Can't park in a small town....

[southernbelle77]

We live in a small community based town outside of a larger city. (I'm talking less than 10,000 folks here.) Apparently, some time last year, the City passed a law that states no vehicles can be parked next to the curb of a residence at any given time without a permit from the city. I'm not sure why today was a special day, but tons of our neighbors and friends had warning citations on their vehicles this morning when they woke up. Many people are upset because it is not just throughways, it's everybody, including subdivisions. This is not a common problem, as I do not ever see excessive parking on the street anywhere in our town. When I called the officer who was issuing the warnings, she said she was doing it as a courtesy to let people know about the new law. She said it was a safety issue because kids might hide between cars and run out into the street. In addition, emergency vehicles can not get through if a vehicle is parked next to a curb. She told me that if the vehicles won't fit into the driveway, to park on my grass. The roads here are state approved and are not any smaller than other ordinary roads I have seen. To my knowledge I have not heard of any such problems occuring. The surrounding small towns do not have such an ordinance, so I am unsure how we are being singled out.

So many folks that live in the community car pool because it's such a long drive to the city. I think it's unfair that I have to ask the City for a permit if my family from out of state come to visit and wants to park in my cul-de-sac.
It's almost unbelievable. I have talked to several people about this, and they are just as upset as me. Is there anything we can do to try and get this overturned? I had planned on speaking with the Mayor on Monday about it, but once that's over, I'm lost after that. Thanks to anyone that might be able to help us.

 

[presutin]

If you and your neighbors really feel strongly about it, ask the townspeople to sign a petition to start the process of having the town's representatives back you up and have the law removed from the town's books. Good Luck!

 

[CdwJava]

Presumably there was a public meeting on this and the matter was decided at the city council. Apparently some of the local residents do not read the council agendas very carefully or they would have known this was coming. Sadly, that is a common problem with even big cities - no one gets involved until AFTER the fact.

If enough people attend the next council meeting to raise a stink, then I suspect that the city will take action as soon as they can. Unfortunately, it might take a month before action can legally BE taken (the matter has to be agendized for another meeting prior to being voted on for action) so you and your neighbors may well have to live with this for a time.

- Carl

 

[southernbelle77]

Thank you each for your replies. We moved here in August of 2007 and I was told by the officer that it was passed in May of 2007. They are just now attempting to enforce it. I will have to do some research about writing up a petition, but I definately want to go to town meetings. How do I find out when and where they are? I don't think this is common knowledge around here. Thanks.

 

[CdwJava]

Unless your state has some very unusual laws in this regard, I suspect that the meeting times and agendas are to be posted several days prior to the meeting. if you call city hall, they should be able to tell you where these can be found. Perhaps a city website, community bulletin board, or even the library.

When citizens choose not to be involved, this is the kind of thing that happens. Someone likely had a good reason to propose this law, and when no one spoke up against it, they went ahead.

- Carl