Sheboygan to strictly enforce 24-Hour Parking Ordinance with new measure
Revised ordinance requires vehicles to move 10-feet every 24 hours
SHEBOYGAN — In an effort to discourage residents from parking in the same place on Sheboygan city streets, a new ordinance looks to change parking habits.
Currently, the City of Sheboygan Ordinance prohibits continuous parking on streets. “No owner or operator of any vehicle shall park such vehicle or permit the vehicle to be parked on any street or alley for longer than 24 continuous hours,” the ordinance reads. The Common Council will vote during their meeting on Monday, August 18th to add additional language to empower officers to issue more tickets. “A vehicle will be in violation of this provision if it is moved less than ten feet from its prior position as measured by the distance from a designated fixed point to the point of contact between the vehicle's front tire and the parking surface.”
According to Assistant Police Chief Douglas Teunissen, the change in the ordinance was asked for to clarify what parking in a different spot means. "A lot of our 24-hour violations, are reoccurring violations," said Teunissen. He added that it is important to stay consistent with the enforcement of the parking ordinance.
“The amendment just made me chuckle,” said District 7 Alderwoman Grazia Perrella. She questioned how the ordinance amendment helps public safety and challenged Teunissen why vehicles need to be moved every 24-hours. “If vehicles were able to remain on all of the city streets for extended periods of time, there would be no place for our residents to park,” responded Teunissen.
If the ordinance amendment is approved on Monday, it would take effect immediately and would require vehicles to be moved every 24-hours and 10 feet away from the previous parked spot. Each violation results in a $25 ticket. According to police, moved means that the vehicle is driven and used for a purpose. Simply pushing or moving the vehicle a short distance does not satisfy moving the vehicle. Police are also reminding drivers to park no closer than 10 feet from a fire hydrant.
The Sheboygan Police Department uses several methods to determine if a vehicle has indeed moved. Those methods include chalking tires, taking pictures, using video surveillance and other techniques not disclosed to the public.
Proposal for parking pass
District 5 Alderwoman Susie Boorse reveled publicly, for the first time, a proposal for a street parking pass that the City of Sheboygan sells. During the meeting of the Licensing, Hearings, and Public Safety Committee last week, she admitted she was unaware the city had a 24-hour parking ordinance. Speaking on the proposal, Boorse said the street parking pass would generate revenue. City Attorney Liz Majerus also admitted she was did not know what the cost of a parking ticket is or how many tickets are issued on a monthly basis, despite prosecuting such violations.
Boorse refused to provide clarification on her proposal to WKTS News.
The City of Sheboygan already has a Residential Street Parking Permit. It was first proposed in 1978. Aldermen Robert Christian and Darlene Van Der Male had proposed a Street Parking Permit for commuter parking impacted areas such as the Memorial Neighborhood. Under the proposal, two-hour parking restrictions would have been in effect from 6 AM to 6 PM but residents would have been able to purchase $6 permits to be exempt from those restrictions. Mayor Richard Suscha vetoed the original proposal.
A year later, a revised proposal was approved by the Common Council. The Residential Street Parking Permit, which costed $6 annually, was in affect for streets near Memorial Hospital until 2022 when the Aurora Medical Center opened in Kohler. The program is still in effect in the Raider Neighborhood by North High School.
Several cities in Wisconsin have citywide parking passes.
The City of Milwaukee charges $55 for an annual Night Parking Permit, which allows vehicles to park on their city streets overnight. The City of Madison imposes a $42 per year Residential Parking Permit that allows residents with a permit to park in excess of the posted time limits in their Permit Area. The City of Waukesha charges $160 for their annual Overnight Street Parking Permit.
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