Vote set on yard parking
LR board to take up ban March 2
Saturday, February 20, 2010
LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock residents have another two weeks to voice their opinions on whether the city should ban cars and other vehicles from parking in front and side yards.
City directors postponed a final vote until their March 2 meeting after debating the idea Tuesday.
Little Rock already bans nonworking vehicles from being parked in yards. This new proposal would prohibit all cars, trucks, vans, boats, campers, recreational vehicles, motorcycles, golf carts, all-terrain vehicles or “other similar vehicles” from being parked in front and side yards.
The proposal also would limit houses to one additional parking pad and prohibits entire front yards from being paved for parking. There would be an exemption during parties and special events, such as Razorback football games at War Memorial Park. City directors added those ideas in the past few weeks.
Residents in various parts of the city have asked for a ban for years, saying neighbors hurt their property values when they park in the grass. The PlanningCommission approved such a ban in October 2004 but the proposal never moved up to city directors until recently, when several city directors asked that the idea be revived.
“It’s very ugly and very upsetting,” said Edward Swaim, president of the Broadmoor Property Owners Association.
The 1950s-era neighborhood near the University of Arkansas at Little Rock was built before most households had two or more cars, but Swaim told city directors Tuesday that the issue wasn’t about a lack of space to park.
“People are lazy and they either want to park the car right up near the door,” he said, or they don’t want to shuffle cars around to let one out of the driveway.
But some residents, including Robert Webb of the Love Neighborhood Association, said a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work in older parts of the city where the streets are too narrow for parking.
“We think this is a good idea, but not for every neighborhood.”
Southwest Little Rock resident Luke Skrable said that rather than passing a new law the city should focus on improving its code-enforcement agency and enforcing existingordinances.
“I want to address the cars in the yards but I don’t want to pass another law that you all won’t enforce,” he said.
Yet, passing such a law will give residents a way to do something about a problem they see hurting their neighborhoods, said Pat Gee, president of the Upper Baseline Neighborhood Association.
“At least give us the opportunity to have some recourse on what we can do,” she said.
City directors have said they’re concerned about forcing residents to park on the street. On Tuesday, the only city director to oppose the ban was Erma Hendrix. Hendrix said it seemed to her that the issue really centered on absentee landlords.
Little Rock isn’t the only city that has grappled with yard parking. Conway city officials considered a similar ban before dropping the idea.
In 2008, North Little Rock officials agreed to let neighborhoods decide for themselves whether to ban parking in yards by giving them the authority to create special parking districts. Three North Little Rock neighborhoods - Argenta, Park Hill and Lakewood - now have a ban on parking in yards.
City directors postponed a final vote until their March 2 meeting after debating the idea Tuesday.
Little Rock already bans nonworking vehicles from being parked in yards. This new proposal would prohibit all cars, trucks, vans, boats, campers, recreational vehicles, motorcycles, golf carts, all-terrain vehicles or “other similar vehicles” from being parked in front and side yards.
The proposal also would limit houses to one additional parking pad and prohibits entire front yards from being paved for parking. There would be an exemption during parties and special events, such as Razorback football games at War Memorial Park. City directors added those ideas in the past few weeks.
Residents in various parts of the city have asked for a ban for years, saying neighbors hurt their property values when they park in the grass. The PlanningCommission approved such a ban in October 2004 but the proposal never moved up to city directors until recently, when several city directors asked that the idea be revived.
“It’s very ugly and very upsetting,” said Edward Swaim, president of the Broadmoor Property Owners Association.
The 1950s-era neighborhood near the University of Arkansas at Little Rock was built before most households had two or more cars, but Swaim told city directors Tuesday that the issue wasn’t about a lack of space to park.
“People are lazy and they either want to park the car right up near the door,” he said, or they don’t want to shuffle cars around to let one out of the driveway.
But some residents, including Robert Webb of the Love Neighborhood Association, said a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work in older parts of the city where the streets are too narrow for parking.
“We think this is a good idea, but not for every neighborhood.”
Southwest Little Rock resident Luke Skrable said that rather than passing a new law the city should focus on improving its code-enforcement agency and enforcing existingordinances.
“I want to address the cars in the yards but I don’t want to pass another law that you all won’t enforce,” he said.
Yet, passing such a law will give residents a way to do something about a problem they see hurting their neighborhoods, said Pat Gee, president of the Upper Baseline Neighborhood Association.
“At least give us the opportunity to have some recourse on what we can do,” she said.
City directors have said they’re concerned about forcing residents to park on the street. On Tuesday, the only city director to oppose the ban was Erma Hendrix. Hendrix said it seemed to her that the issue really centered on absentee landlords.
Little Rock isn’t the only city that has grappled with yard parking. Conway city officials considered a similar ban before dropping the idea.
In 2008, North Little Rock officials agreed to let neighborhoods decide for themselves whether to ban parking in yards by giving them the authority to create special parking districts. Three North Little Rock neighborhoods - Argenta, Park Hill and Lakewood - now have a ban on parking in yards.
Arkansas, Pages 11 on 02/20/2010
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