Please place on the December 13, 2023 agenda a referral to the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee to discuss the potential reinstitution of residential parking permit decals to identify vehicles permitted to park within a specific residential parking zone in lieu of, or in conjunction with, the current system which exclusively validates residential parking zone status based upon a scan of the vehicle’s license plate.

There is limited residential parking within the City primarily due to its density, heavy influx of visitors, and small geographic area. As such, the Mayor and City Commission previously created residential parking permit zones intended to provide public on-street parking spaces for the exclusive use of City residents living within each established residential parking zone (along with their occasional invitees) typically during the evening hours and on weekends and holidays.

However, approximately eight or nine years ago, the City transitioned from the issuance of residential parking zone decals to identify vehicles permitted to park within a specific residential parking zone to the present system which relies solely upon a scan of a vehicle’s license plate. Recently, it was brought to my attention that some residents would prefer that the City return to the parking zone decal system (or at least layer it with the license plate validation system) in order to allow residents to readily observe a vehicle and more likely make a quick determination as to whether a particular vehicle is authorized to park in a specific residential zone merely by viewing the vehicle’s windshield decal (or lack thereof). I believe this to be a meaningful initiative so that residents can have the quickest and most efficient way to determine (with a fair degree of certainty) whether a vehicle parked within a particular residential parking zone is legally permitted to park in such zone.

Accordingly, I would request that the Parking Department be prepared at Committee to address the merits, along with any issues or concerns, of the City transitioning back to a residential parking permit decal system instead of, or in conjunction with, the license plate validation system for residential parking permit zones in the City.

The sponsor requests that the Administration be prepared to address the fiscal impact of this proposed measure, if any, at the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee meeting.