Council weighs jury-parking waiver, veterans and disabled exemptions for downtown timed parking

The Amarillo City Council discussed formalizing temporary and permanent exceptions to downtown timed parking after Potter County’s courthouse-demolition displaced juror parking and renewed complaints from downtown businesses.

City staff said Potter County’s demolition of the old courthouse removed roughly 150 off‑street spaces used by employees and jurors, and the county asked the city to ease enforcement for people serving jury duty. The city is running a pilot in which jurors submit proof of service to municipal court for citation dismissal. Staff described options for making juror service an affirmative defense or creating an administrative waiver process.

Deputy city staff explained the practical difference between juror exemptions (which are determined after the fact) and exemptions tied to placards: disabled placards and some veteran exemptions can be observed up front by enforcement officers, while juror service requires later verification. The council also discussed whether to allow business‑level adjustments to time limits (for example, shorter curb time outside a dry cleaner), but staff warned patchwork rules can be hard to enforce and produce confusing signs.

Council members generally supported continuing the pilot with Potter County and encouraged staff to promote use of available parking (including a 150‑space parking garage) and to set up a clear validation/dismissal process for juror citations. Several council members asked staff to return with ordinance language to add a blanket disabled/handicap placard exemption and to explore how to incorporate veteran exemptions already listed in city code.

No ordinance change was adopted at the meeting; council gave staff direction to keep the pilot in place and to draft ordinance language for future consideration.