By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
David and Jasmine Costas came to the regular Park Hills city council meeting to see if council had an answer to the parking problem they have with their house on Audubon.
The couple have tried since last September to find a solution to the problem of where to park their cars. They were referred to the Infrastructure committee, and at the end of last year that committee recommended against granting an encroachment permit so the couple can put a parking pad in front of their house.
“We’d just like for council to give us an answer on this,” said Attorney Kim Vocke, who is representing the couple.
Vocke said he has talked to City Attorney Daniel Braun, but according to his research, the platt for the property does not show any right of way. He wanted to know what source was used as a reference for the decision that the front of the Costas’ house is in a right of way.
Braun said he first talked to the city engineer, Jay Bayer.
“In fact, there is a 50 foot right of way that is dedicated to the street,” said Braun.
He added that he also looked at Link GIS and there is a line drawn there that indicates a right of way. In both cases the place where the Costas want to put a parking pad is in the city’s right of way. He said he didn’t think there was a statutory law for the issue, but he said there is a prohibition against these kind of matters within the right of way, since it is platted that way.
Council members apologized for taking so long to make a decision, but attributed the delay to gathering information.
“I think I am probably the only person on this council that believes that this gentleman has not been given a fair shake,” said newly elected councilman Monty O’Hara. “If you all had your minds made up from the very beginning you should have said don’t bother.”
He felt that the solution for the problem is to move the stop sign which is basically in front of the house. There is a law in Kentucky that says no one can park within 30 feet of a stop sign.
David Costas contended that the city law says the prohibition for parking is 20 feet. He said the city governs the law that is in place in the state, and the Park Hills ordinance specifies that the distance for parking by a stop sign is 20 feet. The line that was drawn on his curb is 30 feet. Mayor Zembrodt said the person she hired to repaint the yellow lines throughout the city after many streets had a mill and overlay painted the lines according to the state law, not the city law.
Police Chief Cody Stanley said if they moved the stop sign 15 feet it would then be basically in the middle of the intersection and that would create a safety problem. It might also interfere with the schoolbus’ ability to turn around.
“It always come down to safety,” said Zembrodt. “Safety has been an issue from the beginning.”
Moving the stop sign back would not help the Costas.
“Traffic control in this city, parking in this city is an ongoing nightmare,” said Councilmember Joe Shields. He said he sees a lot of parking pads and doesn’t know where they came from. “I hate that they (the Costas) did the right thing and they get penalized.”
Records show that the only parking pads that have been approved have been ones that are perpendicular to the street and are in the residents’ yards.
Mayor Zembrodt referenced several city ordinances dealing with parking in the city, including one that prohibits parking on ‘unimproved right of way’, and one that prohibits parking on ‘unpaved lawn, lot, or right of ways.’
Councilmember Sarah Froelich said she would like to help the homeowners, but to allow them to have a parking pad would mean that it is okay for the rest of the street, and could possibly mean a green light for parking pads throughout the city.
Mayor Zembrodt called for a vote on whether to allow the parking pad within the right of way for the Costas.
Five members voted not to allow the parking pad, and only Monty O’Hara voted for the parking pad.
All the council members were in agreement that they need to find some kind of solution for the parking, since there are some streets in the city where street parking is not allowed at all. They agreed to pursue the matter further. Not long ago, a presentation was made to council about permeable parking pads that can be installed over grass without harming the grass. Council agreed to discuss any options that could be a solution in a city that has parking problems all over.