HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-11-04; Traffic Safety and Mobility Commission; ; Restricting Overnight Parking on Garfield StreetThis item was continued to a date uncertain by the Traffic Safety & Mobility
Commission due to Commissioner Penseyres' conflict of interest resulting in lack of
a quorum.
2. RESTRICTING OVERNIGHT PARKING ON GARFIELD STREET – Recommend the
City Council introduce an ordinance amending Title 10, Chapter 10.40 of the
Carlsbad Municipal Code by adding Section 10.40.304 to restrict overnight
parking on both sides of Garfield Street from the 2600 to 2800 blocks between
the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. (Staff Contact: Jeff Smith, Police Captain).
Meeting Date: Nov. 4, 2024
To: Traffic Safety & Mobility Commission
From: Scott Chadwick, City Manager
Staff Contact: Jeffery Smith, Police Captain
Jeffery.Smith@carlsbadca.gov, 442-339-2218
Subject: Restricting Overnight Parking on Garfield Street
Recommended Action
Recommend the City Council introduce an ordinance amending Title 10, Chapter 10.40 of the
Carlsbad Municipal Code by adding Section 10.40.304 to restrict overnight parking on both
sides of Garfield Street from the 2600 to 2800 blocks between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Background
Community members have expressed concerns about people living out of their vehicles and
parking overnight in marked parking spaces. These concerns include trash and human and
animal waste being left behind, creating a public nuisance. Amending this ordinance will affect
about 60 parking spaces in the area.
These community members have asked the city to prohibit overnight parking on Garfield Street.
Staff recommend amending the Carlsbad Municipal Code – adding Section 10.40.304 – to
establish no-parking on both sides of Garfield Street from the 2600 to 2800 blocks between the
hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Staff are asking the commission to recommend this change to the City Council. Only the City
Council may make amendments to the Municipal Code.
The 2600 to 2800 blocks of Garfield Street, from Cypress Avenue on the north to Christiansen
Way on the south, include a residential area, Magee Park, St. Michael’s Church and a parking lot
close to the Beech Avenue public beach access. There are currently no overnight parking
restrictions on Garfield Street.
Carlsbad Municipal Code 10.40.145 was amended in 2017 to authorize the city to install and
maintain parking space markings to indicate parking spaces adjacent to curbs where authorized
parking is permitted, and to indicate those locations where the parking of vehicles beyond the
TRAFFIC SAFETY & MOBILITY COMMISSION
Nov. 4, 2024 Item #2 Page 1 of 2
Staff Report
marked parking space is prohibited. While the current Municipal Code regulates parking in
marked spaces, it has not resolved the issues of public nuisance and sanitation.
People apparently living in vehicles that fit within marked parking spaces are exceeding the 72-
hour parking limit established in Carlsbad Municipal Code 10.40.010. Enforcing this ordinance
has been challenging because the drivers of these vehicles can move them a short distance and
return, resetting the 72-hour clock.
The Police Department has responded to 80 calls for service from January 2023 through
September 2024:
Type of calls Number of calls
Extra patrols 18
Municipal Code/parking violations 23
Vehicle-related 4
Mental health related 4
Drug related 1
Other call types 30
TOTAL 80
Next Steps
Staff plan to present this item to the City Council on Dec. 3, 2024, for its consideration and
possible adoption of the recommended ordinance.
Exhibits
None.
Nov. 4, 2024 Item #2 Page 2 of 2