$500 parking tickets on a third offense? This Pierce County city might raise its fines
Members of the Lakewood City Council are discussing potentially increasing fines and forfeitures for illegal parking in city limits, saying current fines are not sufficiently discouraging repeat offenders.
Current parking fines range from $20 to $250 “with little consistency,” said Heidi Ann Wachter, the city attorney, in a letter to the mayor and council Monday.
The city council could decide to charge a $250 penalty for a variety of parking infractions or create a penalty scheme that increases fines with additional violations or that impounds vehicles, which the city has the authority to do, Wachter said. A penalty scheme could look like a $125 fine for the first parking offense, $250 for the second offense, $500 for the third offense and impounding the vehicle on the fourth offense, according to her letter.
Wachter recommended the council approve a penalty scheme and develop enforcement accordingly, with educational warnings and public communication at the outset. She said the issue was brought to the city’s attention by the Lakewood Police Department, which has found it challenging to clear sidewalks and other areas of the city because of the current penalties and repeat offenders.
The council is expected to make a decision on the issue Feb. 20. Illegal parking has presented hazards to pedestrians, can create traffic issues and “detracts from the appearance of a neighborhood,” according to Wachter’s letter.
Among the illegal parking measures the ordinance would target is parking on a roadway or in a manner that impedes traffic, parking in a public right-of-way, parking an oversize or commercial vehicle on residential streets, parking in front of or in close proximity to a mailbox or postal drop box, and parking an unauthorized recreational vehicle overnight in any Lakewood park facility, according to the draft ordinance.
At a study session Monday, the council said they’ve seen more parking complaints from citizens, including residents who use wheelchairs and have had trouble accessing the sidewalk.
Lt. Chris Westby with the Lakewood Police Department said the department is already placing flyers on the windshields of cars several times a month.
“I can’t put a number on the number of vehicles, but I can tell you the neighborhoods in particular are Tillicum, Lake City, either the Veterans or the Washington Boulevard corridor,” Westby said. That’s where people are parking on the sidewalk and forcing people to walk on the street where there isn’t adequate space, Westby said.
Council member Paul Bocchi voiced concerns about the “steep” costs associated with impounding a car and towing a car, and the negative financial impacts that could have on the community.
“I appreciate the need, and I understand the need to fix the fine regime,” he said. “I am not convinced that there is a need to tow.”
Council member Mike Brandstetter said he’d like to see an ordinance that also considers how to deal with situations regarding people who may be living in their cars or regarding commercial vehicle parking.
Council member Ryan Pearson echoed Bocchi in saying that he’d want some more time to think about this ordinance, and to be cognizant that impounding a car can really impact families, especially if they only have one working car.
