COUNCIL COMMUNICATION
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DATE: 06/02/2003 |
SUBJECT: FINAL READING ORDINANCE 2003-O-132 AMENDING
CHAPTER 19. MOTOR VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC, ARTICLE VIII, STOPPING, STANDING OR
PARKING, SECTION 19-361, CONTROLLED ACCESS PARKING LOTS AND SECTION 19-362,
PARKING LOT RATES AND HOURS OF OPERATION, OF CODE OF ORDINANCES, CITY OF
LAREDO: AUTHORIZING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PARKING RATES, ENFORCEMENT
REGULATIONS, AND HOURS OF OPERATION FOR ALL CITY-OWNED PARKING LOT
FACILITIES, PROVIDING FOR EFFECTIVE DATE AND PUBLICATION. |
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INITIATED BY: Larry Dovalina, City Manager STAFF SOURCE: Roberto Murillo, P.E., Traffic Safety Director |
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PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION: Ordinance introduced & approved by City Council on 05-19-03. |
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BACKGROUND: City Council approved the final reading of Ordinance 2001-O-039 on February 05, 2001 that established the parking rates and hours of operation for the Bridge I parking lot that is currently in operation. A fee of $ 1.75 per hour for hourly parking and $ 8.00 per day is presently being charged. It presently operates 24 hours a day. This is the parking facility located immediately adjacent to the Bridge I Administration Building . City Council approved Ordinance 2001-O-164 on August 20, 2001 that established parking rates, enforcement regulations and hours of operations for the Riverfront Parking Lot located on Pedregal Rd., that also included enforcement regulations for the existing Bridge I Parking Lot. The parking rates for the Riverfront Parking Lot include; one dollar per hour or eight ($8.00) maximum per day for passenger vehicles. Truck Tractors and Recreational vehicles are charged a ten dollar ($10.00) flat fee daily rate. Buses are charged a twenty dollar ($20.00) flat fee daily rate. This parking lot is operated 24 hours a day and is the only one with a parking lot attendant present 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The proposed ordinance amendment also includes the establishment of parking rates, enforcement regulations, and hours of operation but for any new city owned parking lot facility that is opened by the City of Laredo within the vicinity of the Central Business District. With the acquisition of properties to create additional off-street parking areas, it is imperative that this ordinance be authorized so that there would be no need to request city council approval for parking rates, enforcement or hours of operation every time a new parking lot is opened. The proposed rates vary depending on the area of the CBD and could be adjusted, as market may dictate, by City Council through proper ordinance amendments. (Background
Cont’d., on next page)
FINANCIAL: Funding for parking lot improvements and equipment is available from Capital Outlay Parking Meters Land Account Number 251-2620-525-9101.
RECOMMENDATION: STAFF: Recommend that City Council approves this ordinance. (Background Continued) The proposed parking lot rates for all city owned parking lot facilities will be as follows: (1) One dollar
and seventy five cents ($ 1.75) per hour for hourly parking and eight dollars
($ 8.00) maximum daily rate, where
available, for all parking lots established within parking lot Zone A,
as identified on Exhibit II, bounded by Water St. on the South, Matamoros St., on the North, Santa Maria Ave. on the
West and San Bernardo on the East. (2)
One dollar and fifty cents ($ 1.50) per
hour for hourly parking and seven
dollars ($ 7.00) maximum daily rate, where available, for all parking
lots established within parking lot Zone B, as identified on Exhibit II,
bounded by Matamoros St.. on the South, Moctezuma St., on the North, Santa
Maria Ave. on the West and San Bernardo on the East. (3)
One dollar ($ 1.00) per hour for hourly
parking and six dollars ($ 6.00) maximum daily rate, where available, for all
other parking lots established within the vicinity of the Central Business
District. The parking rates and hours of operation are different from the proposed ordinance amendments and will remain the same for the existing Bridge I and Riverfront Parking Lots. New parking lots with different parking rates or hours of operation than what is being proposed will have to be established by separate ordinance amendment. |
ORDINANCE 2003-O-132
AMENDING CHAPTER 19. MOTOR VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC, ARTICLE VIII, STOPPING, STANDING OR PARKING, SECTION 19-361, CONTROLLED ACCESS PARKING LOTS AND SECTION 19-362, CONTROLLED ACCESS PARKING LOT RATES AND HOURS OF OPERATION, OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, CITY OF LAREDO: AUTHORIZING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PARKING RATES, ENFORCEMENT REGULATIONS, AND HOURS OF OPERATION FOR ALL NEWLYACQUIRED CITY-OWNED PARKING LOT FACILITIES, PROVIDING FOR EFFECTIVE DATE AND PUBLICATION.
WHEREAS, the Parking Enforcement Division of the Traffic Department is the authority in charge of applying the ordinances and regulations governing parking meter and public parking lot operations in the City of Laredo; and
WHEREAS, the city of Laredo has been acquiring properties within the vicinity of the CBD in order to provide additional parking areas to better serve the needs of citizens and tourists, and it is necessary that parking rates, enforcement regulations, and hours of operations be established for all newly acquired city owned parking lot facilities; and
WHEREAS, in order to improve operation of all city-owned parking lot facilities it is necessary that authorization be granted to cite and/or tow vehicles for failure to pay the established parking rates, abandonment of vehicles and for other parking violations; and
WHEREAS, it is in the opinion of City Council that it is in the best interest of the city to amend this ordinance and apply the best and fairest method to maintain reasonable parking rates for city owned parking lot facilities and also recognizing that parking lot facilities constitute a benefit to the City; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAREDO THAT:
SECTION 1.
