Sydney council directs staff to draft weekday 2-hour downtown parking ordinance

The City of Sydney City Council on June 10 directed staff to draft an ordinance to enforce two-hour parking during weekday business hours in the downtown Illinois Street/Tenth Avenue area and return the draft at the July meeting.

Council members said the move follows repeated complaints about all-day parking in front of storefronts and a staff review that flagged practical and legal enforcement challenges. The council voted 5-0 to have the city clerk, city manager and city attorney prepare ordinance language reflecting “option 2” — enforcing two-hour limits during peak business hours — for council review at the July meeting.

The decision came after Sam Lovano, who led the staff presentation, outlined four options: install parking meters, enforce only during certain hours, remove the two-hour limit entirely, or maintain the status quo. Lovano told the council that enforcing a broad two-hour limit is labor-intensive because officers must document non-movement and that marking tires — once a common method — has been curtailed following United States v. Jones (2012). He said consistent enforcement would demand significant officer time and could divert resources from 911 calls.

Business owners and downtown residents who spoke during public comment urged different outcomes. Several downtown retailers, including representatives from Hybe Outdoors and Andrew Holbrook of Andrew’s Trains, said they favored limiting enforcement to weekday business hours (for example, roughly 8 a.m.–5 p.m.) so short-term customers can find spaces while allowing evening and some weekend parking flexibility for long-duration activities such as movies or hair appointments. Other speakers urged exemptions for residents living above storefronts or creation of designated residential parking areas. Staff noted logistical complications for exemptions, including registering license plates and administering permits.

Councilmembers pressed staff on costs and feasibility. Lovano said installing modern, wireless parking meters would require infrastructure (wireless modems, ongoing maintenance and credit-card transaction handling) and estimated, without a formal bid, that implementation and ongoing costs could be substantial (he cited a rough yearly figure in the tens of thousands). He and the council also discussed alternatives such as targeted enforcement during peak hours, improved signage, and signage language to allow special-event exceptions.

Council direction included asking staff to survey downtown businesses as part of drafting the ordinance; a councilmember volunteered to help gather business feedback. The clerk and city attorney will prepare ordinance language and bring it back for formal consideration at the July meeting. The motion to draft the ordinance passed on a roll call vote with Koons, Sherman, Radcliffe, Bondegaard and Kirkman recorded as voting yes.

The council did not adopt enforcement procedures or a permit system at the June 10 meeting; those operational details were left to staff to propose in the draft ordinance. Staff and council repeatedly emphasized that any new enforcement plan would require clear public notice before citations were issued.

The council scheduled a further review and formal ordinance reading after staff returns with recommended language and business-survey results.