News

By Mary Thurwachter

    Council members asked Town Attorney R. Max Lohman to draft an ordinance to address one of Lantana’s parking concerns — lawn maintenance and construction vehicles parked on both sides of roads.
    Mayor Dave Stewart said he has heard many complaints about parking problems from drivers who have to zigzag around parked trucks. The town also heard from Fire Marshal Matthew Gaffney, who said he is worried about “parking by service vehicles and contractors on narrow roads that make it impossible to maneuver the fire rescue vehicles down such roads, especially when they are parked on both sides of the street.”
    Negotiating around large vehicles parked on both sides of the road is a recipe for disaster, one resident said.
    The ordinance would require cars to follow an odd/even rule. On odd-numbered days, vehicles would park on the odd-numbered side of the street. On even-numbered days, they would park on the even-numbered side.
    Stewart, who discussed the matter at the council’s Jan. 25 meeting, said the problem needed to be addressed in some way. Tweaks to the proposed ordinance are likely.
    Dave Thatcher, director of development services, said signs would need to be bought and put up so that drivers would be aware of the new ordinance.
    “I encountered this in Chicago,” Thatcher said, “and they had signs up everywhere.”
    In other action at the Jan. 25 meeting, the town:
    • Received a check from Palm Beach County for $50,000. It is the remainder of the money left over from the $300,000 grant for the boat docks at Sportsman’s Park. Lantana used only $252,480 to build the docks, so the town requested the remainder of the funds not used ($47,520) to be used for other improvements at the park.  The county approved the request and rounded the number up to $50,000.
    • Approved an ordinance changing the landscaping code to allow the installation of artificial turf. Newer artificial turf provides better drainage and has water-saving properties, Stewart said. Council member Lynn Moorhouse said the turf, while expensive, looks good, too. “It’s a win-win,” he said.