LIMA — As living arrangements change, perhaps with more people moving in together at a rental property, parking arrangements can change with them. However, with multiple vehicles parked in front lawns, or with additional parking space paved on a property, it could create problems, an issue that Lima City Council’s Public Works Committee examined again Monday, continuing a discussion that had begun several months earlier.
After discussion, the committee voted to have the city’s Law Department draft legislation to regulate the addition of parking in residential areas, a move that 1st Ward Councilman Todd Gordon hopes will help alleviate the problems that can come with overparking, including destroyed lawns and issues with neighbors.
“We want to keep our property values up by not having parking in yards and grass,” he said. “We agreed to put together an ordinance to regulate that, so when property owners want to add parking, they need to come in and get a permit so it can be seen if it is safe and if it will not cause problems with other property owners or have water runoff problems.”
The permit would require any new parking space to adhere to city guidelines, along with notifying neighboring property owners of the change through a conventional mail notice.
“We just can’t have residents going into yards and having parking lots in their side and front yards,” Gordon said. “It really brings property values down. So what needs to be done is getting our engineers out there to take a look at it. A lot of people complain about property values in the city, so instead of doing things to bring them down, we want to do things to either keep them the same or bring them up. So that’s why we’re looking at these kinds of issues.”
The ordinance must be considered and voted on by the entire council body before being enacted. Lima City Council will next meet at 7 p.m. Monday at the Lima Municipal Building.
