Emanuel Introduces Ordinance To Stop Disabled Parking Abuses
By Chuck Sudo in News on Oct 4, 2012 4:25PM
Among the new proposed ordinances introduced at Wednesday’s City Council meeting was one from Mayor Rahm Emanuel that would amend the city’s disabled residential parking program.
Emanuel’s proposal would:
- Update zoning districts to reflect changes to the current Zoning Code
- Requires that the person driving the placard holder (the applicant) must reside with the applicant and at the residence for which the application is made
Codifies that the determination of feasibility of the parking space will be based on:
- A limit of 20 percent of the block for restricted parking spaces
- Whether alternative accessible off-street parking is available to the applicant
- Limits the criteria upon which Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities makes an appeal determination to the accessibility of off-street parking
The Sun-Times reported in 2007 that 10 percent of residential disabled parking spaces registered at the city were at addresses where nearby residents did not hold state-issued disabled license plates, a requirement for the parking spaces. We assume the city’s growing tab to Chicago Parking Meters LLC may have something to do with the ordinance. The city was handed a $13.5 million bill from Chicago parking Meters LLC last December to cover lost revenue from drivers who used disabled placards or license plates to park for free in metered spot between Feb 2010 and Feb. 2011, part of a $50 million overall bill for unused parking spaces.
Both Emanuel and Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White threw their weight behind legislation from State Rep. Karen May (D - Highland Park) aimed at preventing vehicles that hold disabled parking placards and license plates in Illinois from cheating the metered parking system.