Owensboro officials were forced to change how downtown parking is enforced this week after a federal appeals court ruled Monday that “chalking” is a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
The case was brought by a Michigan woman who argued that chalking her tire was trespassing on her privately-owned vehicle and therefore unconstitutional. Three judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit unanimously agreed. The decision affects the 6th Circuit, which includes Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky.
City Attorney Steve Lynn heard of the decision Monday.
“We, like so many other cities, mark tires with chalk in order to monitor parking,” Lynn said.
According to OPD Public Information Officer Andrew Boggess, OPD currently employs one part-time citation officer who works 20 to 30 hours per week and is charged with monitoring downtown parking restrictions.
To address the policy change, Lynn contacted OPD Chief Art Ealum, whose traffic unit handles downtown parking enforcement.
Ealum confirmed that Tuesday was the last day OPD’s citation officer chalked tires. According Boggess, OPD is still evaluating multiple options as to how they will enforce parking in the future.
Lynn told Owensboro Times a temporary plan for downtown parking enforcement could be for the citation officer to photograph vehicles with an OPD digital camera. Lynn said while some may consider this to be a violation of privacy, that’s not the case under Kentucky law.
“If you are out in the public eye, you have no right of privacy,” Lynn said. “If your car is parked on a public street, people can take pictures.”
But photographing vehicles is one of several options officials are currently considering. Lynn said that while historically Owensboro used paid parking meters, he does not believe that will be a solution for the future.
“There have been discussions here and there in the seven years I have been here, but generally City commissioners have been opposed to doing anything other than timed parking zones,” Lynn said. “I don’t expect to see any interest in parking meters anytime soon.”
To help determine a permanent solution moving forward, Lynn said he plans to contact other communities who are using other systems other than chalking.
Although a solution to replacing chalk has not been made, officials said downtown parking restrictions are still being enforced. OPD officers as well as the citation officer are still monitoring downtown parking.
