City Committee to Consider Restarting Parking Enforcement

Members of the Pasadena City Council’s Municipal Services Committee will discuss a recommendation to resume parking enforcement efforts for daytime street sweeping and overnight parking in the city during its virtual meeting on Tuesday, July 28, starting at 4 p.m.

The city suspended the enforcement of the overnight parking ordinance as well as daytime street sweeping restrictions in March in response to the COVID-19 emergency, along with other existing parking policies such as time limits for parking in residential neighborhoods and payment at all curbside parking spaces.

On June 1, the City Council approved a recommendation to resume enforcement of metered parking spaces and time limits in residential neighborhoods, but requested the Department of Transportation to continue to relax enforcement of the overnight parking ordinance and daytime street sweeping restrictions.

This time, the Department is recommending that overnight enforcement should resume on August 18, with warnings to be issued for two weeks, and citations to resume on September 1.

This should allow parking office staff sufficient time to ensure that all pending overnight permit requests have been fulfilled before enforcement resumes, and to reconfigure enforcement schedules and patrol beats. It will also allow time for the City to inform the public about the resumption of overnight parking enforcement.

Enforcement of the overnight ordinance will also allow for street sweeping activities to return to maximum efficiency, the Transportation Department said in a report to the Municipal Services Committee.

The Committee will also consider a recommendation to allow the Transportation Department to sell emergency COVID-19 overnight parking permits for vehicles not otherwise qualified under Section 10.44.020 of the Pasadena Municipal Code to park on street. The section covers allowing overnight parking when there is no parking space available on the property designated as the applicant’s residence.

These permits will be valid for 90-day increments and can be renewed until the end of the City’s safer at home order. The permits will sell for $73.38 for the 90 days, the report said, with up to two permits allowed per address.

A low-income waiver program for overnight parking permits is also on the table for discussion Tuesday. Individuals who may be eligible for the program could receive a 50-percent discount on Annual Overnight and Temporary 90-Day Overnight permits, according to the report.

Finally, the Transportation Department also indicated they may resume non-critical vehicle impounds and booting starting on November 1, including for vehicles with five or more past due parking citations, and for vehicles with expired registrations.

After consideration by the Municipal Services Committee, the City Council could take up the final recommendations next week, the report said.

Tuesday’s virtual meeting of the Committee will be accessible through http://pasadena.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=9 and www.pasadenamedia.org.

The public can submit comments by emailing vflores@cityofpasadena.net before the meeting.