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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes June 9, 2009 Page 6 1 for six months out of the year they have the ability to look down a long street and know if a car is 2 out there at 3 a.m. that car is not supposed to be there; it could be stolen or a crime could be in 3 progress. Under the old ordinance there is a reason for the police to check that out, versus now it 4 would be a legally parked car. That safety aspect ties to the City's vision statement. He stated 5 there are impacts on the values of homes. The old ordinance encourages people to clean out their 6 garage or pay for boat storage and provides for cleaner neighborhoods. The other issue is tied to 7 rental property. The ordinance can set the stage for there to be many people in a household, 8 while currently the number is at about two per household. He stated he does not see a reason to 9 change the ordinance. In summary, the old ordinance is easier to implement, provides a better 10 product, is more efficient, and has a positive impact on safety and the preservation of home 11 values. With the current number of two residents per household, changing the ordinance back 12 will have a negative impact on a lot of people and will only benefit a few. 13 14 Councilmember Thuesen stated he believes the previous method of having cars stay off the 15 streets from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. worked well. With the old ordinance there is not a compromise of 16 public safety or compromise of the quality of the streets with the snow removal. This winter on 17 his street where someone did not move their car, the plow went around it and buried it, and 18 eventually when they got the car out there was a huge mound of snow. The likelihood of that 19 happening is greater when they do not clear the streets for a period of time. There are many days 20 throughout the winter where on the surface it may seem silly to not have the cars out there, but 21 looking at the broader picture, the goal is to get the streets cleared quickly, efficiently and safely 22 for the residents and those driving their streets. 23 24 Councilmember Gray stated he supports this ordinance as it was this past year. It requires less 25 government control and he did not see enough negatives not to go with it. Compliance is at about 26 99% and about 1/3 of the tickets were issued than the previous year. He does not think this is a 27 public safety issue; if it was they would go for 12 months out of the year not having cars parked 28 on the street. 29 30 Councilmember Roth stated he will be supporting the motion on Option 2. He agrees with 31 Councilmember Gray regarding fewer tickets being issued, which shows that there is more 32 personal responsibility being taken by the citizens. If there are issues relating to cars being on the 33 street or too many cars on a lot there should be a look at regulations in regards to those issues. 34 35 Mayor Faust stated he will be supporting the motion. He lives on a cul -de -sac and sees a lot of 36 people with overnight guests in November and December. They do not know the rules and if 37 there is snow they ask the question. The people he has talked to are much more amenable to 38 knowing they have the control and they are responsible. If there are issues with cars and/or safety 39 this ordinance is the wrong methodology of trying to police those issues and those issues should 40 be dealt with head on. 41 42 Councilmember Stille stated many cities actually require cars to be off the street after a 2 -inch 43 snowfall, as well as every evening as part of their law enforcement. The Police Chief has said 44 they work with people if there is an event or overnight guests. 45 46 Ayes — 3, Nays — 2 ( Stille and Thuesen). Motion carried.