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March 20, 2010

Groves passes parked car ordinance

Sherry Koonce The Port Arthur News

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GROVES — Residents in the city can no longer park vehicles, motor homes, or trailers in yards unless they are on a hard surface. Groves’ City Council has passed an ordinance prohibiting the practice in an effort to maintain the peace and dignity of neighborhoods, D. Sosa, city manager, said. “The reason we brought this to City Council is we have a lot of nice neighborhoods where people’s property values were suffering because of their neighbors,” Sosa said. “People were parking in yards when they really did not have to. In this day and age we want people to feel good about moving to Groves.” Those who park their cars in yards on a permanent basis are subject to a Class C Misdemeanor which carries fines from $200 to $1,000. Sosa said about 25 people attended a public hearing two weeks ago. Of those, about 99 percent were in favor of the ordinance, Sosa said. The city has a separate ordinance for junk cars, which are also prohibited. The recently passed parking ordinance pertains to operational, legal vehicles which could be parked on the street rather than in the yard. Sosa said the ordinance does not apply to temporary events such as birthday parties, family reunions, superbowl parties, etc. Rather, it applies to people who park their cars in their yards all the time. The ordinance was passed to provide the city with an enforcement tool — much like the junk car ordinance. “Without consequences we do not have any leg to stand on when trying to get people to have more pride in their yards, Sosa said. Generally speaking, people will comply with city ordinances once they are cited. Once a person is cited, they will have their chance to explain why vehicles are parked in the yards. In case of hardship, exceptions may be granted, he said. “Even if we do take someone to court, it is not the end of it. The city will have to prove the violation and the person can tell the judge what the situation is,” Sosa said. There is a very simple solution, that would keep the city from writing citations and keep people out of court, Sosa said. “The city is very lenient about parking in the street. We would much rather see the parked on the street than in people’s lawns,” Sosa said. Both Port Arthur and Nederland have similar ordinances. skoonce@panews.com

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