Council reviews permit‑parking rules and considers lowering petition thresholds, extending permit duration

City staff presented a study session on the city’s Preferential Parking District (PPD) policy, reviewing the petition threshold (two‑thirds of addresses), definition of a ‘reasonably self‑contained’ district, permit counts and fees, and how other cities handle thresholds and enforcement.

Senior engineering technician Norm Ray said the policy requires petitions showing two‑thirds support (counted per legal address), peak parking demand surveys and staff investigations to determine whether problems are caused by adjacent uses. He said the city has established several PPDs since the policy’s 2017 adoption and that the program has generally covered permit and sign costs totaling about $41,000 over five years with revenue of about $50,000.

Council members explored options to aid neighborhoods that struggle to reach the two‑thirds threshold on long streets (for example, Monroe and Garfield). Options discussed included reducing the threshold to 60% or allowing an appeal process to accept a lower percentage in specific circumstances, adjusting district boundaries to smaller self‑contained areas, and using license‑plate‑reader systems as an enforcement alternative to physical permits. Police and staff noted LPR systems can be used for law‑enforcement purposes and that costs and privacy considerations would require study.

Council also favored extending permit validity from two years to five years to reduce administrative burden; staff said permits are currently $10–$20 depending on district size and that the city typically purchases permits every two years. Staff will return with options and possible policy revisions based on council direction.