Washington continues to push for street, yard parking rules

WASHINGTON — A pair of unrelated parking ordinances continue to work their way toward passage at Washington City Council meetings, with a handful of code proposals on the agenda for the next session on Tuesday, Sept. 17. Both proposals require three public readings at separate meetings before enactment, though officials could choose to waive the third reading after completing just two.

The proposed amendments represent big changes for a small number of residents, and presented an early trial by fire in constituent communication for newly sworn-in municipal leaders like Council Member Ken Schroeder and Administrator Joe Gaa.

One of the proposals, a revision of codes governing vehicles parked in yards, has proved contentious since debates on it began in February. Following months of revisions and an unexpected return to the drawing board when a third reading last month failed to pass, officials say they’re ready to move forward with another first reading on Tuesday.

The latest proposal limits off-street parking to 24 hours at a time in front yards only, but allows vehicles to stay on concrete, asphalt or gravel parking pads in side and backyards indefinitely. Vehicles in driveways are not subject to the restrictions. The changes would also require that vehicles have current registrations and be capable of moving forward or backward to classify as “operable.”

“It’s something that I think will probably be fair to neighbors,” Gaa said. “And it helps at least keep order in our neighborhoods, but allows people to use their property as well. So I think it’s a nice balance.”

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The previous, rejected version of the amendments to city code chapters 50 and 51 would have allowed parking on the grass in side and backyards for up to 72 hours, but Gaa said that approach was likely unenforceable. He said the 24-hour, front yard-only approach presented fewer logistical challenges for code enforcement staff.

“Most of these things are brought to us by someone that notices it, typically a neighbor,” he said. “By the time it gets to us, if they’re following the rules, it should have corrected itself.”

While more straightforward than earlier versions, the proposed amendment may still draw complaints.

The amendment debate started in February after complaints from Washington residents Bob and Mary Ann Minick, who said their neighbor’s trailers, stored on gravel in the backyard, were an eyesore, and complained of “clutter creep,” claiming some residential lots were starting to look like parking lots, or scrap yards.

While one version of the change last winter would’ve capped the number of trailers on a residential property to two at a time, the provision was removed in later versions thanks to pushback and enforceability concerns.

Gaa said he didn’t expect yards to become parking lots under the latest proposal, due to paving material costs and existing restrictions on junk vehicles, and he added that the issue would likely require code amendments beyond chapters 50 and 51, if it needed to be addressed.

The Minicks, however, have remained adamant that a policy without trailer limits would prove insufficient.

“Washington invests a lot of resources in various community improvement programs,” Mary Ann Minick said at one council meeting in July. “At the same time, you’re apparently willing to let the boundaries of town clutter creep, one property to another, toward a more-like Ghetto atmosphere.”

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Also scheduled is the second reading of an amendment to City Code Chapter 69, which governs street parking. That proposal would limit parking to one side of the road on stretches of West Van Buren (between South C and South Iowa,) East Second Street (between Third and Sixth,) and East Main Street (from around Fourth to Sixth.)

It would also ban street parking outright on a narrow stretch of North Marion Avenue (between eighth and 15th,) near Main Street’s intersection with Fourth Avenue, and the school-adjacent portion of South Avenue B from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on school days.

The amendment dropped language from an earlier draft that would’ve limited parking further west on Main Street, after the issue drew complaints from at least one resident. City Administrator Joe Gaa said he didn’t expect any controversy as the proposal heads to its second reading on Tuesday.

“We went out and took a look at it, and agreed with them,” he said. “Since it’s come to official readings, we haven’t heard a word on this one.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com