TONIGHT: Sumner to Host Public Hearing on New Parking Mandates Near Train Station

Tonight’s will include a public hearing on Restricted Zone Parking (RPZ) near the Sounder Train Station and the city council could vote the parking mandates into the Municipal Code.

If approved, the following locations will become Zone 3 Parking, which means that drivers can park there for up to 3 hours without a permit. Those who stay longer could be ticketed:

• Alder Ave. between Park and Thompson
• Chestnut Street between Christina and Mountain Circle
• State St. between Traffic and Hunt

According to city documents, requests for mandated parking in these areas came from the community. While the issue will be brought before public hearing, the Community Development Staff, which studied these particular spots, did not observe any parking issues in these areas and suggested that only a limited portion of the zoning changes be passed.

In the memorandum to Mayor Dave Enslow and the city council dated Jan. 9, staff outlined their findings after analyzing the three locations.

They determined:

• Alder Ave. between Park and Thompson St. -- Staff recommends designation as an RPZ on the west side of the street only. The east side of the street segment is fronted by a church and large residence and does not meet the criteria for RPZ designation. The west side of the street has three parcels – two single-family homes and a side-yard with the home facing Thompson, but with a driveway accessible from Alder. The street from the curb to the corner is a yellow-curbed, no parking area.          
• Chestnut Street between Christina Drive and Mountain Circle --  Staff recommends this application be denied and placed on hold. Both sides of the street are fronted by residential doors and would normally satisfy the criteria for RPZ. However, when staff visited the location multiple times this past fall and winter, they found a virtually empty street. Staff believes that parking mandates on this street could be ‘preemptive.’ They thought the idea should be shelved until the issue could be studied more.
• State Street between Traffic Ave. and Hunt Ave. Staff cannot approve. The application for RPZ parking was submitted by the owners of the Animal Grub Store. The south side of the segment is fronted by commercial development and fails to meet RPZ criteria. The north side, adjacent to the Animal Grub store, is currently a marked loading zone. An RPZ, staff thought, would not be needed to prevent all-day parking by train riders.

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The Sumner City Council will hear public testimony and could vote on these parking mandates at the regular council meeting on Monday, Feb. 6. You can view the entire packet in the PDF attached to this article.