Grandview Heights committees recommend permit parking zone that limits enforcement to 4–10 p.m. weekdays in new Zone B

A joint meeting of the City of Grandview Heights Planning & Administration and Safety committees recommended approval of an ordinance to create a new residential permit parking Zone B and restrict permit-only parking in that zone to 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The recommendation, forwarded to full council for final action, follows a city parking study and a community meeting in spring 2024. Committee members discussed study findings, enforcement, permit distribution, guest passes and how the change might affect nearby Columbus developments and newly occupied condominium buildings adjacent to West Third Avenue.

The ordinance under consideration was described at the meeting as “ordinance 2022501” and would add permit parking language to codified ordinances in Chapter 3.55 and Chapter 3.51. Chair, Planning & Administration Committee, opened the discussion and turned the presentation over to city staff. Director Kelker said the data “supports restricting parking to permit only from 4PM to 10PM, Monday through Friday in Zone B,” and that Zone A would remain a 24‑hour, seven‑days‑a‑week permit zone.

City staff said the parking study (conducted by a planner working through a regional planner pool identified in the meeting as Morpsey) surveyed multiple times per day and across days and seasons. The planner reported that the highest on‑street occupancy occurred about 5:30–7:30 p.m., with average occupancy across the district under 50 percent at most times and a low around noon. Staff told the committees the study showed evening weekday congestion concentrated along the petition streets and that a 4–10 p.m. restriction would address the documented peak without imposing a full 24‑hour restriction where daytime commercial parking demand exists.

Staff described implementation details included in the ordinance and in the administration plan: passes would be issued as hang tags, one hang tag per registered vehicle at the household, plus two guest passes per household; guest passes would be a different color; there would be no initial fee specified in the legislation, although staff said a small replacement fee for lost or damaged tags could be considered later; tags would be valid for an estimated three to five years; residents would be given a 60‑day window to obtain tags before enforcement began; door‑drop notifications and signage installation would precede enforcement; and the service department would manage pass distribution and program maintenance.

On enforcement, the Police Chief (unnamed) reported there had been 66 additional patrols in the area since Jan. 1, 2024, and said parking complaints would be treated as lower‑priority calls for service that officers would address as resources allowed and using officer discretion when on scene.

Residents and committee members raised concerns at length about future development across the city border in Columbus (including recently completed condominium units near West Third Avenue), weekend parking and visitor/guest demand. City staff acknowledged uncertainty in projecting future development impacts and said the ordinance and signage could be adjusted later if data showed a change in demand. Staff also said the new restriction would send a signal to developers that on‑street parking in Grandview Heights should not be treated as available parking for projects in adjacent Columbus.

Committee members asked procedural questions about how a change to 24‑hour enforcement could be requested later; staff said a petition or a formal city request could be brought and would be faster to process after signs and passes were already in place. Committeemembers also discussed business passes issued in the past and said existing business passes would be left in place for now.

After discussion, the committees voted to recommend approval of the ordinance to full council. Committee members moved and seconded the recommendation; the planning administration committee voice vote was recorded as “aye” with one committee member stating opposition to the 4–10 p.m. time frame. The recommendation moves to the council for a subsequent reading and final vote.

The committees also directed staff to proceed with outreach and implementation planning, including the 60‑day resident pickup window, signage, door drops and updating Zone A passes after Zone B roll‑out to create an accurate permit database.