Sec. 28-303. - Parking of vehicles prohibited in certain residential areas; application and procedures.
(a) Application of section. This section shall apply to those residential areas designated by ordinance of the city council in accordance with the procedures outlined in this section.
(b) Offense. It shall be an offense for any person to park or to cause, suffer or permit the parking of a vehicle or equipment on any surface that is not an improved surface as defined in this article, within any front or side yard of a single-family residence in a residential area subject to this section. It is presumed that the registered owner of the vehicle or equipment is the person who parked, caused, suffered or permitted the vehicle or equipment to be parked in violation of this article.
(c) Application; petition; who may file. A request to apply this section to a residential area shall be initiated by filing with the director a written application or petition as follows:
(1) An application authorized by the board and signed by the president of an active homeowners association or civic club that encompasses the residential area described in the application; or
(2) A written petition signed by at least 60% of the owners within the area.
(d) Application; petition; submittal. Applications and petitions will be accepted by the director only if submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on either of the first two business days of each month.
(e) Written application or petition; information required. An application or petition shall contain such information as the director shall require, including the following:
(1) A map of the proposed boundaries of the residential area requested to be made subject to this section. If the residential area is defined by a plat or map duly filed of record, a reference to such plat or map shall be sufficient; and
(2) If the request is a letter from a homeowners association or civic club, the name, mailing address, telephone number and email address of a person with the homeowners association or civic club or an owner within the area described in item (1) of this subsection who shall be the contact for the request; or
(3) If the request is in the form of a petition, the name and mailing address, including street number, street name and zip code, of all signers of the petition, one of whom shall be designated in the petition as the contact for the request. Each signer of a petition, by his or her signature, shall be deemed to have affirmed that such person is an owner within the residential area described therein, and a statement to that effect shall appear on the face of the petition.
(f) Residential area; size and configuration requirements. The description of a residential area in an application or petition shall include at least five contiguous blockfaces.
(g) Filing of request; review and action by director. The application or petition referenced in the preceding subsection shall be filed with the director, and upon receipt, the director shall determine whether such application or petition is complete. An incomplete application or petition shall be returned to the contact person named therein, specifying its deficiencies. Upon being revised to comply with this section, the application or petition may be re-filed with the director at a subsequent filing date.
(h) Notice required by applicant. Within ten days after the filing of a complete application or petition, the party filing such application or petition shall provide notice thereof to all owners by:
(1) The posting of signs on private property at such locations and containing such information as the director shall prescribe; and
(2) At least one of the following methods:
a. An electronic message directed to all owners within the residential area;
b. Inclusion in a newsletter or other similar publication customarily used by the neighborhood association or civic club to disseminate information of interest to all owners within the residential area; or
c. Any other writing or publication deemed by the party making the request as the most effective means of providing notice of such filing to all owners within the residential area.
(3) All signs required to be posted by this subsection shall remain in place continuously until either:
a. The city council passes an ordinance applying this section to the residential area or acts to deny the application or petition; or
b. If the application or petition was been referred to a hearing officer as provided in subsection (1) of this section, the hearing officer determines that the application or petition fails to meet the requirements of this section or any criteria prescribed by the director.
(4) All costs to prepare, install, maintain and remove the signs required by this subsection shall be borne by the party filing the application or petition required by subsection (c) of this section.
(i) Notice required by director. Within ten days after the filing of a complete application or petition, the director shall give written notice thereof to all owners within the residential area. A failure by the director to provide the notice required by this subsection, or failure of any owner to receive such notice, does not affect the validity or finality of decisions reached under this article.
(j) Protest; deadlines. An owner may protest an application or petition by timely filing a written protest with the director within 20 days after the date of the director's notice letter.
(k) Approval by director. The director shall approve an application or petition and refer the matter to the city council for final action upon determining that:
(1) The notice provisions of subsection (h) of this section have been fully and timely performed or completed; and
(2) No protest of such application or petition was filed within the period specified in subsection (j) of this section.
