New Braunfels council approves first reading of civil parking enforcement ordinance

The New Braunfels City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance on Monday that converts certain paid public-parking violations from criminal citations to civil citations, establishes an administrative hearing process, and authorizes vehicle immobilization for repeat unpaid violations.

City Attorney Val Acevedo said the measure narrows the decriminalization to a handful of parking offenses: failing to pay for a city-owned paid parking space, parking outside a delineated space, and occupying a space meant for another vehicle. Acevedo said the only criminal offense retained is interfering with enforcement, which remains a Class C misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine in New Braunfels Municipal Court.

Supporters of the change, led by Jeff Jewell, the city's economic and community development director, said the ordinance implements recommendations from a 2023 operations and management study and is intended…