Ordinance committee asks legal and public-health staff to redraft vehicle-parking amendment after concerns about scope and enforcement

The Holyoke City Ordinance Committee voted to refer a proposed amendment that would prohibit parking in front, side and rear yards back to the law department and the Board of Health for further drafting and comment.

Chair Meg McGrath Smith introduced the change to Ordinance 86-1-34(b), saying the addition of “side yard or rear yard” is intended to address concentrated, high-volume vehicle storage at specific properties. Solicitor Mike Bissonnette told the committee the draft responds to an incident at 170 Mountain View Drive and that courts generally treat municipal parking fines as assessed per violation, per day: “Every violation is a singular instance, and it happened every single 24 hour period,” he said.

Councilors pressed a range of drafting questions. Councilor Devine proposed explicitly including unregistered vehicles; Councilor Israel Rivera argued enforcement—not new policy—may be the main problem; and Councilor Linda Bacon warned the change might criminalize ordinary household circumstances where multiple licensed drivers share one driveway.

Members asked whether the draft should set a numeric threshold (how many vehicles constitute a violation), allow temporary exceptions for weather or emergency circumstances, and confirm whether vehicle-related soil contamination concerns warrant consultation with the Board of Health. After discussion, the committee approved Councilor Macon’s motion to send the ordinance back to legal with a list of specific drafting questions and to request the Board of Health’s feedback before the committee takes the matter up again.

The committee took no final regulatory action tonight; staff will return with redlined language and the Board of Health’s input for another committee review.