Ordinance committee sends multiple handicap and resident-parking requests to police for review, advances urgent request

The Lawrence City Ordinance Committee on Feb. 11 voted to send a string of resident and handicap-parking requests and petitions for removal to the Lawrence Police Department for review, including an urgent request for 160 Garden Street that Councilor Wendy Luzon described as a “life and death situation.”

The committee’s action covers multiple docketed items: document 494-24 (160 Garden Street), 438-24 (a broader parking ordinance submitted by another councilor), and a series of more routine petitions (documents 3225/303 Bruce Street; 33-25/19 Exchange Street; 34-25/remove sign at 57 Bigelow Street; 35-25; and 36-25/remove sign at 67 Farnham/60 Seventh Street). Members recorded votes to send each item to the Police Department for a recommendation; one item (438-24) was formally tabled pending further review.

Why it matters: curbside and handicapped parking changes are determined locally but rely on Police Department field verification and recommendations; residents and councilors said delays are producing hardship and, in one case, safety concerns.

Committee members and staff said the police were not present at the meeting, and the clerk and committee urged councilors and petitioners to contact Sergeant Panjatakas directly to request expedited handling. Councilor Wendy Luzon, who brought several requests to the committee, said constituents had been waiting months and described the request for 160 Garden Street as "a really... life and death situation." She asked the committee to record the item and seek a police update.

The committee chair moved to request the Police Department provide updates and asked committee members to contact the department if they wanted expedited handling; the motion was seconded and carried. Similar motions to forward other resident and removal requests to the Police Department for review carried on roll calls. In one case, the committee voted to table document 438-24 so staff and police could clarify whether the filing represented a new ordinance or overlapped with existing rules.

Several petition letters in the packet showed turnover at properties and requests to remove previously authorized handicap placards after tenants passed away and properties changed hands; committee members noted that signs cannot be moved informally and that police verification is standard practice before formal removal.

What happens next: the Police Department will be asked to investigate each location and return recommendations to the committee. Committee members said staffer Teresa and the clerk will collect and circulate any additional documentation from petitioners and that councilors’ direct calls to the patrol sergeant are the fastest way to request priority handling.

The committee recorded no final removals or ordinance adoptions at the meeting; all items were referred to police for follow-up or tabled for further information.