Council sets public hearing on ordinance to restrict parking on 300 North, directs staff to preserve cemetery access

The Willard City Council voted to move ordinance 20-26-10 (amending Chapter 18.12 to prohibit parking on 300 North) to a public hearing and directed staff to revise the draft to explicitly allow parking adjacent to the old cemetery.

Mayor pro tem (speaker 1) introduced the measure and led discussion about a local safety and access compromise. Councilors raised concerns that a blanket no-parking rule would remove the small area next to the cemetery where visitors park to tend graves; they asked staff to exclude that short segment and post cemetery-only parking there. Staff cautioned about enforceability and possible sign theft, and offered to have the city engineer verify boundary measurements. “I would entertain a motion to move this ordinance 20 26 dash 10 forward to a public hearing,” the Mayor pro tem said; staff also noted the measured distance for the proposed restriction was about 0.58 miles and offered to verify it with the engineer.

After clarifying language to allow cemetery access and discussing signage placement (including the risk of signs being stolen and enforcement limits), the council voted to set the ordinance for a public hearing on the posted date. The hearing will allow public input and give staff time to insert the cemetery exception and finalize practical signage and enforcement language.