Schuylerville’s proposed seasonal parking ordinance will likely be voted upon at the Village Board of Trustees meeting next week, Jan. 12, after the board holds another public hearing on the matter at the start of that meeting. The board held a public hearing on Jan. 5, but on Jan. 6 FoothillsBusinessDaily.com pointed out an error in the proposed legislation. The board will attempt to correct the proposed law, and then hold a public hearing and vote on Jan. 12.
The board also held a public hearing about the village's proposed zoning ordinance on Jan. 5, and it will also see a vote on Jan. 12.
The proposed seasonal parking law would require car owners to move their cars from one side of most village streets to the other side, daily at 8 a.m. during the four month period from December through March.
The proposed rules for Broad Street are different.
Cars will park on one side of Broad Street from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and the next day, they will shift to the other side by 10 p.m. During the day, cars should be allowed on both sides of the street to accommodate the parking needs of local businesses.
However, at the end of the proposed language for each new parking rule is the line: "Parking on such streets at other times is prohibited."
In other words, for most streets, the law is saying that parking on the wrong side of the street is illegal.
Since Broad Street's rule does not cover a full day, the rule seems to say that there would be no daytime parking at all on Broad Street.
Neither Mayor Dan Carpenter nor Village Clerk Cory Heyman could explain exactly how that happened other than it was a simple oversight.
"Let me call [the village] attorney," Carpenter said when the error was pointed out Thursday morning, Jan. 7. He later thanked FoothillsBusinessDaily.com for catching the error.
Heyman said the easiest fix will likely be to remove the line about the parking prohibition, but at the time of this post, an official new draft had not been shared.
A late message left for Schuylerville Village attorney David Klingebiel was not answered.
The proposed law is necessary, village leadership said, to allow New York State Department of Transportation plows and village snow clearing equipment the room to maneuver safely and get the snow off village streets.
Heyman said the state, which plows routes 29, 4 and 32, all of which run through the village, was very happy to see a change in the law. On village side streets, the new rules will allow for a 24-hour stretch that gives crews time to clean.
On Broad Street, business owners wanted a bit more flexibility so that people could arrive early or stay for a late dinner without worrying about parking.
Patti Smola, a business leader and owner of Revibe Gifts and Wellness on Broad Street, brought forward a petition with about 160 signatures, she said. Both she and board members said this was a friendly amendment and compromise to an earlier draft of the proposed law that was more restrictive on Broad St. That amendment merely changed the parking hours.
“Last year we had that problem with the one car that was there [on Broad Street] two months, three months,” Smola told the board at the public hearing. The car eventually was buried in snow. “I knew there was a problem [with current parking laws], but we didn’t want to hurt the businesses on Broad Street,” by having parking that was too restrictive, she said after the meeting.
Parking times for the four months running Dec. 1 to March 31:
For streets, other than Broad Street, running north and south:
- Park on the east/even side of such streets, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to the following day at 8:00 a.m.
- Park on the west/odd side of Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to the following day at 8:00 a.m.
For Broad Street:
- Park on the east/even side of such street on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 p.m. to the following day at 6:00 a.m.
- Park on the west/odd side of such street on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10:00 p.m. to the following day at 6:00 a.m.
For streets running east and west:
- Park on the south/odd side of the street on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to the following day at 8:00 a.m.
- Park on the north/even side of the street on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to the following day at 8:00 a.m.
Schuylerville also held a public hearing on its proposed zoning ordinance
The zoning ordinance is expected to pass a village board vote on Jan. 12 and then be sent to the state for final approval. Leona Colvin, who has been instrumental in moving the zoning ordinance forward, said they are trying to build a three-member zoning board. It will meet monthly, but only if a project comes before it.
[Read more about zoning here.]
Village needs a code enforcer
With these new regulations in place, the village will need an enforcement officer, and soon, as the current enforcement officer who splits his time between the village and the Town of Saratoga is moving fully to the town, Village Mayor Dan Carpenter told FoothillsBusinessDaily.com after the public hearing. They are actively looking for an enforcement officer.