Council agrees to 48‑hour residential RV exception as parking ordinance goes to consent

Police Chief Mitchell presented a text amendment to update the city's 2006 parking ordinance, saying the change "will allow us to update our 2006 ordinance... and a designated parking citation will allow officers to issue citations after reasonably making an attempt to correct the issue," and that the update is intended to improve enforcement consistency and to anticipate parking pressures near town center and new developments.

Councilmembers extensively discussed residential exceptions for recreational vehicles and trailers. The staff draft proposed a 24‑hour window to allow short‑term loading and unloading; several councilmembers said 24 hours would be too restrictive for residents preparing for trips or conducting minor repairs. One councilmember asked the chief whether the first enforcement step would be a warning; Chief Mitchell said yes and added staff would pull compliance data after 90–120 days to see whether the ordinance needed further tuning.

Council discussion also covered fine levels and enforcement intent. A councilmember asked why nonmoving parking fines were set around $50–$75, observing that residents sometimes perceive such fines as revenue-raising; Chief Mitchell and staff said fine amounts are commonly set by municipal court practice and compared with neighboring cities. After debate, the council expressed consensus to change the residential recreational-vehicle allowance from 24 hours to 48 hours and to keep the fines as proposed. Staff said they would revise the ordinance to reflect the 48‑hour exception and prepare it for the consent agenda.

Because the body reached a consensus rather than recording a formal roll-call vote at this meeting, the ordinance will return to a council packet with the 48‑hour change incorporated and be placed on the consent agenda if the full council agrees at that time.