(1) Submitting a petition. In order to be considered for a residential parking district designation, a resident(s) must submit a petition to the Planning Department containing the signature of an adult member (each dwelling unit will have one (1) vote) of at least two-thirds or sixty-six percent (66%) of the dwelling units in the residential area.
(a) Petitions shall only be considered for areas which contain at least two (2) adjacent block faces and must also include the block face(s) on the opposite side of the street. The boundaries of and the streets within the proposed permit parking district shall be clearly identified on each page of the petition.
(b) The petition shall also state clearly that, if the district is approved that participation in the program is mandatory, only those vehicles with a permit shall be permitted to park in the residential parking district, except days and times exempted if applicable, and an annual fee will be charged for a parking permit for each vehicle.
(c) The necessary petition can be obtained from the Planning Department. A cover letter explaining the reasons for the request and a map showing the boundaries of the proposed parking permit district shall accompany the petition.
(2) Upon receipt of petition. Upon receipt of a valid petition, the Planning Department shall conduct a parking study of the area identified in the petition. A residential parking district may be established only if the results of the study demonstrate that both of the following criteria are satisfied during peak periods or if other extenuating circumstances are present:
(a) At least fifty percent (50%) of the curbside parking spaces in the proposed parking permit district were utilized during peak periods. For purposes of this criterion, a legal curbside parking space shall be twenty three (23) linear feet; and
(b) At least twenty-five percent (25%) of the curbside parking spaces in the proposed parking district were utilized by nonresident parkers. For purposes of this criterion, the latest available motor vehicle registration information shall be used.
(3) Parking study report and recommendation. Upon completion of the parking study, if the conditions of subsection (2) of this section are established, or if other extenuating circumstances are found to be present, the Planning Department shall make a report and recommendation to the Planning Commission, based upon the petition and results of the study, on whether or not to designate the proposed parking district or a portion thereof as a residential parking district and the hours such restrictions are to be in effect. The recommendation shall take the following into account:
(a) The effect on the safety of the residents of the proposed residential parking district from intensive parking by nonresidents;
(b) The difficulty or inability of residents of the proposed residential parking district to obtain adequate curbside parking adjacent to or near their residences because of widespread use of available curbside parking spaces by nonresident motorists;
(c) The likelihood of alleviating, by use of the residential parking permit program, any problem of non-availability of residential parking spaces.
(d) The desire of the residents in the proposed residential parking permit area for the institution of a residential parking district and the willingness of those residents to bear the cost incidental to the administration of the residential parking permit program.
(4) Planning Commission public hearing: Upon receipt of the report and recommendation from the Planning Department, the Planning Commission shall hold a public hearing on the petition. Upon completion of the public hearing, the Planning Commission shall make a recommendation to the City Council to adopt or reject a resolution designating the defined area as a residential parking district.
(5) City Council public hearing. The City Council, on receipt of the recommendation from the Planning Department and Planning Commission shall hold a public hearing on the petition. Upon completion of the public hearing, the City Council may reject the petition Or adopt a resolution designating the defined area as a residential parking district.
(6) Creation of a residential parking district. A residential parking district shall be created only where the City Council has found that unrestricted parking creates a situation in which the streets cannot be used for parking by the residents or their guests and that such unrestricted parking substantially and unreasonably regularly interferes with the use of 50% of the available public street parking, or when unrestricted parking is the source of unreasonable noise, traffic hazards, environmental pollution, or of other interference with the residential environment and detrimentally affects the public welfare.
(7) Request to add or remove street segments to existing district. Residents may submit a qualified petition to request adding or removing a block face to an existing district. These petitions must be submitted to the Planning Director which will evaluate the request. Residents of the proposed block face will be given at least thirty a (30) day notice prior to implementation of the residential parking district.
(8) Dissolution of residential parking districts.
(a) The designation process set forth in this section including a petition of at least two-thirds or sixty-six percent (66%) of residents in an existing residential parking district shall be utilized by the City Council in determining whether to dissolve a residential parking district.
(b) The City Council at the Council's sole discretion, may by resolution, dissolve any residential parking district authorized by this chapter. (Ord. #O20-09-16, Oct. 2020)