Council approves revisions to Chapter 69 parking rules and adds two accessible spaces

Bloomfield — The Bloomfield City Council approved on second reading a set of amendments to Chapter 69 of the municipal code intended to reduce informal driveways and clarify parking-surface standards, and it adopted two new accessible-parking spaces.

Council members voted to amend language that previously referenced a hard boundary for driveways and to instead require that parking areas—including gravel or crushed stone surfaces—be properly maintained to prevent rutting and deterioration and remain free of weeds and grass. The new wording also specifies that vehicle wheels and components touching the ground must be entirely on the designated parking surface and that vehicles may not drive over curbs or grassy areas to access a parking area. Council eliminated the phrase that had required driveways to be “located beside the house or in the rear yard,” replacing it with language that the driveway or drive bay must connect to a street or alley.

The council discussed municipal language used by other Iowa cities (staff cited Marshalltown and Tama as reference points) and debated whether to retain a provision about where a driveway may be placed; council members removed the restrictive “beside the house or in the rear yard” phrasing and adopted the connect-to-street-or-alley standard instead.

Separately, council approved additions to Chapter 69 (sections 6907.C and 6907.D) to add one accessible parking space with an access lane next to Bridgeman’s and a 20-foot, van-accessible parking space on the northeast corner of a specified block. The ordinance language as amended explicitly provides space and an access aisle to accommodate van-accessible vehicles.

Council then voted to waive the third reading of the ordinance amendments so the changes can move forward more quickly. The vote on the parking amendments and the accessible-parking subsections was approved by the council during the meeting; a mayoral signature or final administrative step will finalize the ordinance as required by city rules.

Why it matters: The revisions aim to reduce wear on public streets and clarify when a household may create a parking area without creating maintenance or safety problems for the public right-of-way. The accessible-parking additions put two formally designated accessible spots into the municipal code to improve compliance with mobility needs.

What’s next: Council waived the third reading; staff will prepare the final adopted ordinance and any required administrative steps for mayoral signature and implementation.