ORDINANCE NO. 3, Series 2007

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE MEEKER “MODEL TRAFFIC CODE FOR COLORADO MUNICIPALITIES, REVISED 1995", PART 12, PARKING, WITH THE ENACTMENT OF SECTION 1203.1, ALTERNATE SIDE OF THE STREET PARKING - PENALTY.

WHEREAS, pursuant to parts 1 and 2 of article 16 of title 31, C.R.S. and C.R.S. 42-4-111, the Model Traffic Code for Colorado Municipalities, Revised 1995, was adopted by the Town Board of Trustees  (“Town Board”), primarily providing comprehensive traffic control regulation for the Town of Meeker; and,

WHEREAS, at its regular meetings on January 2 and 16, 2007, the Town Board met with Town citizens concerning the issue of snow removal and vehicle parking in the downtown area of Meeker, primarily along a portion of Main Street from Seventh Street to Fifth Street, and discussed alternatives to alleviate the accumulation of snow and ice in this particular downtown area, one such alternative was to implement overnight alternate side of the street parking, in order to facilitate street maintenance and the removal of ice and snow by the Town’s public works department; and,

WHEREAS, the Town Board at its regular meeting on February 6, 2007, reviewed a proposed draft of an ordinance to implement overnight alternate side of the street parking regulations on a portion of Main Street in the downtown area and it was the recommendation of the Town staff that the Town Board consider the adoption of such regulations for Main Street from Fifth Street to Seventh Street and for Sixth Street from Park Avenue to Market Street to provide for a more efficient means of removing accumulated snow and ice and provide for other maintenance in this area; and,

WHEREAS, the Town Board determined to schedule a public hearing to provide for pubic input concerning the overnight alternate side of the street parking regulation; and,

WHEREAS, a public hearing was held on February 20, 2007, before the Town Board at its regular meeting at the Meeker Town Hall, 345 Market Street, of which hearing public notice was given in the Rio Blanco Herald Times newspaper, published on February 15, 2007; and,

WHEREAS, the Town staff recommended to the Town Board that it consider year round overnight alternate side of the street parking regulations in order to facilitate snow and ice removal during the winter season and street cleaning, sweeping, and maintenance operations during the remainder of the year; and,

WHEREAS, the public, at such hearing, was given the opportunity to voice its opinion regarding the proposed alternate side of the street parking regulation in the downtown area, described herein above; and,

WHEREAS, the Town Board on the basis of the evidence produced at the public hearing has made the following determination of fact:

1. The proposed overnight alternate side of the street parking regulations have met the requirements of the laws of the State of Colorado and the ordinances of the Town; and,

2. That the hearing before the Town Board was complete and all persons present had an opportunity to speak; and,

3. That the proposed overnight alternate side of the street parking regulations are in the best interest of the public health, safety, and welfare.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TOWN OF MEEKER, COLORADO:

Section I:

As provided by the Model Traffic Code for Colorado Municipalities, Revised 1995, as adopted by the Town, and Meeker Municipal Code, Title 10, Vehicles and Traffic, Section 1203.1 shall be and hereby is-enacted as follows: (capital letters or bold print indicates new material added to existing ordinances and a straight line through words indicate deletions from existing ordinances):

1203.1 Alternative Side of the Street Parking - Penalty.

(1)For purposes of facilitating the maintenance or plowing and/or the removal of snow and ice, and to prevent the obstruction of traffic in times of snow and/or ice accumulation and facilitating street cleaning, sweeping and maintenance operations upon a designated road, as provided in this section, alternate side of the street parking shall take effect, subject to the provisions of this section.  For purposes of this section only, “designated road” means that portion of Main Street from the east side of its intersection at Seventh Street through to the west side of its intersection at Fifth Street, inclusive, and Sixth Street from the south side of its intersection at Park Avenue through to the north side of its intersection at Market Street, inclusive.

(2) The alternate side of the street parking restrictions of this section shall not be construed to prohibit any person operating an authorized emergency vehicle or authorized service vehicle, as defined in Article II, section 102 of this Code, while engaged in their respective duties, from parking or standing such vehicles on the designated roads.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1203 of this part 12, between the hours of twelve midnight (12:00 a.m.) through seven a.m. (7:00 a.m.), a person shall be permitted to park or leave standing a vehicle on a designated road only as follows:

(a) On Main Street, unless otherwise posted, on the south side of the road only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and on the north side of the road only on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

(b) On Sixth Street, unless otherwise posted, on the west side of the road only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and on the east side of the road only on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

(c) Alternate side of the street parking restrictions shall not be construed to apply on any designated roads on Saturdays, Sundays or the following holidays: New Years’ Day (January 1); Memorial Day (last Monday of May); Independence Day ( July 4); Labor Day (first Monday of September); Veteran’s Day (November 11); Thanksgiving Day ( fourth Thursday of November); and Christmas Day (December 25).

(d) The alternate side of the street parking restrictions of this section shall continuously remain in effect, regardless of weather conditions.

(4) Any vehicle, except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2) of this section, found to be parking or standing on a designated road on the prohibited days and times shall be towed or otherwise removed, at the discretion of the police department, without delay at the owner’s or operator’s expense, such towing or removal shall be performed in a manner as provided in section 1203 (4), (5), (6), and (9) of this part 12.  Neither the police officer, any employee of the Town’s public works department, nor anyone acting under the direction of such officer or employee shall be liable for any damage to such motor vehicle, vehicle, cargo, or debris occasioned by such towing or removal.  The towing or removal process is intended to clear the obstruction, but such activity should create as little damage as possible to the vehicle, or cargo, or both.

(5) Such vehicle, having been removed, shall continue to be impounded until the towing and storage charges, shall have been paid by the owner, operator, or the person entitled to possession of such vehicle.  Any vehicle remaining in impound and abandoned, shall be disposed of as provided by part 18 of article 4 of title 42, C.R.S.

(6) Any person violating any provisions of this section shall be subject to the penalties as provided by section 1702 of this Code.  For a first offense the minimum fine shall be $15.00 and for a second or subsequent offense the minimum fine shall be $50.00 for offenses within one year.  For purposes of this section, each twenty-four hour period shall be considered a separate violation.  There shall be no points assessed to any driver, pursuant to C.R.S. 42-2-127, for a conviction of this section.

(7) The provisions of section 1203 (10) of this part 12 shall apply to the prosecution of any violation of this section 1203.1.

(8) The superintendent of the public works department is hereby authorized and instructed to erect such signs necessary to give notice of the restrictions, prohibitions and limitations of this section.

Section II:

The Mayor and Town Clerk are directed to execute this ordinance.

Section III:

This ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this ordinance and upon the installation of official traffic controls devices, providing notice of the regulations herein provided.

INTRODUCED, READ, PASSED, ADOPTED AND ORDERED PUBLISHED AS PROVIDED BY LAW BY A VOTE OF 5 TO 5 OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TOWN OF MEEKER, COLORADO, AT ITS REGULAR MEETING HELD IN THE TOWN OF MEEKER ON THE 20^th   DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2007.

TOWN OF MEEKER

BOARD OF TRUSTEEES                                                                                                                   

§STEVE LOSHBAUGH, Mayor

ATTEST: §LISA COOK, Town Clerk

Publication Date:  March 1, 2007 in the Rio Blanco Herald Times

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