Rowlett council approves amendment to residential parking rules, council asks staff to review full ordinance

Rowlett City Council on Jan. 21 approved an amendment to Chapter 22, Article 8 of the Rowlett Code of Ordinances governing allowed parking surfaces on residential properties.

Cory Riem, director of community development, presented revisions that would require concrete for any primary driveway regardless of location and allow certain alternative surfaces for additional parking behind the primary driveway or in rear yards, with screening required in side yards. The revisions aim to permit alternate materials for secondary parking while preserving concrete for primary access and to remove ambiguous references about visibility from the public roadway in rear yards.

Resident Mark Tashik spoke during citizens input and flagged what he described as a conflict within the draft ordinance: definitions that treat front yard to include the driveway, and an offenses section that appears to exempt the driveway. Tashik said he has a prior city citation that demonstrates the sections can be read as inconsistent and urged the council to update the full document.

Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Schindler said staff had addressed several of her prior concerns and recommended approval. City Manager David Hall told council the disagreement stemmed from different readings of the text and was not the result of a staff drafting error; he said staff would revisit other parts of the ordinance if the council wished.

Councilmember Bowers moved to approve the ordinance as revised; Councilmember Reeves seconded. The council approved the amendment by a 6‑0 vote. Several council members asked staff to review the broader ordinance text and return with any needed corrections at a later meeting.