AMENDMENT.
Chapter 19,Article VIII, Stopping, Standing or
Parking, Sections 19-361 through 19-362
of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Laredo is hereby amended as
follows:
Chapter 19
Motor Vehicles and Traffic
Section
19-361. City
Owned Controlled Access Parking Lots Lot .Enforcement
Article VIII. Stopping, Standing, or Parking
(a). The Parking Enforcement Division under
the Parking Division Manager will be the authority in charge of applying the
ordinances and regulations governing city owned controlled access parking lot operations in
the Central Business District. They
shall have the authority to manage, operate, and maintain the parking
facilities and enforce the hourly and long term parking rates and parking time
limits and to cite or tow away vehicles in violation of these
provisions in the event that a vehicle is parked in violation.
Section
19-362. Controlled
Access City-owned Parking Lot Rates and Hours of Operation
(a) Unless
otherwise provided for, the hours of operations for all city owned parking lots
within the Central Business District shall be between the hours of 8:00 a.m.
and 6:00 p.m., Central Standard Time or other standard time established or
proclaimed by the United States for an area including the city, except Sundays
and holidays, additionally, that within the meaning of this section the term
“holiday” shall include the following days only; the first (1st) day
of January, the fourth (4th) of July, the first (1st) Monday in September, the twenty-fifth (25th)
day of December, and the day designated and set aside by the President of the
United States as a day of Thanksgiving, and all other holidays observed by the
City of Laredo.
(a) (b). The rate for passenger vehicles at the
Bridge I parking lot shall be one dollar and seventy-five cents ($1.75) per
hour for hourly parking. The rate for long-term
parking at the Bridge I parking lot shall be $ 8.00 per day. Bridge I parking lot shall be operated 24
hours 365 days a year. No other vehicles, other than passenger
vehicles, will be authorized to park at the Bridge I parking lot.
(b). The rate
for long-term parking at the Bridge I parking lot shall be $ 8.00 per day.
( c). Said
Bridge I parking lot shall be operated 24 hours 365 days a year.
(d) (c). The rate for passenger vehicles at the
Riverfront parking lot shall be one dollar
($1.00) per hour for hourly parking. The
rate for long-term parking for passenger vehicles at the Riverfront parking lot
shall be $8.00 per day.. The parking rate for tractors and
recreational vehicles at the Riverfront parking lot shall be a flat rate of
$10.00 per day. Tractor trailer
combinations are prohibited in the parking lot. The parking rate for buses at the Riverfront parking lot shall
be a flat rate of $20.00 per day. The
Riverfront parking lot shall be operated
24 hours 365 days a year.
(e). The
rate for long-term parking for passenger vehicles at the Riverfront parking lot
shall be $8.00 per day.
(f). The parking rate for tractors and recreational vehicles at
the Riverfront parking lot shall be a flat rate of $10.00 per day. Tractor trailer combinations are prohibited
in the parking lot.
(g). The
parking rate for buses at the Riverfront parking lot shall be a flat rate of
$20.00 per day.
(h). The
Riverfront parking lot shall be operated
24 hours 365 days a year.
(d) The
parking rates for all of the newly-acquired city owned parking lots are hereby
established as follows:
(1)
Two dollars ($ 2.00) per hour for hourly parking and ten dollars ($ 10.00)
maximum daily rate, where available, for all parking lots established within
the following boundaries: Water St. on the South, Matamoros St. on the North,
Santa Maria Ave. on the West and San Bernardo on the East.
(2)
One dollar and seventy
five cents ($ 1.75) per hour for hourly parking and eight dollars ($ 8.00) maximum daily rate, where
available, for all parking lots established within parking lot Zone B, as
identified on Exhibit II, bounded by Matamoros St. on the South, Moctezuma St.
on the North, Santa Maria Ave. on the West and San Bernardo on the East.
(3)
One dollar and twenty five cents ($ 1.25) per hour for hourly
parking and six dollars ($ 6.00) maximum daily rate, where available, for all
other parking lots established within the vicinity of the Central Business
District.
SECTION
2: SEVERABILITY
If any provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance, or the application of same to any person or set of circumstances is for any reason held to be unconstitutional, void, invalid or for any other reason unenforceable, the validity of the remaining portion of this ordinance or its application to other persons or sets of circumstances shall not be affected thereby, it being the intent of the City Council of the City of Laredo in adopting this ordinance that no portion hereof or provision or regulation contained herein shall become inoperative or fail by reason of any unconstitutionality, voidness or invalidity and all provisions are declared severable for that purpose.
SECTION 3: PUBLICATION
This ordinance shall become effective upon its passage following the date of publication required pursuant to the provisions set for in Section 2.09 (d) of the City Charter.
PASSED
BY THE CITY COUNCIL AND APPROVED BY THE MAYOR ON THIS _____________DAY____________,
2003.
ATTEST:
_________________________ _______________________
GUSTAVO GUEVARA, JR. ELIZABETH G.
FLORES
CITY SECRETARY MAYOR
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
JAIME L. FLORES
CITY ATTORNEY
By: ______________________
ALLAN W. Mc GRAW
ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY