Board schedules hearing about overnight parking

The Mt. Lebanon Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing on Tuesday to hear residents’ comments on revisions to the municipality’s parking ordinance regarding overnight on-street parking.

On-street parking from 2 to 6 a.m. has not been allowed for nearly 50 years, said commission President Mindy Ranney during the board’s discussion session meeting on Feb. 23.

Commissioners are proposing a change to the ordinance that would allow up to 20 overnight parking requests per license plate per year. Another change calls for adding language stating that residents who live more than one-tenth of a mile from available overnight parking can request a special permit, which would cost $150 for six months or $300 per yer.

Ms. Ranney has said it has “become very easy to request overnight parking” online, and residents are requesting it multiple times per year instead of the three allowances now allowed.

A few residents have requested overnight parking hundreds of times per year.

“It has created various issues for our public safety department as well as for street cleaning” and for residents trying to use the streets as the public rightsof-ways they are for driving, walking or bicycling, Ms. Ranney said.

Ian McMeans, municipal assistant manager/ planner, said over the past two years, 93% those requesting overnight parking did so fewer than 20 times per year, which is how the board arrived at the 20 exception number.

After commissioners vote on the ordinance changes, which could happen in mid-April, a grace period will begin Oct. 1 before enforcement of the overnight parking changes.

Enforcement would then begin Jan. 1, 2022.