Parking Permit Proposal 'Unnecessary, Entirely Bureaucratic'

To the Mayor and Council:

I am writing regarding the parking permit ordinance that you are scheduled to vote on this Monday evening. In summary, I believe this ordinance to be entirely bureaucratic, unnecessary and overly complex for the borough residents. I implore each and every one of you to vote “no” on Monday evening or at the very least table this ordinance until further analysis can be made.

I admit, this is entirely last minute on my part and I have not been following the proposal since its introduction last month. However, I hope I am not too late in at least having a conversation with any of you this weekend as to why this is even being considered for vote.

It is my understanding that this ordinance is arising from the abundant calls to county dispatch regarding overnight parking. I am not certain this is the reason, but if so, this certainly isn’t the solution. If this is perhaps an issue of revenue, there are certainly other ways to accomplish that goal as well.

Passing of this ordinance will not only make the occasional overnight parking need completely unmet, but will also cause a raft of unintended consequences. The penalties involved in violation of this ordinance are completely out of scope and leave the door open for extreme levels of punishment.

Some of the issues I have with this ordinance are:

• Vehicle weight limit of 2.5 tons – This limit would prohibit not only my personally registered pickup truck from parking overnight, but also my wife’s mid-size (2 row) SUV. How many SUVs, mini-vans, and crossovers are in this town that would automatically be prohibited from parking overnight? Why was this even considered?
• Commercial registration vs non-commercial – Why is this an issue? I am a small business owner and have parked my commercial vehicle overnight in front of my house on occasion with ZERO negative feedback from my neighbors. I also have friends with pickup trucks and other vehicles that are registered commercial but don’t appear to be commercial vehicles (but some are certainly above 2.5 tons). I understand there could be abuse of the system but we are making blanket statements without merit.
• Vehicle Registered to the Address – Why is this an issue? Here is where we fall into the realm of unintended negative consequences. Does this mean that if my mother-in-law visits, we need to put OUR vehicle on the street while hers is in our driveway? Why?
• Cost for annual overnight parking permit – Again, if this is a way to accrue revenue, there are certainly better methods. You are in effect placing a toll on municipal roads.
• Two week increments for temporary overnight parking – There are a litany of issues around this. The temporary process doesn’t allow for short-notice needs nor for increments of 13 nights or less.
• Penalties – 139-83.8 A allows for fines and penalties for violations up to $500 and 30 days imprisonment, along with a 1 year suspension of parking privileges. This I am sure will be used in extreme cases (I am not even sure what an extreme parking issue is), but to leave the door open for imprisonment for overnight parking is absolutely ludicrous.

Not in the ordinance, but commented on in a recent “Chatham Patch” article is that “…the application should include "a survey of [the] property, photographs of the driveway and/or garage and copies of all registrations for vehicles registered at the address." What is the purpose of a survey? Why must there be photographs of the driveway and garage?

Mayor and council; I could continue with my comments but believe it better to have an open, public conversation. I am at your disposal from now until the meeting Monday night. I will also be attending the meeting Monday night in order to appeal to the better judgment that I know each and every one of you have.

Ian C. Horowitz

Chatham