Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parking Enforcement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee advances $100 penalty for removing parking chalk marks
Summary
The Budget & Finance Committee voted to forward an ordinance to increase the penalty for removing parking chalk marks from $50 to $100, a technical change staff said clarifies the traffic code and aligns penalties with enforcement practices; committee members noted electronic chalking reduces revenue.
The Budget and Finance Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to send an ordinance to the full board that would impose a $100 penalty for removing parking chalk marks used by enforcement officers, double the current downtown parking fine.
Chair Supervisor Aaron Peskin opened consideration of the item after the clerk read the ordinance. Judson True, representing the municipal transportation staff, described the proposal as a “minor, cleanup item” to resolve contradictory traffic-code language and said the department’s intent was to make the code internally consistent. True told the committee the change is intended to ensure enforcement tools are not undermined when chalk marks are removed.
Committee members discussed how the department uses “electronic chalking” and how that practice has reduced revenue from chalk-related enforcement. Supervisor Peskin and others said the penalty is designed to discourage “cheating” by deliberately removing a chalk mark and thereby avoiding an original ticket. Budget staff and Mr. Rose noted that the change will cost more staff time to analyze than the revenue it generates, but raised no objection to forwarding the item.
With no public comment, the committee agreed—by unanimous consent—to forward the ordinance to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation.
