Board Puts Brakes on Proposed Parking Change

A proposed amendment to Harrison law that would allow small commercial vehicles to park in residential driveways hit a snag at Thursday's meeting, delaying its approval until at least July.

The Harrison Town Board was poised to vote on a change that would allow smaller non-marked commercial vehicles to park in private driveways. Currently the town only allows commercial vehicles to be parked in covered driveways. The board is considering the change after passing a law earlier this year banning  from parking on residential streets overnight.

But the proposal hit a snag during a public hearing when residents questioned exactly which lots would be considered residential. Emil Toso, who lives on Freemont Street downtown, asked the board about parking lots in apartment complexes or near business districts that fall into a gray area under the current proposal.

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Toso said he thinks the current proposal isn't specific enough, and could open the door to people renting their parking lots or driveways to people with commercial vehicles.

"I think the law needs to address all the situations that are possible under the law," he said.

The board also discussed concerns that the current proposal would allow only one commercial vehicle 24-hours a day. Councilman Stephen Malfitano balked at that aspect of the law, saying that when maintenance or landscaping crews with more than one truck park in a driveway during the day, they would technically be breaking the law.

"I think the language needs to be specific," Malfitano said. "That's an issue that has to be dealt with in regards to the language."

Amending the law has gained momentum in the months since the town board approved the original on-street parking ban. Two weeks that law was passed several people attended a board meeting and complained that they would have no way to get to their place of business if forced to park outside of their own neighborhoods.

Harrison Mayor/Supervisor Ron Belmont said the board is working to allow commercial vehicles less than seven feet high and 25 feet long to park in driveways to accommodate some of those people.

Belmont said earlier this week he feels allowing these smaller commercial vehicles to park in driveways is a compromise that would give these residents a place to park, while getting rid of the aesthetic and parking issues caused by larger commercial vehicles parking in neighborhoods overnight.

Under the proposal, vehicles marked with advertisements and vehicles with towing or other commercial equipment would still be banned from residential areas. 

The Town Board instructed attorneys to work on the wording of the law before the next meeting.