Summary of Major Changes in the Parking Ordinance as enacted on July 6, 2010

Snow Emergency Regulations
The new ordinance designates certain streets to be Snow Emergency Routes.  The intent of this change is to make snow clearing faster and more effective.  Under the old rules, snow plows had to navigate around parked cars, so the plows could never clear the road all the way to the curb.  Since the curbside areas could never be cleared, many streetside parking spaces filled up with snow and became unusable for weeks at a time. 

Under the new rules, no parking will be allowed on snow routes during a snow emergency.   When four or more inches of snow is predicted, the City can declare a snow emergency.  Once the emergency is declared, residents will be given four hours to move their vehicles from parking spaces along the streets of these designated snow routes.  

Snow routes will be identified with signs, and a current listing can be found in the Parking Regulations Manual.

Downtown Parking
The new ordinance continues the rule of limiting parking to two hours per blockface in the downtown area between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM on weekdays.   The new ordinance clarifies the boundaries of the downtown area, and it adds a prohibition against overnight parking in the Downtown area.

Recreational Vehicles and Trailers

As before, the owner of a recreational vehicle or must get a special permit if they want to park their RV on the street for more than five days in a 30 day period.   As before, the permit requires that the owner get the permission of the nearby homeowners.  The permits only apply to the space immediately in front of the owner's house.  Permits cannot be issued for homes on arterial or collector streets.  These rules also apply to trailers that are more than 20 feet long, and to trailers that are 4.5 feet high. 

Parkway Parking 
The "parkway" is the area between the curb and the sidewalk.  Parking on the parkway is generally not allowed, but residents can apply for a parkway parking permit.  The permit costs $25, and it requires that the owner have the approval of other nearby homeowners.

Fines
Typical parking fines are as follows:

General Parking Violations
First violation in a 24 hour period	$15
Second violation in a 24 hour period	$20
Third violation in a 24 hour period	$30
Specific Parking Violations
Parking in a handicapped parking space without proper identification	$100
Parking in critical parking - school space without proper identification	$50
Parking on a designated snow route street during a snow emergency	$50
Parking on a street in the Downtown Business District between the hours of 3:00 AM and 6:00 AM	$25
Parking without current registration or license	$100
Abuse or violation of the various parking limits	$100