1. CALL TO ORDER

Chair Shirley Doering called the meeting of the Urban Affairs Committee to order at 7:00 p.m.

Members Present: Robin Curran, Shirley Doering, Shelley Madore, Sharon Schwartz and Sandy Wagner. Barry Berg arrived at 7:25 p.m.

Members Absent: Pam Sohlberg.

Staff Present: Police Captain Craig Anglin and Assistant Planner Kathy Bodmer

Guests Present: Bob Gerrits, 13180 Findlay Avenue.

2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

MOTION: Sandy Wagner moved, seconded by Sharon Schwartz, to approve the agenda. The motion carried 5-0.

3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MAY 23, 2000

MOTION: Sharon Schwartz moved, seconded by Shelley Madore, to approve the minutes of the May 23, 2000 meeting. Motion carried 5-0.

4. DISCUSSION ITEMS

A. LATE NIGHT PARKING RESTRICTIONS - 3:00 A.M. TO 6:00 A.M.

Chair Shirley Doering opened the discussion by noting that a report had been prepared by staff that discussed the reasons why the ordinance was created and why staff feels it should remain in place. The Chair asked for the committee member's comments regarding the ordinance.

Shelley Madore stated that she absolutely agreed that the provision should remain in place. Shelley said she moved to Apple Valley from a city that allowed overnight on-street parking. She stated that if cars are left in the street they can leak oil. All night parking promotes loitering in the neighborhood and it hinders snow plowing. Shelley asked whether residents are aware of the ordinance.

Craig Anglin stated that the City tries to be diligent in informing residents of the ordinance requirements. Signs are posted on the City borders that state the overnight parking ban. In addition, the information is posted on the City's website and on the City's Cable Channel.

Sandy Wagner asked if the City still mails out new resident packets and whether the overnight parking information is provided there. Kathy Bodmer confirmed that the ordinance requirements are provided in the new resident packets.

Robin Curran stated that she is in the middle as far as the ordinance goes. She likes keeping the streets free and knowing which cars belong to whom.

Bob Gerrits stated that that is the job of neighbors to know which cars belong in the neighborhood and which ones don't. Bob explained that he has a two-car garage. He parks one car in the garage and his daughter parks in the street. When his wife and son get home the cars need to be jockeyed around. Sometimes his daughter forgets to pull the car back up into the driveway.

Sharon Schwartz stated that she has lived in Apple Valley since 1974. She said a neighbor across the street has a car parked in the driveway that hasn't moved for 6 months. She said that if the City allowed overnight parking, this car would probably be parked in the street. She said she was concerned about junk vehicles being parked in the street. She also stated that she had safety concerns, with kids running out from parked vehicles.

Bob Gerrits asked how many children are out running from parked cars at 3:00 in the morning. Sharon stated that allowing overnight parking would promote on-street parking all of the time.

Bob Gerrits left the meeting.

Shelley stated that the overnight parking restriction keeps the City neat and tidy. She has a neighbor that keeps a car on the driveway all the time. This car is leaking oil. She said she is concerned that if overnight parking was allowed, this car would be parked on the street and leak oil into the gutter and storm sewer.

Craig stated that in the early 80's the City Council reviewed the overnight parking ordinance. At that time the ordinance prohibited overnight parking from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. At that time there were no allowances for extenuating circumstances. The ordinance was then revised to restrict parking from 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m., and also allowed cars to be parked on the street if the driveway is full. Craig noted that residents do call the police department when they have a special circumstance. Police staff will attempt to help the resident with their parking concerns.

Robin stated that she understood Bob's situation. She has four adult children. Her mother received a ticket when she visited recently because she parked on the street overnight. Although the parking restriction is inconvenient, Robin said she wouldn't want it changed.

Sandy Wagner noted that according to Craig's memo that it seems like the judges will look at the circumstances when someone is ticketed. But repeat offenders probably aren't given a break.

Barry Berg stated that it's important to note that the ordinance does not prevent crimes that would occur between 11:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. He said that prevention of crime shouldn't be listed as a reason for having the 3:00 to 6:00 parking ban.

Craig noted that car vandalism typically occurs after 11:00 p.m. But, people park their cars up on their driveways when they go to bed at night. As a result, City streets are usually clear by 11:00 p.m.

Barry suggested that an alternative would be to have people purchase tickets which could be obtained from the City website. These could be charged on the resident's utility bill. If it was about $5.00, people might use it a couple of days, but they wouldn't want to pay to park on the street long-term. The people who purchase these tickets would be entered into a database that could be accessed by dispatch. When an officer sees a car parked overnight, dispatch could easily look up the database to see if the person had paid to park on the street.

Craig noted that paying to park on the street would be like having to "rent" a space. Kathy Bodmer noted that the current ordinance ensures that except for the special situations, the streets are clear at night.

Sandy said that the City would look bad if people had to pay to park in the street. It would look like the City is trying to make money.

Robin stated that the ordinance is user-friendly and it shouldn't be changed.

Shelley said aesthetically it looks better to have the streets clear. Sharon noted that the City has always had an aesthetic value. When she moved to the City, she liked the appearance of Apple Valley neighborhoods. They are neat and tidy. This value is shown in the City's garbage placement ordinance. No garbage placed on the street is an aesthetic value.

Barry stated that ordinances cannot be based on aesthetics. Sharon noted that there are health and safety reasons for not allowing overnight parking. She stated that nuisance issues are also addressed by the ordinance. Sometimes people have to park on the street because they don't have enough room in their garage.

MOTION: Sandy Wagner moved, strongly seconded by Shelley Madore, to recommend that no changes be made to the current overnight parking requirements. Motion carried 6-0.

5. ADJOURNMENT

MOTION: Sharon Schwartz moved, seconded by Sandy Wagner to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.