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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 3321-2022Sponsored by: Legal New Text Underlined; [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] CITY OF KENAI ORDINANCE NO. 3321-2022 AN ORDINANCE REPEALING KENAI MUNICIPAL CODE SECTIONS 13.30.030- NIGHT PARKING PROHIBITED, 13.30.050- SIGNS BEARING THE LEGEND, AND 13.30.100- PARKING PROHIBITED ON KENAI AVENUE, AND REENACTING AND RENAMING KENAI MUNICIPAL CODE 13.30.030- STREET PARKING PROHIBITIONS, TO ALLOW GREATER FLEXIBILITY IN REGULATING STREET PARKING IN THE CITY. WHEREAS, street parking regulations that address public safety, summer and winter maintenance activities, and allow for sufficient residential, recreational and business needs best serve the City; and, WHEREAS, the City has a variety of residential neighborhoods and business areas with varying densities, lot sizes and street widths that have different street parking needs and maintenance requirements; and, WHEREAS, it is unnecessarily cumbersome to regulate street parking specifics through an ordinance process that often requires 60 days at a minimum to become effective; and, WHEREAS, the current City Ordinances addressing street parking do not provide the necessary flexibility to meet the City’s needs; and, WHEREAS, KMC 13.30.030- Night Parking Prohibited, prohibits parking on all City Streets between 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. from October 1st to May 1st the following year; and, WHEREAS, this requirement treats all City streets the same, and fails to address winter street maintenance needs that occur outside the specified 4 hours; and, WHEREAS, a preferred approach is to allow the City Manager or designee with input from various departments to determine parking prohibitions for each street and delineate the same with clearly posted signage giving adequate public notice; and, WHEREAS, likely these parking restrictions would include seasonal prohibitions for on street parking strictly enforced during weather events requiring winter maintenance; and, WHEREAS, KMC 13.30.050- Signs Bearing the Legend, designates where seasonal parking signs are to be placed within the City; and, WHEREAS, KMC 13.30.095- Parking Prohibited on Kenai Avenue, prohibits parking on Kenai Avenue at all times with limited exceptions; and, WHEREAS, while it likely will be necessary to maintain current parking prohibitions on Kenai Avenue, a better approach to street parking prohibitions throughout the City is to allow the City Manager or designee to address parking prohibitions City wide after input from various city departments as needed; and, WHEREAS, this Ordinance will not impact current parking regulations in the City that are adequately signed to provide sufficient public notice, unless and until such signage is changed or removed. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, AS FOLLOWS: AMENDED BY SUBSTITUTION Ordinance No. 3321-2022 Page 2 of 3 New Text Underlined; [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] Section 1. Repeal, Rename and Reenact Section 13.30.030 of Kenai Municipal Code: That Kenai Municipal Code, Section 13.30.030-Night parking prohibited, is hereby repealed, renamed, and reenacted as follows: 13.30.030 [NIGHT PARKING PROHIBITED] STREET PARKING PROHIBITIONS. [AFTER OCTOBER 1ST OF EACH FALL AND UNTIL MAY 1ST OF THE FOLLOWING YEAR, NO PERSON SHALL LEAVE ANY VEHICLE UNATTENDED ON ANY CITY STREET BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 4:00 A.M. AND 8:00 A.M. OF ANY DAY] The City Manager or designee will designate street parking restrictions in the City effective after posting of signage sufficient to provide reasonable public notice. Changes to street parking in the City will be reported to the City Council as soon as practicable. Section 2. Repeal of Section 13.30.050 of Kenai Municipal Code: That Kenai Municipal Code, Section 13.30.050-Signs Bearing the Legend, is hereby repealed: [13.30.050 SIGNS BEARING THE LEGEND. (A) SIGNS BEARING THE LEGEND: “PARKING PROHIBITED ON ALL CITY STREETS 4:00 A.M. TO 8:00 A.M., OCTOBER 1 TO MAY 1,” SHALL BE PLACED IN THE LOCATIONS LISTED BELOW AND AT SUCH OTHER LOCATIONS AS THE CITY MANAGER MAY DESIGNATE SO AS TO PUT VEHICLE OWNERS AND OPERATORS ON NOTICE OF THE REGULATIONS. (B) MILE 4, KENAI SPUR HIGHWAY TO MILE 15 OF THE KENAI SPUR HIGHWAY, ON ARTERIALS LEADING FROM THE KENAI SPUR ROAD TO PRIMARY RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL AREAS. (C) WITHIN THE SUBDIVISION LYING SOUTH OF THE KENAI RIVER AND