You could soon technically be prohibited from parking within 5 feet of a driveway — commercial or residential — in the City of Owensboro. Though residents in some subdivisions have voiced concerns about how much it will limit their parking options, City Commissioners said Monday they plan to approve the ordinance. However, Commissioner Mark Castlen said that it won’t be rigidly enforced.
Castlen said that the ordinance will be primarily enforced through a compliant basis, meaning the city officials and police will not be roaming through the city to catch any violators.
“We’re not going to go out looking to see if somebody is three and a half feet from someone’s driveway,” he said.
City Manager Nate Pagan previously said the state already has restrictions on parking directly in front of driveways. This proposal to extend that restriction to 5 feet from the edge of a driveway for the City of Owensboro came after complaints from some residents.
“We’ve received several complaints about vehicles parking at the very edge or corner of a driveway. In this scenario, the driveway isn’t blocked as prohibited in state law. However, motorists have had difficulty accessing in or out driveways because cars are parked so close to the corner,” Pagan said last month.
Pagan also previously noted the City does not plan to mark the curbs if the ordinance is approved.
On Monday, Castlen noted that the ordinance will really be dependent on each individual complaint. He said if someone is experiencing difficulty parking or pulling out of their driveway, they can first notify the vehicle owner and ask for a remedy. If they do not comply, Castlen said, police can get involved because the vehicle would be in violation of the ordinance.
However, Castlen said if two neighbors agree they are fine with parking as usual, they will not have to worry about the potential ordinance.
“[If] you’re cool with your neighbor being right there on the edge of your driveway and their driveway and parking on the street, we’re cool with. It’s not going to be something that we strictly enforce unless there’s complaints,” Castlen said.
Commissioners are expected to vote on the ordinance at today’s public meeting at 5 p.m. at City Hall.
Castlen, along with Commissioners Pam Smith-Wright, Bob Glenn and Larry Maglinger, said while they have heard about the difficulty that may come up in some neighborhoods, they are expecting to support the ordinance.
Smith-Wright and Castlen said they had been notified about the Heartlands and Twin Lakes neighborhoods specifically. However, they said since enforcement is on a complaint basis, there might not be many issues.
Smith-Wright said she would visit the neighborhoods prior to voting to see the potential impact there.
“I don’t know what every single street in this city looks like, so I didn’t even know that. I will go out and check that out and see how that is so that I can make an informed decision,” Smith-Wright said.
