(a) The County Council finds that the health, safety, and welfare of many residents of the County are adversely affected by major public facilities and government actions. Certain public facilities and land uses which result from government actions, including zoning, cause nonresidents to park on streets in certain residential neighborhoods. Nonresident parking can restrict access by residents to street parking, increase air and noise pollution, and create unsafe traffic conditions. The Council enacts this Section to relieve these conditions, encourage mass transit use, and promote the health, safety, and welfare of County residents.
(b) The County Executive may by regulation adopted under Method (3) create, modify, or discontinue a parking permit area in which parking is restricted on specified streets to holders of parking permits issued under this Section. The Executive must consider the creation of a parking permit area upon petition by the residents of a given area. This authority is in addition to any other authority the Executive has to regulate motor vehicle parking.
(c) In designating a parking permit area the Executive must take into account:
(1) the effect on the safety of resident of the are of intensive use by nonresidents for parking of vehicles;
(2) the need of the residents of the area to obtain adequate on-street parking near their residences;
(3) the difficulty that residences of the area have in securing adequate on-street parking near their residences because of widespread use of available parking spaces by nonresidents;
(4) the impact of major public facilities and programs on the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the area;
(5) the impact of nearby facilities used by the public on the availability of on-street parking for areas residents;
(6) the likelihood of increasing the availability of residential parking spaces through a parking permit system;
(7) the desire of the residents in the area for a parking permit system;
(8) the fact that the residents of an area have contributed to the cost of construction or improvement of streets in the area by direct assessment or indirectly in purchase or rental prices;
(9) the need for some parking spaces to be available in the area for use by nonresidents; and
(10) other factors the Executive finds relevant.
(d) The Executive or the Executive’s designee must hold a public hearing before creating or discontinuing a parking permit area or modifying the boundaries of an existing area. Any interested person may speak at the public hearing. The hearing must be held after due notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the County. The notice must clearly state the proposed action, the exact location of the parking permit area, and where to obtain more information. The additional information must include the reasons for creating, modifying, or discontinuing a parking permit area and any other relevant information. A similar public notice must be prominently posted within the proposed parking permit area.
(e) The Executive must decide whether to create, modify, or discontinue a parking permit area within 30 days after the public hearing or period of public comment closes. The Executive may extend the time of decision for 30 days. The Executive must mail a written copy of the decision to any person who submitted written comments or spoke at the public hearing.
(f) After a parking permit area is created, or modified the Executive or the Executive’s designee must issue appropriate parking permits and post parking signs in the area, indicating the times, locations and conditions under which a parking permit is required. Permits must be issued only to persons residing on property immediately adjacent to a street or road in the parking permit area. A permit remains valid during the period for which the permit is issued and must be renewed periodically. The Executive must adopt Regulations under method (2) to establish when a permit must be renewed. If a permit holder stops residing in a parking permit area before the permit expires, the permit then becomes invalid. A permit may be transferred only in accordance with regulations adopted by the Executive.
(g) The Executive may adopt regulations under Method (2) to implement this Section.
(h) The Council by resolution adopted under Section 2-57A must establish fees in amounts sufficient to pay the costs incidental to issuing and renewing of permits under this Section.
(i) A person must not park any vehicle or use any parking permit in a manner contrary to this Section or regulations adopted under it. (1978 L.M.C., ch. 7, § 2; 1984 L.M.C., ch. 24, § 36; 1985 L.M.C., ch. 13, § 2; CY 1991 L.M.C., ch. 43, § 1; , § 1; , § 1.)
Editor’s note—See County Attorney Opinion dated indicating that long-term parking on public streets is prohibited in certain circumstances, but not based on the size of the vehicle.
2004 L.M.C., ch. 16, § 2, states in part: Any fee, charge, or fare in effect when this Act takes effect [July 22, 2004] must remain in effect until amended by Council resolution as provided in Section 2-57, as amended by Section 1 of this Act.
