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Residents press council for permit parking and equity after 17-year dispute
Summary
Several residents told the council that permit parking requests in parts of the township have been delayed for years, calling the situation inequitable and urging the council to adopt permit parking (not a one-way pilot) to remedy long-standing disparities.
Multiple residents urged the council to act on a long-running parking dispute in a valley neighborhood that a resident said has lasted 17 years. Joy Bernett described repeated petitions since 2009 and said her street has been treated differently from an adjacent neighborhood, attributing the disparity to socioeconomic differences and pressing the council to provide the same permit parking protections.
Council members acknowledged the long history of the complaint and said several members support moving toward permit parking. Legal staff and administration cautioned that enforcement mechanisms (towing, fines) require an ordinance rather than a resolution and that coordination with police and other departments is necessary for an enforceable pilot. Council members said they would try to draft a legally enforceable measure with a sunset or pilot provision and coordinate enforcement language with the police chief and administration.
Several speakers said executive-session discussions should not block public review of parking policy, stressing transparency and objective standards for who qualifies for permit protections. Council members said administration must present a plan and the ordinance will need enforcement provisions to be effective; they discussed potentially adding a sunset provision to a pilot ordinance and the need for majority council direction to proceed.
No final ordinance was adopted at the meeting; council indicated staff will draft ordinance language and consult police and legal teams before placing a measure on a future agenda.
