New Parking Rules Win Initial Approval

To help police solve an enforcement problem, the city may soon require permits for street parking of trailers and recreational vehicles.

The City Council on Monday gave preliminary approval to an ordinance change that would implement a parking-permit system.

Under the existing law, when the Police Department receives a complaint about an oversized vehicle, they mark the vehicle’s tires and wait 48 hours, according to a Traffic Commission report.

“If the vehicle is not moved after that period, the vehicle is cited. If the vehicle is moved, [police] would again mark the tires and wait another 48 hours. This means that as long as an oversized vehicle is moved at least every 48 hours, it could legally be parked in the same vicinity year-round,” the report states.

Under the new system, owners of oversized vehicles could apply annually for a pad of 50 permits, each allowing 24-hour parking. The owner could decide which days to use the parking permits.

“This type of permit system is extremely flexible but still limits the amount of days the oversized vehicle can be parked on the street,” the commission report says.

The council adopted that recommendation and scheduled a final reading of the amended ordinance for Jan. 22.