Under a proposed
ordinance, Chesterton motorists would be prohibited from parking or driving
vehicles on the front, side, or rear yards of their residences.
They would also be
prohibited from parking vehicles on the so-called “greenway,” that area
between the property line and the roadway.
The Police
Commission split-voted to endorse the proposed ordinance at its meeting last
week, with members Mike Orlich and Pete Duda voting in favor of it and Tim
Scheerer against. The ordinance will now go to the Town Council for final
action.
The proposed
ordinance’s crucial language: “It shall be unlawful to drive and/or park a
motor vehicle in the front yard, side yard, or rear yard of a lot, or in the
greenway area which abuts a street of a lot zoned for a residential use.”
“Greenway” is
defined as the “area, excluding the sidewalk, if any, between the property
line and the curb or in the absence of a curb, between the property line and
the nearest edge of the street paving, which is usually used for planting
lawn, low ground cover, and/or street trees.”
The ordinance does
not apply to “permanent parking areas,” those “portions of a zone lot
with definite and identifiable boundaries and which is improved either with
a hard surface or gravel or stone (and is) regularly used for driveways and
parking areas, is regularly maintained as a parking area, and is intended to
be permanently and continually used as a parking area.”
The ordinance also
permits temporary parking in front, side, or rear yards or in greenways for
the following reasons:
* Washing the
vehicle.
* Overflow parking
for a family gathering or similar event not exceeding 24 hours for any one
occasion.
* Loading or
unloading objects from a vehicle.
Violators are
liable to a fine.
Members had a few
questions for Police Chief Dave Cincoski prior to the vote. “What prompted
this?” Orlich asked.” Was there a large number of complaints?”
“The Town Council
received a citizen complaint about this issue and advised town
administration to look at it,” Cincoski said.
Scheerer wanted to
know whether the CPD would be responsible for enforcing the proposed
ordinance. Cincoski said that it would.
Duda, for his part,
asked whether the Town Council could amend the proposed ordinance after
receiving public comment. Cincoski confirmed that council members could so
amend it.
Palleson Promoted
In other business,
members voted unanimously to promote Erik Palleson to the rank of First
Class Officer, who marked his third year with the CPD on May 27.
CPD officers are
eligible for promotion from Second Class to First after serving three years,
Cincoski said, and Palleson’s supervisors have uniformly praised his work as
exemplary.
“I concur
wholeheartedly,” Member Pete Duda said. “Officer Palleson is a fine man.”
Godspeed
Orlich took a
moment at the end of the meeting to extend his condolences to the family of
Tom Bush, who died on May 17 at the age of 77. Bush served on the Police
Commission from 1978 to 1990.
And Duda extended
his condolences to retired CPD Chief George Nelson, whose wife, Lynn, died
on June 1 at the age of 62.
May in Review
In May the CPD
responded to 716 calls (593 in April), filed 57 cases (50), issued 106
citations and 67 warnings (40 and 30), and investigated 34 accidents with
nine injuries (34 accidents with 12 injuries).
Calls for service
in May included 83 suspicious vehicles and persons (83 in April), 11 thefts
(three), 41 alarms (35), nine incidents of vandalism (one), five overdoses
(zero), two train complaints (zero), 12 animal complaints (four), 220
traffic stops (130), 17 well-being checks (13), one missing person (zero),
five reports of battery (three), 27 disturbances (20), eight reports of
fraud (four), two motor vehicle thefts (one), two vehicle re-possessions
(zero), one runaway (four), and one sex offense (zero).