By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
New parking rules were discussed during a Jan. 15 town hall meeting, hosted by Councilwoman
Carmen Gutierrez.
Five persons attended the meeting at the Del Rio Civic Center to hear details about recent
changes to the city’s ordinance on vehicle stopping, standing and parking.
Councilwoman Carmen Gutierrez began the meeting by introducing City Manager Shawna
Burkhart, John Atnipp, neighborhood services director; and Scot Carcasi, the city’s operations
and compliance manager.
Burkhart spoke first and talked about the purpose of the meeting, which was to educate the
public and explain how the ordinance would function.
“The city is simply trying to work with citizens on compliance. It is not our desire to get (after)
anyone; this is not a revenue generator. This is simply an attempt to help unify our community
and get junk cars off the street . . . Our intent is to simply work towards compliance,” Burkhart
said.
Burkhart spoke further about the ordinance. The first part of the ordinance explains how junk
vehicles are not allowed to be parked near intersections. Burkhart said vehicles must be parked
approximately 20 feet away from intersections to maintain visibility and allow safe turning for
drivers.
The next part of the ordinance discussed explains the prohibition of blocking sidewalks. The
section enforces safe pedestrian movement and access for people with wheelchairs and
scooters.
Burkhart then explained another section of the ordinance, which focuses on vehicles not being
allowed to be parked in the same location on property streets or allies for more than 48 hours
without being moved.
“We don’t want to make our rights-of-way just a permanent parking lot for vehicles that are just
not even movable, such as junk vehicles. This prevents the streets from becoming cluttered with
unused vehicles and ensures accessibility for all residents. Vehicles that are inoperable or in
disrepair may be subject to additional penalties and include towing,” Burkhart said.
The next section of the ordinance focuses on parking for handicapped persons. She said
handicap spaces are reserved for vehicles displaying valid handicap placards. Unauthorized
use of handicap spaces will result in fines.
The final section Burkhart explained dealt with over-sized vehicle parking restrictions. The
purpose of this section, she said, is to prevent over-sized vehicles, including recreational
vehicles, from blocking visibility for other drivers and stopping safety hazards.
“Vehicles larger than eight feet in width and nine feet in height are not permitted to park on
public streets. This includes many commercial and recreational vehicles,” Burkhart said.
Burkhart said the ordinance allows citizens to not only use their backyard, but also their side
yards and driveways in which to park their RVs. The only requirement to park the vehicles is
that they need to be on an “improved” surface, which is any surface other than dirt or grass.
Carcasi spoke next and mentioned he was part of the group tasked with creating the ordinance.
He said the creation of the ordinance was due to neighborhood services and Del Rio Police
Department receiving numerous complaints from citizens.
“We were getting a lot of complaints about vehicles around intersections. People couldn’t see
when backing out of their driveways due to abandoned vehicles or large vehicles parked in the
roadways,” Carcasi said.
Carcasi said he and the police department collaborated on ways to enforce the ordinance, and
City Attorney Ana Markowski Smith helped create an ordinance using one written in Ft. Worth,
Texas.
The ordinance went into effect Jan.1, and Carcasi said the city is doing an “educational
period” before the end of January.
People can submit online complaints by going on the city website’s parking page. The
typed form will then be sent to both Carcasi, Atnipp and the police department. Carcasi also
said the police department will handle enforcement like towing.
“Most of the time, people move a vehicle if asked . . . If we need to go through enforcing things
such as towing, only the police department can tow a vehicle, because you are taking
someone’s property,” Carcasi said.
Carcasi mentioned more action will be taken against vehicles blocking the visibility of traffic.
“When it comes to intersections or high safety problems, like blocking the view of cross traffic
with a parked vehicle, we’re going to want that enforced faster because that could lead to
somebody getting injured,” Carcasi said.
Carcasi opened the meeting for citizens to ask questions and suggest ideas. Bea Vallejo, an
attendee, brought her concerns about the lack of available parking spaces in the west side of
Garza Street in the San Felipe area, which has lead people to park on the sidewalks.
Carcasi answered by citing a part of the ordinance focusing on narrow streets.
“The ordinance gives authority to the city manager and the police chief to designate one side of
the street or add no parking (to the area),” Carcasi said.
Carcasi also said they are open to the idea of making a new parking lot in the San Felipe area.
Vallejo also asked if the city could create a process for citizens to retrieve lost titles for junk
vehicles, and Carcasi said the city could look into the concept.
Carcasi then elaborated on the “48-hour rule” in the ordinance which applies to vehicles parked
in the street that can be started, operated and moved.
“One of the first questions I got hit with was, ‘I parked my car in front of my house at night. Are
you going to tow my car?’ And I said no. You go to work in it the next morning, right? As long as
the car moves within 48 hours, then you are good,” Carcasi said.
Carcasi said the city will focus on compliance by answering complaints, working with citizens
and resolving issues and misunderstandings stemming from complaints. Gutierrez asked about
parking spaces in private properties and Carcasi said the ordinance, “covers all properties.”
Gutierrez asked about the food truck vendors blocking spaces during events, and Carcasi said
he is able to speak to the owners of properties or the event organizers to help move the
vehicles.
Burkhart made one final comment saying, “Ordinances are local laws, but those laws can be
changed . . . They need to be looked at, but please bring any concerns you may have to one of
your elected officials. They will let us know, and we will look into it. We are open to considering
all of your concerns.”
Burkhart and Gutierrez finished the meeting thanking everyone who attended.
