Sherwood adopts new ticketing and towing rules, updates parking and police service fees

The Sherwood City Council on April 1 adopted Ordinance 2025-001 amending Sherwood Municipal Codes 8.04 and 10.08 (and removing section 9.6) to revise the city’s rules on ticketing and towing vehicles, and approved Resolution 2025-019 to update the city’s schedule of fees for parking violations and police services.

City interim attorney Sebastian Tapia told the council the ordinance adds a requirement that notifications to the registered owner or driver include the vehicle’s current location and the date and time of a potential tow and reduces the time for a person to present proof of ownership from seven business days to three to mirror state statute. “Notifications to the registered owner, the driver of the vehicle will get information about the vehicle's current location and the date and time of potential tow,” Tapia said. He also said the code now references parking lots in addition to linear paths and authorizes immediate tow in some repeat-offender situations. “We added no parking and no parking zones and authorized immediate tow, in situations where there are repeat offenses where ticketing itself isn't sufficient to change behavior,” he said.

Tapia said the ordinance removes embedded fee amounts from the code and moves them to a separate fee schedule (the resolution considered the same night). The fee schedule changes presented to council align charging for police-department public-records requests with current practice, including charging staff time beyond an initial free period and providing cost estimates before work proceeds.

Council adopted the ordinance after a second hearing and by roll-call vote. All council members present voted in favor. The companion resolution to amend section 3 of the city’s schedule of fees for parking violations and police services passed the same evening by voice vote.

Votes at a glance: • Ordinance 2025-001 — “Amending Sherwood Municipal Code 8.04 and 10.08 and removing 9.6 regarding ticketing and towing vehicles.” Motion to adopt made and seconded; roll-call vote recorded as unanimous (ayes recorded from Councilor Giles, Councilor Scott, Councilor Mayes, Councilor Stankey, Councilor Brause, Council President Young, and Mayor Tim Rosner). Outcome: approved. • Resolution 2025-019 — “Amending section 3 of the city's schedule of fees for parking violations and police services and establishing an effective date.” Motion to approve made and seconded; passed by council voice vote. Outcome: approved. • Consent: Resolution 2025-0018 — “Authorizing the city manager to execute a construction contract for the Edie Road grind and inlay project.” Approved on consent. Outcome: approved.

Discussion and next steps: Tapia said the ordinance was before council for a second hearing and a decision could be made that night; council elected to adopt it. The resolution aligns fees with the new ordinance and the city’s records-request policy; staff said records-request estimates are provided to requesters, a deposit is collected, and staff will contact requesters if estimates must be revised. The effective date(s) for the ordinance and resolution were not specified on the record.

The council did not receive public testimony on these items during the meeting’s hearings.