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Chester leaders preview booting rules, parking-tax changes and stadium parking zone
Summary
City officials described a package of parking measures including a booting ordinance, a reduction in an unenforceable parking-tax penalty with an amnesty program, a proposed stadium-district dynamic-pricing zone and an amusement tax; the city also recommended continuing with Premium Parking as its manager.
Mayor opened the deliberative session and asked sponsors to present their items directly to council. A staff presenter described a set of proposed parking laws and programs that the city will consider at its next council meeting.
The presenter said Bill 2 would "establish a booting and vehicle immobilization policy and procedure," defining booted vehicles and criteria for enforcement, and giving the city a tool to collect unpaid citations. "This is an enforcement mechanism so that we can do a better job on the enforcement side and collecting of unpaid citations," the presenter said.
Bill 3 would amend the existing parking-tax ordinance by replacing an arguably unenforceable 50% penalty with a 10% penalty and creating a targeted amnesty program. The amnesty is aimed at parking operators around Subaru Park, where staff said many lots have not been paying the parking tax; persistent nonpayment could still lead to property liens, the presenter said.
Bill 4 would create a stadium-district zone that allows dynamic on-street pricing on game days (MLS and other events at Subaru Park) and resident parking exemptions; council would set visitor rates if the zone is adopted. The presenter said the goal is to capture revenue the city currently does not collect when event parking spills onto nearby streets.
In a related item, staff said Bill 5 would establish a 5% amusement tax on ticket sales for larger, ticketed events, with exemptions for small events (including school events and very small venues under stated thresholds).
Council and staff tied those proposals to a pending vendor-selection action. Chief Moore and other staff reported that an RFP for parking-management services yielded three respondents; the city's current vendor, Premium Parking, was judged the most responsive. Chief Moore said the recommended contract would not exceed $125,000 in city costs and that coupling enforcement tools (such as the proposed booting ordinance) with a responsive vendor should improve collections and allow Premium Parking to manage dynamic street fees around the stadium.
Next steps: council sponsors presented the ordinances and staff will circulate final drafts and cost estimates before the formal council meeting where the items are scheduled for consideration. No votes were recorded during the deliberative session.