WEST OF THE KENAI BRIDGE, COMMONLY KNOWN AS VIP PARK ESTATES, VIP RANCH ESTATES, AND VIP COUNTRY ESTATES. (D) STREETS MISSING THE ABOVE-MENTIONED SIGNS ARE STILL SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF KMC 13.30.030 THROUGH 13.30.040.] Section 3. Repeal of Section 13.30.095 of Kenai Municipal Code: That Kenai Municipal Code, Section 13.30.095-Parking prohibited on Kenai Avenue, is hereby repealed, renamed, and reenacted as follows: [13.30.095 Parking prohibited on Kenai Avenue. NO PERSON SHALL PARK A VEHICLE ON KENAI AVENUE. THE ONLY EXCEPTION TO THIS IS IN AREAS MARKED FOR “LOADING/UNLOADING ONLY” AND/OR SPACES MARKED “HANDICAPPED.” VEHICLES IN VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE SUBJECT TO IMPOUND. A SIGN BEARING A LEGEND SIMILAR TO “PARKING PROHIBITED ON KENAI AVENUE EXCEPT IN DESIGNATED LOADING/UNLOADING AND HANDICAPPED ZONES IS PROHIBITED. VIOLATORS ARE SUBJECT TO IMPOUND” SHALL BE PLACED AT Ordinance No. 3321-2022 Page 3 of 3 New Text Underlined; [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] THE CORNER OF SOUTH SPRUCE AND KENAI AVENUE AND ANY OTHER PLACE DEEMED APPROPRIATE BY THE CITY MANAGER.] Section 4. Nothing in this ordinance shall affect current parking restrictions in the City designated by signage sufficient to give the public reasonable notice of parking restrictions, unless changed by the City Manager or designee. This Ordinance also does not restrict parking restrictions in other parts of code. Section 5. Severability: That if any part or provision of this ordinance or application thereof to any person or circumstances is adjudged invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall be confined in its operation to the part, provision, or application directly involved in all controversy in which this judgment shall have been rendered, and shall not affect or impair the validity of the remainder of this title or application thereof to other persons or circumstances. The City Council hereby declares that it would have enacted the remainder of this ordinance even without such part, provision, or application. Section 6. Effective Date: That pursuant to KMC 1.15.070(f), this ordinance shall take effect 30 days after enactment. ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, THIS 21ST DAY OF DECEMBER, 2022. ___________________________________ Brian Gabriel Sr., Mayor ATTEST: ___________________________________ Michelle M. Saner, MMC, City Clerk Introduced: November 16, 2022 Enacted: December 21, 2022 Effective: January 20, 2023 MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor Gabriel and Council Members FROM: Scott Bloom, City Attorney DATE: November 9, 2022 SUBJECT: Ordinance No. 3321-2022 After discussion with City Council at the November 2, 2022 regular Council meeting, Administration met and discussed current street parking restriction and changes that could be made to meet various City needs including snow maintenance activities. The current regulations are a one size fits all, that prohibits winter parking from 4:00 to 8:00 am on all city streets and prohibits parking on Kenai Avenue. Discussions with the Public Works Department and Police Department emphasized two main points: 1) not all maintenance activities occur between 4:00 and 8:00 in the morning, so this restriction is generally insufficient; 2) there are many areas of the City with different densities, uses and street widths that make a one size fits all approach to city parking ineffective. The proposed changes to street parking ordinances in this section eliminate current specific parking restrictions and provides authority to the City Manager or designee to regulate parking in the City effective after posting of signage providing adequate public notice and requires reporting of changes to the Council. This approach allows parking restrictions to vary in areas of the City as needed and allows changes to be made without a lengthy 60 day ordinance. Administrative discussion concluded with a plan to post signage where needed prohibiting all winter parking on streets with signage to include language that it will be strictly enforced during snow maintenance activities. Additionally Administration will work to provide improved public notice, both in general and targeted to certain areas of City maintenance needs and parking restrictions. The legal department will work with the State Court System to make necessary changes to the City’s minor offense schedule to effectively enforce violations of City parking regulations. Your consideration is appreciated.