighing more than one ton, such as recreational and commercial vehicles, would be prohibited in single-family residential zones.

In order to purchase permits, residents would have to satisfy city inspectors that their garages and driveways are being used for parking. Officials said one objective of the ordinance is to compel residents who use garages for storage--or, in some instances, illegal living spaces--to begin parking on their properties.

Initially, the permit system would cover a 1,500-home area bounded by Otis Street, Tweedy Boulevard, Atlantic Avenue and Abbott Road that has been a focal point of complaints about street parking. After six months, the program would be reviewed and could be extended to other areas.

Officials said large numbers of cars parked on South Gate’s 30-foot-wide streets impede emergency vehicles.

The council meeting is at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 8650 California Ave.