(A) The reservation of on street parking spaces for persons with disabilities or disabled veterans as defined under state law shall be pursuant to the provisions of this section and the applicable portions of the Illinois Vehicle Code.
(1) Reserved permit parking shall be allowed curbside of a public street within residentially zoned areas.
(2) The reserved space shall be marked by the posting of one sign, erected by the Public Works Department in the form and manner prescribed under § 11-1301 of the Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5/11-1301), and shall not be greater than 20 feet in length unless a greater length a reason for the greater length is set forth in the application and approved by city staff and the Public Works Department.
(3) The reserved permit parking space shall be located within the limits of the individual’s residence and as close as possible to the frontage of the residence where the disabled person resides.
(4) The on-street reserved permit parking space shall be placed provided that all criteria in the application process have been met and the application has been approved by city staff.
(B) The city shall accept all applications from residents with disabilities as defined under § 1-159.1 of the Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5/1-159.1) or from a member of the household having direct care of the disabled person. Applicants requesting handicapped parking designations shall submit an application to the City Clerk on the form provided. The following requirements must be met and proven to submit an application:
(1) Applicants must be an owner of a motor vehicle for which the Illinois handicapped or disabled veteran license plate or handicapped placard has been issued and the plate or placard is valid at the time of the application.
(2) The person who is disabled or a disabled veteran as defined under state law is a lawful resident of the city at the address for which the reserved permit parking space is requested. Written evidence of residency must be provided to the City Clerk at the time the application is submitted.
(3) If the applicant is not the owner of the property at which the disabled or disabled veteran resident resides, the applicant has obtained written approval and a notarized letter from the owner or property manager of the property for the installation of the reserved permit parking space sign, and provided same at the time of application. If the property is transferred, a new application, investigation process and approval letter from the new owner shall be required.
(4) Upon submission of the application and required documentation to the City Clerk, staff shall perform a site inspection of the location for the requested parking and determine whether:
(a) There is a driveway or garage present at the location; and
(b) Whether there are existing parking restrictions or other reasons why a handicap parking designation is not feasible including, but not limited to, the presence of fire hydrants or traffic signs.
(5) If there is no driveway or garage, and there are no other reasons prohibiting the parking designation, the application shall be forwarded to the Alderman of the ward where said designation will be located and instructions provided to the Public Works Department by staff to erect the sign.
(6) Once the sign is erected, the City Clerk must forward the application to the Police Department so that the vehicle for which the designated handicapped space was assigned can be logged into the Frontline database for enforcement purposes.
(C) In the event requests for handicapped parking spaces are presented by persons living in adjacent properties, the spaces shall, whenever practicable, be located between the two properties so that each space has a length of 20 feet beginning from the adjoining lot line located between the two properties and proceeding in opposite directions for lengths of 20 feet each.
(D) Intentional movement or relocation of a handicapped parking sign in any manner from the place where it was initially installed by the Public Works Department to a different location by any resident or occupant of the premises for whose benefit the handicapped space has been designated shall result in immediate revocation of the handicapped parking designation, removal of the space as a handicapped parking space and revocation of any local municipal permit issued for handicapped parking privileges. In the event a resident or occupant of the premises considers that it is necessary to have a handicapped sign moved or relocated, the resident or applicant shall make application to the City Clerk to have the sign moved. Any such application must be approved in the manner set forth in division (B) above.
(E) If staff determines that the location of the handicap parking designation is not appropriate due to the presence of a garage or driveway or other reasons, the application will be forwarded to the appropriate Alderman for consideration of the individual circumstances at a Committee of the Whole meeting.
(F) This section shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, approval and publication in pamphlet form as provided by law. A full, true and complete copy of this section shall be published in pamphlet form, by authority of the City Council as corporate authorities.
(G) Upon notice of a change in circumstances necessitating removal of the handicap parking designation, or death of the person for whom, the designation was intended, the City Clerk shall make a recommendation to rescind said handicap parking designation and instruct the Public Works Department to remove the designated sign.
(H) There shall be parking by permit for persons holding a city disabled permit parking sticker and paying an application and installation fee of $70 for a reserved permit parking sign adjacent to the property the applicant resides in should the application be approved by city staff. This fee must be submitted with the application. City disabled reserved parking permits expire every June 30 and applicants must re-apply by paying a $25 renewal and maintenance fee.
(1) The city disabled parking permit shall be numbered to correspond to the sign posted or to the property and only the vehicle bearing that disabled parking permit number shall be allowed to park therein;
(2) Persons who do not display a valid and current disabled plate or permanent handicapped placard are subject to a $350 fine and tow;
(3) Violators who display a valid and current disabled plate or permanent handicapped placard but no City of Blue Island disabled parking permit sticker are subject to a $350 fine for parking in violation of a sign and subject to tow;
(4) Disabled parking permit stickers shall only be issued to one vehicle per property and only one disabled parking permit number shall be issued per property;
(5) The Public Works Department shall develop the appropriate signage, in compliance with this section and 625 ILCS 5/11-1301 et seq., clearly designating the disabled permit parking number on the sign, so as to highlight the restricted nature of the spot; and
(6) The disabled plate or permanent handicapped placard is not transferable. The authorized holder of the disabled plate or permanent handicapped placard must be present and must enter or exit the vehicle at the time the reserved parking privileges are being used.
(I) Section 11-1301.1 of the Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5/11-1301.3) is hereby incorporated into this section by reference.
(J) The Mayor and Aldermen of the city reserve the right to limit the number of reserved permit parking spaces on a block.
(K) City staff has the right and authority to review and reevaluate the current use of parking spaces for the disabled person pursuant to this section and shall make recommendations to the City Clerk and/or Mayor and Aldermen of the city as to any such reserved permit parking spaces which may no longer be appropriate. The City Clerk shall have the right to revoke any reserved permit parking spaces previously approved.
(L) No person shall sell, assign, rent or lease any disabled permit parking sticker or charge a fee for the use thereof. No person shall file a sworn affidavit, as required herein, which the person knows to be false or believes to be false at the time of filing.
(M) No person shall continue to display a disabled reserved permit parking sticker which has been terminated, cancelled and recalled pursuant to this section.
(N) It shall be unlawful for any person to park a motor vehicle or stop a motor vehicle for the purpose of loading or unloading persons or thing, other than persons with disabilities, in any public parking area posted as a drop off zone for persons with disabilities.
(O) Whoever violates any of the provisions of this section shall be fined not more than $350, except that anyone who fraudulently uses a city disabled parking permit sticker in violation of this section, shall be subject to a $500 fine and revocation of the sticker.
(Prior Code, § 72.14) (Ord. 2001-353, passed 6-26-2001; Ord. 2016-001, passed 1-12-2016; Ord. 2016-006, passed 2-23-2016; Ord. 2021-031, passed 8-24-2021; Ord. 2021-056, passed 11-23-2021)