Resident urges Manassas Park to revise West Side driveway and parking rules

Mike Smith, a Manassas Park resident who spoke during public comment at the April 1 meeting, urged the governing body to revise local driveway and off‑street parking rules for the city’s older West Side neighborhoods. He said the existing 20‑foot limitation stems from “a single sentence” in city code section 31‑30 that the city’s records show has not been updated in more than 20 years and may conflict with newer code provisions in section 31‑27 on off‑street parking.

Smith said narrow, irregular lots and street layouts on the West Side make a uniform 20‑foot rule impractical, and he described water runoff into neighbors’ yards where homeowners have widened driveways. "I would propose that the city pick a number, say, 50% of the total lot size, and say that is the amount that you can have developed," Smith said, arguing a percentage‑based approach would be simpler to administer and help curb overdevelopment on lots originally platted in the 1940s and 1950s.

The resident noted practical concerns such as sidewalks, fire hydrants, utility poles and steep terrain that complicate adding off‑street parking, and said some households include multiple generations and work vehicles that increase demand for spaces. He urged the city to encourage properly constructed off‑street parking rather than permit gravel patches or indiscriminate paving.

City officials asked Smith to submit his full comments by email for the record; the council did not take formal action on the suggestion at the meeting. The comment will remain part of the public record for future planning or code‑revision discussions.