HomeMy WebLinkAbout2D, Overnight Parking Ordinance lt
EN HILLS
Request for Council Review 2D _
Prepared By: Jill Hutmacher, Community Work Session Date: December 19, 2011
Development Director
Overnight Parking Ordinance
Discussion Topic:
Would the City Council like to consider changes to the current parking ordinance? If so,what does the
Council wish to accomplish and what changes are suggested?
Supportim!Documents:
1. Memorandum dated December 19,2011,from Jill Hutmacher, Community Development
Director.
i
EN HILLS
MEMORANDUM
DATE: December 19, 2011
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Jill Hutmacher, Community Development Director
SUBJECT: Overnight Parking Ordinance
City staff has received questions from Councilmembers regarding the City's parking ordinance.
City ordinance 800.03 describes parking regulations as follows:
Subd. 1, Winter Parking Regulations. Except in compliance with the directions of a law
enforcement officer or in compliance with regulatory parking signs placed by law enforcement
officers or employees of the City, no vehicle shall be parked on the improved portion of any
street or highway in the City during the period of time commencing immediately after the
accumulation thereon of two or more inches of snow and continuing thereafter until snow
removal or plowing has been completed.
Subd. 2, Overnight Parking. No vehicle shall be parked on any street for more than 30
minutes between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.
Subd. 3, Parking in Residential Districts. Parking in residential district shall be limited
to the use of the occupants of those residences and their guests.
Subd. 4,Parking on Public Streets. Parking on public streets shall not exceed six hours.
Subd. S, Vehicles over 12,000 Pounds. No motor vehicle or trailer with a rated gross
weight exceeding 12,000 pounds shall be parked or stored in a residential zone except when
loading, unloading or rendering a service.
Subd. 6, Parking on Boulevard Prohibited No motor vehicle shall park upon the
boulevard of any public street.
Subd. 7, Setback from Intersections. Parking shall be set back from street intersection
as follows:
A. Twenty (20)feet from crosswalk of any uncontrolled intersection;
City of Arden Hills
December 19, 2011, Work Session Meeting
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B. Thirty (30)feet from crosswalk of any controlled intersection; and
C. Twenty (20)feet from any intersection without a marked crosswalk.
Subd. 8, Administrative Procedures. The city administrator shall adopt, from time to
time, procedures to provide for the safe and consistent application of the parking regulations.
The city administrator may grant variances from the application of parking regulations provided
that the variances can be allowed without creating a safety hazard. Administrative variances
shall be in writing and shall state the specific time limits during which the variation will be
allowed to occur.
Parking Enforcement
Many cities do not allow public streets to be used for the storage of inoperable or unused
vehicles. Subdivision 4 of the Arden Hills parking ordinance addresses this issue by requiring
that vehicles be moved every six hours. Practically, however, enforcing this ordinance is
difficult since it requires a patrol officer to chalk tires and make two visits at least six hours
apart, and to coordinate those visits across patrol shifts.
Because Subdivision 2 prohibits overnight parking except for 30-minute periods, Subdivision 4
is effectively enforced through Subdivision 2. Patrol officers can easily spot vehicles parked
overnight on public streets, can feel the hoods to determine if the car was recently moved, and, if
necessary, can check the vehicle again in 30 minutes.
Subdivision 8 allows the City Administrator to issue parking waivers. The City routinely
processes requests for waivers from the overnight parking restriction, most often for special
events or driveway work. The waivers are for a specified time period, and the approved parking
permit applications are forwarded to the Sheriff's office. In all cases, the overnight parking of
construction vehicles and trailers on City streets is prohibited.
The City's zoning ordinance restricts driveway parking to no more than four vehicles. City staff
has been working with the Sheriff's office on enforcement of driveway parking. Without
Subdivision 2 of the parking ordinance which restricts overnight parking,the City is unable to
limit the total number of vehicles parked outdoors in residential districts.
Discussion Questions:
1. Would the City Council like to consider changes to the current parking ordinance?
2. If so, what does the Council wish to accomplish with the changes? What changes are
suggested?
City of Arden Hills
December 19, 2011, Work Session Meeting
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