HOWELL – The Township Council addressed several parking-related matters during a recent meeting.
The meeting started off with several reports by the department officials. One of the officials commended the efforts of the town’s residents to get their cars off the street before the snowstorm that hit. According to the official, snowplows and other snow removal equipment were able to get closer to the curb than they have been in other recent storms because of the efforts made by the town’s residents to get their cars off the street, as is regulated by township law.
The second parking-related topic discussed at the Town Council meeting has to do with the special workshop meetings for ordinance 26-02. Ordinance 26-02 was an ordinance introduced by the Howell Town Council that would ban overnight parking on residential streets between 1-5 a.m. for vehicles without a permit. This ordinance will only go into effect in certain areas deemed to be residential by the town.
The goal of the ordinance is to reduce overcrowding on residential roads that are not built to handle it. Mayor John Leggio stated on the night of the ordinance’s introduction that it is the aim of this ordinance to be context-neutral and fair to everyone.
The town has set up special workshops and educational sessions for the public to ask questions before the ordinance goes up for adoption. The first one took place in February, while the second was supposed to take place on March 3. That one is going to be rescheduled, with the tentative date being March 31, according to the mayor. Notices will be put on the townships’ website and social media accounts once a date is confirmed. This ordinance will not be adopted until the special township workshops have been concluded, per the town council.
The final parking-related matter that was tackled was the passage of ordinance 26-06. Ordinance 26-06 is an ordinance amending chapters of the revised general ordinances of the Township of Howell to amend and add parking regulations related to on and off-street parking. Over the past few meetings, there has been much confusion between this ordinance and Ordinance 26-02.
According to the department officials, Ordinance 26-06 does not have any relation to Ordinance 26-02 and does not have anything to do with the proposed parking permit legislation that Ordinance 26-02 carries.
Instead, Ordinance 26-06 has to do with overnight parking on municipal property and several issues that have arisen because of that. According to the ordinance, the Township has received numerous complaints regarding overnight and long-term parking on municipal property, including municipal parking lots, parks, and public rights-of-way, which has resulted in safety concerns, interference with municipal operations, and improper storage of vehicles on public property. On top of that, the Township has also received numerous complaints concerning the parking and storage of motor vehicles on front lawns, which negatively impacts neighborhood aesthetics, leads to a reduction in property values, and interferes with the residential character of neighborhoods.
To deal with these issues, the ordinance decrees that no person shall park or leave any motor vehicle on municipal property overnight or long term, unless expressly authorized by the Township. Those who violate will be hit with a $50 fine, with repeat offenders paying more. To deal with the issues of people parking motor vehicles on lawns, the ordinance states that no motor vehicle, whether registered or unregistered, operable or inoperable, may be parked, stored, or placed on the front lawn or front yard area of any property except during a snow emergency.
The ordinance then goes into detail about what constitutes a front lawn in the eyes of this law. Parking shall be permitted on approved driveways, garages, closed structures, or other lawfully established parking surfaces.
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