Brook Park council delays decision on tougher parking penalties, schedules full caucus review

Brook Park City Council members on Tuesday debated an ordinance that would change penalties for violations of the city’s parking code, then voted to send the item to the full caucus for additional review.

The measure, identified in committee as an amendment to section 351.99(A) of the Brook Park Codified Ordinances, would raise some parking violations from a fourth-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree misdemeanor, according to the law department. "It simply enhances the penalty, and changes whoever violates any provision of this particular chapter ... Instead of being guilty of a fourth-degree misdemeanor, it's up to a third-degree misdemeanor," said Law Director Carol Orban during the legislative committee discussion.

Council members diverged over whether the ordinance as written would fairly target repeat offenders or disproportionately punish first-time or minor infractions. Councilman Troyer said he favors a tiered approach that treats one-off mistakes differently from habitual violators: "I don't think first-time offenders should get a third-degree misdemeanor," he said, describing overnight parking as the kind of offense that should not automatically carry a higher criminal classification.

Councilwoman Dufour said the city has a particular problem reconciling the handicap-parking penalty structure with the broader parking code. She said the code currently allows a $500 fine for handicap parking violations but that the contested section limits some fines to $250. "There's that incongruence between the two. That's the issue we're trying to solve here," Dufour said, and she urged further council discussion with the full membership.

Supporters said the rule change would allow the city to escalate penalties for repeat offenses. Councilman McCorkle and others described improved enforcement in recent months and urged a clearer legal framework so police and prosecutors could pursue habitual violators more effectively. Troyer and others rebutted that enforcement practice has historically capped overnight parking penalties well below the ordinance maximum: in committee Troyer said the safety director told him the maximum currently charged for an unpaid overnight parking violation had been $50 in practice.

Because several council members were absent, and because members asked for broader input and clearer statutory language, the legislative committee voted to place the ordinance on the March 11 full caucus agenda for additional review. The motion to place the item on that meeting passed 5-1. The motion was made by Councilman Troyer and supported by Councilman Mancini. The roll call recorded yes votes from Troyer, Mancini, McCorkle, Roberts and Dufour and a no from Councilman Scott.

The ordinance was originally introduced in 2024 and has been before council and committee multiple times; proponents said leaving it on the calendar would extend resolution of the matter toward a final vote rather than allow it to lapse. The legislative committee did not adopt any change to the ordinance at Tuesday’s meeting; members directed staff and the law department to prepare a clarified drafting and to return the measure for full-council consideration on March 11.

Clarifying details and next steps from the meeting include that the proposed text mirrors language already used elsewhere in the codified ordinances (section 351.04) and that any final penalty schedule will depend on whether the council adopts a tiered approach and how enforcement practices are formalized. The March 11 caucus is the next scheduled opportunity for full council review and potential floor action.