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Parking ordinance revisited
By ANNE LINDBERG, Times Staff Writer PINELLAS PARK -- If City Council members thought they had everything solved last year after they toured the city and spent weeks debating what commercial vehicles can be parked overnight in residential neighborhoods, they were wrong. Difficulties first arose soon after the ordinance was passed several months ago when the city's code officers began ticketing taxi cabs that were parked overnight in the drivers' yards. The cabs were considered commercial vehicles because of the writing on the side and so were in violation of the ordinance. Cab drivers protested and turned out en masse at a council meeting. Council members told code officers to hold off ticketing cabs while they rethought the rule, an action council member Ed Taylor refers to as "tweaking" the ordinance. That "tweaking" will likely take place Tuesday during a 7:30 p.m. workshop. The workshop, on the second floor of City Hall, 5141 78th Ave. N, is open to the public, but comment is allowed only with council permission. Most council members appeared willing to allow cabs to be parked overnight in residential areas during a discussion earlier this year. They disagreed over additional signage on the cabs -- such as signs attached to the back and the plastic advertising some cabs carry on their roofs. Council member Sandra Bradbury said she did not want cabs with those types of attachments to be parked overnight in residential areas. Also on the "tweaking" list, Taylor said, is the portion of the rule that deals with so-called super pickup trucks and the section covering limousines. The city, he said, has a couple of limousine companies and one of them is run from the owner's home.
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From the Times South Pinellas desks Letters |
