Pinal County staff outline proposed county parking ordinance to regulate street parking in unincorporated areas

Pinal County Engineer Chris Wanamaker on Wednesday presented a draft county parking ordinance intended to regulate vehicle parking on public rights-of-way in unincorporated areas and give the county additional enforcement tools.

Wanamaker told the Board of Supervisors the county currently has no ordinance covering parking on public streets and that enforcement is “kind of a free for all,” with towing as the county’s only current remedy. He said the ordinance is being advanced in part because of a recent state statutory change stemming from House Bill 2,298 and cited “state statute, 33‑18‑18” as changing how homeowners associations may regulate parking on public streets.

The draft ordinance would: authorize the Board and the county engineer to designate no‑parking zones (including after engineering studies for traffic safety); create a resident petition process to establish a no‑parking zone on a street; prohibit heavy trucks (staff said the heavy‑truck threshold matches the county’s zoning code and was stated as 19,500 pounds) and recreational vehicles from parking on public streets in residential zones with more than two dwelling units per acre; and bar inoperable vehicles from remaining on a public street for more than 48 consecutive hours.

Nut graf: County staff said the measure is intended to give county law enforcement and code compliance clearer, enforceable authority where homeowners associations can no longer regulate street parking, and to balance safety, access for emergency vehicles and residents’ needs.

In discussion, supervisors raised practical concerns about where commercial drivers would park work trucks, whether parking on private property or driveways would be permitted, and the ordinance’s interaction with existing code enforcement. Wanamaker said the ordinance applies only to the public right-of-way and does not create rules for private property; questions about parking on private lots would be handled by code compliance. Supervisors also noted likely unintended consequences — for example, increased driveway paving to avoid on-street restrictions — and asked about exemptions for on‑call public‑safety or utility vehicles. County staff said public‑safety vehicles are exempt under state statute and that routine lineman or on‑call utility vehicles would be considered for exemptions on a case‑by‑case basis.

Enforcement provisions in the draft would permit the sheriff’s office and code compliance to issue warnings, levy $250 citations, immobilize vehicles or tow them. Wanamaker said the county expects enforcement to be complaint driven and not an ongoing patrol effort.

Staff said they met with multiple homeowners associations and eight members of the public who reviewed the draft and provided feedback; commenters favored stricter rules in some cases (some suggested a 24‑hour limit instead of 48) while others asked for permit options for temporary RV parking. Wanamaker said staff kept the draft deliberately simple to ease enforcement and avoid an administratively heavy permit system.

On schedule, Wanamaker told the board the next steps are distribution of printed copies of the draft, a published notice of hearing and a target public hearing and potential adoption on July 2, with an effective date of August 2. He also reminded the board that, per staff, homeowners associations formed under CC&Rs recorded before Jan. 1, 2015 must vote by June 30 to keep their private parking regulations in effect; Wanamaker said the county ordinance would be available to address problems whether HOAs retain their authority or not.

Ending: The board did not take a formal vote at the work session; staff left the ordinance available for further public engagement and the board will consider the item at future advertised hearings per the timeline staff presented.