Expanded Parking Authority Considered

Illegally parked motorists will have a tougher time escaping punishment if council members approve a plan to give six of the city’s code enforcement officers the power to issue parking tickets.

The City Council Monday will consider a municipal code amendment that would expand parking enforcement in the city to include code enforcement officers who recently received police department training.

“This is a trend that other cities in Orange County are following,” said Mike Strange, a senior planner in the city’s Community Development Department. “The police department folks need some help.”

Code enforcement employees now refer parking violations they witness while on the job to the police department. Their main duties are to enforce the city’s zoning, housing and property maintenance codes and regulations.

If the council approves the expansion of duties, code enforcement officers would be able to ticket motorists for a number of violations, including double parking and alley parking.

Those two parking violations are common in the city’s Oakview and Florida-Utica neighborhoods, city officials say, and threaten the safety of children and pedestrians.

The change would bring the city $15,000 to $20,000 a year in additional revenues, officials said.

Councilman Peter Green said the plan makes sense, considering the city’s recent budget cuts. “It’s a way by which we can utilize our human resources more effectively,” Green said. “Parking fees are a very important part of our budget.”