MOORPARK : City Delays Decision on Permit Parking

The Moorpark City Council has delayed consideration of a proposed permit-only parking law, in the wake of a contentious debate between the two council members who drafted the proposal and others who criticized it.

“We’re creating a real IRS code here that is a maze to get through. This is really getting complex,” Councilman Scott Montgomery said at Wednesday’s council meeting, during which officials delayed a decision until next month.

Mayor Paul Lawrason also voiced concerns about the current version of the ordinance, which would require the council to consider imposing permit-only parking in any neighborhood where 10% of the residents requested it.

“It bothers me that such a small percentage of the people in an area can, in effect, start the process,” Lawrason said. “I just have a nagging feeling that that may not be equitable.”

Councilman Pat Hunter, who drafted the law with Councilman John Wozniak, defended the proposal as a way of reducing overcrowding without penalizing residents who are not contributing to the problem.

But former councilwoman Eloise Brown blasted the proposed ordinance because it would force residents to pay a fee before the council would consider permit-only parking requests.

As Brown was heading to her seat, Hunter called her back to the speaker’s podium and challenged her to say how she would improve the law.

“You got elected,” Brown shot back. “You’re supposed to know what you’re doing and do the job.”

The ordinance would allow up to two street-parking permits per home at a cost of $25. Since most residents would be able to keep two cars in a garage and two cars in a driveway, the ordinance would, in most cases, limit the number of vehicles associated with any home to six.

Without permits, on-street parking would be illegal between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.