Carmel committee weighs expanded right‑of‑way parking ordinance, new fees and updated micro‑mobility definitions

The Land Use and Special Studies Committee met May 21 at the Carmel Library to review a proposed update to the city’s right‑of‑way parking ordinance (draft Section 6.63), which would expand prohibitions to include certain equipment placed on sidewalks, multiuse paths, bicycle lanes and roadways, revise permit responsibility and fee schedules, clarify exceptions and enforcement roles, and modernize micro‑mobility definitions. Sergei, city attorney, led the ordinance review; Jeremy Cashman, chief infrastructure officer, and Mike Halvall, director of DOCS, answered operational questions. No formal vote was taken.

Committee members and staff said the draft broadens the ordinance beyond motor vehicles to cover ‘‘equipment’’ — defined in the draft as ‘‘any tool, fixture, piece of construction equipment, or object placed on, blocking or obstructing any portion of city sidewalk, multiuse path, bicycle lane or roadway.’’ Sergei said the change was intended to capture items such as lifts and other non‑motorized construction equipment that can block pedestrian and bike facilities: "Equipment is defined in subsection a in definitions and this is any tool fixture piece of construction equipment, or object placed on blocking or obstructing any portion of city sidewalk multiuse path, bicycle lane or roadway."

The draft includes a list of exceptions discussed at length: city‑owned vehicles performing city business; city‑contracted vehicles displaying a contractor permit; vehicles and placements approved by the Board of Public Works and Safety (BPW) for…