CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Receive the report and direct staff to prepare an ordinance amending Section 11-2A-8 of the Naperville Municipal Code (All Night Parking) to allow parking between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. on one side of the street
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation, Engineering and Development
SUBMITTED BY: Michael Prousa, Transportation Manager
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
The City of Naperville Municipal Code Section 11-2A-8 prohibits on-street parking between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. City records indicate a ban on overnight parking has been in effect since at least 1960.
The City began receiving concerns about compliance with the overnight parking ban around 2010. Many of the areas with lower compliance are townhome communities with limited parking options due to shorter driveways and single-car garages.
In response to these concerns, Naperville developed an overnight parking pilot program in 2013 that allowed residents to use a hang tag to park overnight on one side of designated streets. The program required active participation by the homeowners’ association (HOA) to advertise the program to its residents and manage hang tag distribution. The City Council approved the Overnight Parking Program (OPP) in early 2022. The OPP is only open to multi-family neighborhoods developed prior to 2015 with an active HOA. The rules are included as Attachment 1 for your reference.
The City continues to receive requests from residents seeking relief from the overnight parking restriction, including those who reside in single-family neighborhoods and multi-family neighborhoods that are not eligible to participate in the program. In response to these concerns, the City Council directed staff to evaluate potential alternatives to the current restrictions.
DISCUSSION:
Staff from the Transportation, Engineering and Development (TED) Business Group and the Police, Fire, and Public Works departments reviewed several alternatives, including the following options:
1. Expanding the eligibility requirements for participation in the overnight parking program;
2. Modifying the restriction to allow parking between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. on one side of the street; and
3. Removing the restriction and allowing parking between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. on both sides of the street.
Staff recommends Option #2, modifying the restriction to allow parking between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. on one side of the street. The allowed side would alternate between even and odd based on the calendar date. Benefits of this option are as follows:
• Allows overnight parking (between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.) on one side of the street depending on the calendar date;
• Preserves roadway access for emergency and operation vehicles;
• Easy for residents to understand and officers to enforce;
• Avoids equity and property value concerns tied to selective exemptions; and
• Reduces resident frustration and city administrative burden.
To ensure that this does not create a negative impact on City operations, the following should be considered:
Snow removal ordinance during snow operations
• A snow ordinance is necessary to ensure that roadways could be cleared safely and efficiently. This would entail a 24-hour on-street parking ban for snow accumulation two inches or more.
Prohibition of overnight parking on the bulbs of cul-de-sacs
• Fire operations would be negatively impacted with overnight parking within the bulbs of cul-de-sacs. Bulbs would be defined as the point where the radius of the cul-de-sac begins.
Consideration of minimum street width requirements
• In Naperville Municipal Code Section 11-2A-1, parking is not permitted in any place where the usable roadway width is less than 18 feet. Violation of this ordinance occurs throughout the city and is challenging to monitor and enforce. Staff will restrict parking in locations where overnight parking creates a recurring violation.
Continued enforcement against abandoned, unregistered, or inoperable vehicles
• In Naperville Municipal Code Section 11-5B-1, abandoned vehicles are defined along with a timeframe for towing if a vehicle is unmoved for at least seven days. With the even/odd overnight parking allowance, the abandoned vehicle ordinance will be able to be enforced more efficiently.
Upon Council approval of the recommended ordinance, the existing Overnight Parking Program will be eliminated. All other existing parking restrictions will remain in place.
To ensure resident awareness of the proposed ordinance change, staff will utilize all communication outlets available as well as install permanent signage at all city entry points detailing the ordinance.
The effective date for these changes is recommended for October 1, 2026 to allow time to communicate to residents.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Signage costs will be approximately $2,000.