The Sedona City Council expanded city staff’s ability to impose new parking restrictions in public and public-use spaces during its meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 14, with the passage of Ordinance 2023-10. The ordinance was passed as a consent item without comment by council or the public.
In the first place, the ordinance updated Sedona city code to confirm the city’s ability to impose restrictions on U.S. Forest Service parking lots within city limits.
“Although they are already considered public parks per city code, and subject to city regulations per 16 U.S.C. §480, some defendants argue that they the city does not have jurisdiction over USFS parking lots,” the agenda bill stated.
The ordinance further modified city code to clarify the difference between restricted and prohibited parking. Restricted parking is considered to be parking accompanied by limitations on time of use or other factors, while prohibited parking is an outright ban on parking.
Finally, the language of the ordinance expanded the ability of city staff to impose new parking regulations without consulting council by extending the authority to impose parking restrictions, or prohibitions in the case of parking lots, to the city engineer in addition to the city manager. Previously, only the city manager was permitted to designate restricted parking zones, and then only along streets and rights-of-way.
This provision of the ordinance also eliminated the requirement that council approve all prohibited parking designations and limited the need for council approval of parking prohibitions to those sought along rights-of-way.
“In one recent example, city staff has proposed adding prohibited parking signs to Lot 8 [the Sedona Fire District Station 4’s lot on the south side of Forest Road in Uptown] parking along the west wall,” the agenda bill explained. “Currently, City Council would have to approve those new no parking signs by resolution before those ‘no parking’ signs could be placed and enforce in the area along that wall. The proposed amendment would delegate that authority to the city manager and city engineer.”
The ordinance will take effect on Thursday, Dec. 14.
