Space the final frontier for residential parking
St. John’s city council says residents must have an approved parking spot — not their front lawn
When it comes to parking your vehicle at your home, St. John’s city council is reminding residents that if you don’t have an approved parking space, you don’t have a case.
Council voted unanimously Monday in its weekly meeting to amend the residential property standards bylaw to make it clear that residents can’t park on their front lawn and must have an approved driveway or parking space to park vehicles.
“It’s not changing any rule. It’s clarifying it for both (parking enforcement) staff and the public,” Coun. Ian Froude said, noting parking on a residential lawn had already been prohibited.
“This amendment simply clarifies the language (in the bylaw). … Officers will continue to use their discretion, as they always have, in applying the bylaw.”
Section 5.2.3(2) of the city’s residential property standards bylaw had stated that no one is permitted to park a vehicle on residential property “beyond the building line” unless it’s parked in an approved driveway or parking space.
According to the motion, many felt it was ambiguous and needed to be more defined to avoid any potential confusion.
“Increased clarity will benefit the public, improve compliance and ensure consistent enforcement,” the council document states.
The amended section now reads, “No person shall park, or cause to be parked, a vehicle on the front yard of a residential property unless such vehicle is parked in an approved driveway or parking space.”
While the residential property standards bylaw is undergoing a complete review and revision, staff said this bylaw needed to be addressed immediately because regulatory services was starting to see increased incidents this spring.
Ward 2 Coun. Shawn Skinner said he’s heard from constituents who want to know more about the bylaw.
“For people in Ward 2, in particular, and throughout the city who park their vehicles on their property during the winter, that’s a good thing. We want to get the vehicles off the street to allow proper snowclearing to happen,” Skinner said.
“If (parking on residential property) is deemed to be allowing snowclearing to happen and not impeding anything else, the enforcement officers will use their discretion.
“So, no big change here, as some people thought it might be. It’s mainly a point of clarification to allow enforcement and prosecution to happen effectively.”
The document also points out that the bylaw not only reflects esthetic concerns, but also landscaping requirements and snow removal/ snow storage issues.
The city’s legal department consulted with regulatory services and planning/ development to review this section of the bylaw, discuss the proposed amendment and ensure there is no conflict with the new development regulations.
Vehicles will be permitted to park on side or rear yards. However, this will not apply to commercial vehicles (as prohibited in the commercial vehicle parking bylaw) or inoperative/unused/abandoned vehicles.
Any paving or asphalt on side or rear yards will also still have to go through the usual permit process and receive approval.