20 - Traffic Code Section 31-89 DiscussionItem 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.