Yard parking ordinance gets a reset

WASHINGTON — A change to Washington’s municipal laws for vehicles parked in residential yards was unexpectedly torpedoed Tuesday night, when City Council Member Illa Earnest voted no on a third reading of the proposed city code revisions.

The amendments, if enacted, would have set 72-hour time limits for any vehicles parked on the grass in side yards and backyards, but allow them to stay indefinitely if placed on an all-weather surface like a gravel patch or cement. In front yards, cars would be limited to 24 hours of consecutive parking, except in driveways. The changes also would have fixed a typo in the current code, which technically bans almost any usable vehicle from parking in town, but is not enforced.

The amendments were widely expected to pass Tuesday night, an outcome that would have finalized their approval and written them into the city code after months of discussion and revisions.

But under state law, municipal ordinance changes require approval from the majority of a council’s total number of seats, including vacant positions and absent members, such as Council Member Fran Stigers who did not attend the Aug. 5 meeting, or Council Member-elect Ken Schroeder, who was not elected to fill the sixth council seat until about two hours after the meeting.

That means Tuesday’s 3-1 vote was enough to stop the amendments in their tracks. The policy must now undergo at least two more public hearings before enactment — and potentially a third — all at separate council meetings, a process that usually takes over a month.

After the meeting, Earnest said her decision was partially due to a misunderstanding about which ordinance she was voting on at the time, thanks to an error in the council’s pre-prepared meeting packet. She said she still wanted to reconsider some of the wording in the proposed changes, but declined to specify which parts when asked.

“We do need to do something,” she said. “I will support this next time, but … I want to research it a little bit more. I just want to look at some of the wording.”

The amendments remain contentious for at least a few vocal city residents.

The latest failed proposal scaled back revisions first suggested in February, which would have enacted similar rules, as well as stricter requirements for all-weather parking surfaces, and limits on the number of trailers and types of large vehicles that could park at residential properties. Some residents complained that version was unenforceable, or that it went too far, punishing property owners across town for complaints made against a select few people.

Others, however, like North Marion Avenue resident Mary Ann Minick, have argued the more relaxed policy up for a vote Tuesday night was too lenient.

“The city is deteriorating due to all of the junk sitting around,” she said during the council’s public comment period Aug. 6. “From the very beginning, our concern was never limited to the view of trailers looking out our window. We have always expressed concern to the city at-large … clutter creep is coming to your neighborhood.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com