Yard work and construction trucks clog a Hypoluxo Island road.
Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
By Mary Thurwachter
A proposed law that would limit parking on the street and public rights of way on Hypoluxo Island failed to garner a single vote from Lantana Town Council members. The vote, taken during a Jan. 23 town meeting, came after several discussions at previous meetings about cars having to dodge construction and landscaping trucks on the island.
The ordinance would have limited parking to two hours between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. and would require a parking permit and fee for special events.
Mayor Dave Stewart said the proposal was drafted after Town Manager Deborah Manzo received numerous emails from a resident, Sueann Nichols, about towing away and ticketing cars parked on the roadway. Nichols was unable to attend the Jan. 23 meeting, but sent another email read aloud by the mayor.
Other island residents who did attend asked how the ordinance would be enforced.
Police Chief Sean Scheller said cars would be marked with chalk. But Scheller was no fan of the proposed ordinance.
“I’m going to be honest with you, this is going to be a nightmare,” he said. “We’ll get a call, go chalk it [vehicle], then go back in two hours. For the amount of calls we have, we are blowing this out of the water. As of Oct. 31, we only had four calls [about parked vehicles on the island].
“I don’t want people to get a false sense of hope that we’re going to respond right away,” Scheller said.
Vice Mayor Phil Aridas said the matter needs more discussion.
“Monitoring is a very tough job,” Aridas said.
Stewart said he understood Nichols’ frustration.
“I wish there were a way cars wouldn’t park all day,” he said. “When my neighbor’s house was under construction, there were times I couldn’t get out of my driveway. It is inconvenient and it does aggravate some people.”
Scheller said there is only a handful of offenders.
“I think we have to educate them. I will personally educate” repeat offenders, Scheller said.
“I trust the chief will, in a diplomatic manner, address this issue,” Stewart said.
The town has been grappling with parking problems on the island for years and has come up with other proposed solutions, including restricting parking to odd or even sides of the road, depending on the month. None of them was deemed satisfactory.
Council member Malcolm Balfour said the solution could be simple.
“Courtesy would solve the problem,” he said.
In other news, the town unveiled its new website, www.lantana.org. Town IT manager William Parker worked closely with a team at EvoGov, a website development and hosting company that specializes in local government website design, to update the site.
Features include striking pictures of town landmarks, a new look for the parks page, a link to Facebook and Twitter pages, answers to frequently asked questions, a link for people to pay their water bills or report concerns, and a place for companies to submit bids for projects.
“Everything is no more than two clicks away,” Parker said.
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