March 19, 2024
EARLY MORNING PARKING review & alternatives
1 8.44.080 Early Morning Parking Prohibited
Except as otherwise provided in this section, and except as may be provided by lawfully posted notice, no person shall park any vehicle on any street or highway, or any City-controlled facility, in the City between the hours of two a.m. and five a.m. of any day. 2 1924 Early Morning Parking Prohibition program approved 1974 An advisory vote of the people resulted in 68% support for the program 1979 City exempted many high-density housing streets
2003 Council approved “Select Street” exemptions
2006 Council approved “Hardship” and “Temporary” exemptions 2018 An Ad-Hoc Committee presented three ordinance revision options to Council 2023 Council directed staff to review existing regulations, policies & procedures 3 History
Ordinance Exemptions
Select Street Exemptions: Exemptions may be granted for an area having an off-street parking deficiency. The smallest area which may be exempted is one side of one city block.
Hardship Exemptions: An interim parking permit issued by the Police Department for a parking deficiency due to changing family/residents needs.
Temporary Exemption: Temporary permits issued by the Police Department for short-term parking deficiencies not exceeding 30-days. 4 5
6 Staff Recommended Options
Option #1Repeal the Early Morning Parking Ordinance
7 Repealing the early morning parking prohibition ordinance would ultimately eliminate all administrative efforts and costs associated with the program, would eliminate on-street parking access disparities between single-family and multi-family housing, and provide additional on-street overnight parking relief for all residents that do not have sufficient off-street parking. This option would require the removal of hundreds of signs both on the borders of the City and on the exempted streets. Although this option would require the least City resources in the long-term, it is unlikely to be supported by a majority of residents at this time; therefore, Option 1 is not recommended.
Due to the effectiveness of the program and historical nature, this option is not moving forward for consideration.
Option #2 Develop a Citywide Early Morning Parking Permit Program 8 Under a citywide early morning parking permit program, the current block exemptions and hardship permits would be eliminated and be replaced by early morning parking permits that would be available to residents. Although an early morning parking permit program may appear to be a viable solution, the implementation of such a program would require significant effort/cost and would most likely result in negative consequences for those residents benefiting from the current program. Since this option is likely to be costly to implement/administer and would most likely benefit fewer residents than it impacts, Option 2 is not recommended.
Option #3aModify the Hardship Exemption Permit
9 This option would retain the majority of the existing early morning parking prohibition ordinance, continuing both the select street exemptions and temporary permits as they are administered, issued, and enforced today. However, the hardship exemption permit program would be revamped to be more inclusive, resident friendly, and easily attainable for most residents experiencing a shortage of off-street parking.
Option #3bModify the Hardship Exemption Permit on a Pilot Program Basis 10 This option would streamline the Administration of the Existing Program on a Pilot Program basis with elements consistent with Option 3a. The Pilot Program would be for 2 years with permits being issued for a period of no longer than 1 year.
11 On September 14, 2023, the Transportation & Circulation Commission concurred with the City Traffic Engineer recommendation to propose Option 3a to make the program more inclusive, resident friendly, and easily attainable for most residents experiencing a shortage of off-street parking.
Considering the unknown impacts and participation of the proposed program, a 2-year pilot is now recommended (Option 3b) to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.
Recommendation