20 - Traffic Code Section 31-89 Discussion

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Item No. 20 memorandum TO: City Council John Godwin, City Manager FROM: Bob Hundley, Chief of Police SUBJECT: TRAFFIC CODE SECTION 31-89 DATE: October 29, 2018 BACKGROUND: The Traffic Code Ordinance 31-89 prohibits continuously leaving a vehicle parked or standing on a public street, alley or other public place in excess of 24 hours. The ordinance continues to declare this parked vehicle as a public nuisance authorizing and requiring the removal of the vehicle. STATUS OF ISSUE: Parking on a public street is available for anyone who needs to park a vehicle. There is no `ownership' of a portion of a public street just because it is adjacent to your property. We all probably have a tendency to feel that way, but the parking area is available to the public. This ordinance was researched and quite honestly we can find no reason why it exists. Many cities our size have the same ordinance, others do not. We can suppose at some point a situation made a case for the ordinance to be written. We feel the present ordinance which calls for immediate removal of an otherwise legally parked vehicle is overreach. We have other ordinances and state law which deal with the removal of abandoned or junked vehicles on a public street. Unless a safety issue is involved in these situations, the owner is allowed a certain amount of time to move the vehicle. There may be some instance we have not imagined in which this ordinance would be needed. We do not want to set the stage for neighborhood quarrels to involve calling the police because of this ordinance as has happened. We recommend that a vehicle should not be allowed to be continuously parked on a public street in excess of 72 hours without being moved and should that infraction occur, the owner of the vehicle be issued a citation if needed and no impound of the vehicle take place unless some other violation requires the immediate removal. BUDGET: There is no impact to the budget. RECOMMENDATION: Discussion item only.