(l) Public hearing; hearing officer. Upon the receipt by the director of a timely filed protest to an application or petition, the director shall refer such application or petition to a hearing officer whom he shall appoint to conduct a public hearing to determine whether the application or petition should be recommended to the city council.
(m) Approval criteria. The hearing officer shall base his determination on an application or petition by applying the evidence presented at the hearing to the following criteria:
(1) The application or petition complied with items (1) or (2) of subsection (c) of this section;
(2) The evidence presented shows that the residential area described in the application or petition contains at least five contiguous blockfaces; and
(3) The curbside parking spaces or areas within the residential subdivision available to owners for the parking of vehicles or equipment are sufficient to accommodate the number of vehicles or equipment typically parked within the area.
If the evidence presented at the hearing demonstrates to the satisfaction of the hearing officer the likelihood that the parking of vehicles or equipment in the front or side yards of residences in the residential area has caused, or is presently causing, a diminution in the value of the residences in such area, degrades the aesthetic appearance of the neighborhood, or tends to damage underground infrastructures leading to the loss of water or other conditions contrary to the public interest, the hearing officer shall recommend the application or petition favorably to the city council. The hearing officer's determination shall be set forth in writing, copies of which shall be provided to any interested party upon request. In the absence of any such finding, the application or petition shall be denied.
(n) Public hearing; notice required; final action.
(1) The public hearing provided in subsection (l) shall not be held until after the notice requirements of subsections (h) and (i) of this section have been satisfied and the time for filing a protest or opposition to an application or petition, as set forth in subsection (j) of this section, has expired.
(2) Notice of a public hearing shall be provided by the hearing officer at least 15 days prior thereto and shall contain the date, time and location of such hearing. The notice shall be provided to the contact person listed in an application or petition made pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, and to all persons filing a protest to an application or petition within the period set forth in subsection (j) of this section.
(3) The hearing officer shall take final action on a request referred to him by the director not later than the sixtieth day following the director's receipt of a written request, unless the hearing date is extended pursuant to subsection (o) of this section.
(o) Action by hearing officer. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the hearing officer shall either:
(1) Recommend that the city council pass an ordinance extending the application of this section to the requesting residential area;
(2) At his sole discretion, grant one continuance of the public hearing to a date certain in the future to allow for the provision of additional information relating to any issue arising during such hearing; provided, that the continuance shall not extend more than 15 days from the date of the original hearing; or
(3) Deny the request, which action of the hearing officer shall be final.
(p) Submission to city council. If the hearing officer makes the recommendation set forth in item (1) of the preceding subsection, the director shall promptly refer the matter to the city council for final action.
(q) Action by city council. Upon consideration of the recommendation of a hearing officer pursuant to subsection (o) of this section, the city council shall either:
(1) Adopt an ordinance extending the application of this section to the requesting residential area; or
(2) Deny such recommendation and request, which action shall be final in all respects.
The director shall cause notice of the passage of such ordinance, containing such information and in such form as the city attorney may deem appropriate, to be recorded in the real property records of each county in which the residential area is located.
(r) Effective date; term of application. An ordinance extending the application of section 28-303 of this Code to a residential area shall be in force as of its effective date and shall terminate 20 years after such effective date, unless earlier terminated by an ordinance adopted by the city council.
(s) Re-filing of request. In the event of a denial of a request under this article by either a hearing officer or the city council, no further request shall be filed for the same neighborhood or residential area, or portion thereof, within the six months following the date of such denial; provided, however, if new information is submitted to the director indicating a material change in off-street parking practices within the residential area sufficient to warrant the filing of a new application or petition, the director may waive the six month limitation.
(t) The director shall be authorized to promulgate rules and procedures for the efficient administration of this section, including provisions for the issuance of temporary permits that allow, on a limited basis and for a limited period, the parking of vehicles or equipment in areas where such conduct is otherwise prohibited by this section.
(Ord. No. 09-59, § 2, 1-28-09; Ord. No. 2010-185, § 2, 3-3-2010)
