The Waukesha City Ordinance and Licensing Committee voted unanimously Monday to recommend that the Common Council consider amendments to Municipal Code Chapter 7 covering parking regulations and forfeitures.

City staff said the proposed changes respond to Police Department requests to close enforcement gaps. Key elements of the proposal include making parking too close to fire lanes or hydrants a municipal offense, requiring that vehicles parked on city streets be registered if state law requires registration, authorizing officers to remove vehicles they reasonably deem abandoned when an owner cannot be located despite good-faith efforts and adjusting forfeiture amounts for several parking violations.

“This would allow citations where currently there is nothing to cite,” City Attorney (as recorded) said, explaining that some trailers and unlicensed vehicles lack VIN or registration information and police are constrained because the code requires a 72-hour wait before a vehicle is deemed abandoned.

The changes would shorten that delay if the owner cannot be located after a documented investigation; the judge hearing a ticket would require proof the police made a good-faith effort to find the owner. The draft also raises standard parking forfeitures by $5 and increases the late-payment penalty by $5 to align with neighboring municipalities. The proposal sets a specific forfeiture for handicap parking violations ($150 initially; $175 after 15 days in the draft) and creates forfeiture amounts for the new fire-lane and unregistered-vehicle sections.

Committee discussion and vote

Committee member Alicia asked how “reasonable effort” would apply in commonplace situations such as a homeowner temporarily unhitching a trailer while moving. City staff said officers would use the same good-faith investigative steps they use now — checking for VINs, motor vehicle registration traces and inquiring at properties where the vehicle is parked — and that a judge would later review whether those efforts met the legal standard.

Alderson Lemke moved to recommend the ordinance changes to the Common Council; Alderson Talmans Laban seconded. The committee voted unanimously to forward the draft amendment as a first reading, noting it will still require council readings and any bond-schedule updates would be added to the municipal bond schedule.

Ending

The recommendation will be forwarded to the Common Council for consideration. City staff said the proposal aims to align Waukesha’s enforcement tools and fines with surrounding communities and to give police prompt remedies for vehicles that pose public-safety or access problems.