The Portland City Council could revisit its recent decision to raise fines for parking during a city snow ban, but only if a majority of councilors agree Monday to take the issue back up.
Councilor Wes Pelletier, who supported the fee increase when it passed at the council’s last meeting on Nov. 3, wants to reconsider the matter after he received what he described as unusually strong feedback from constituents who say the new fine is too high.
The council voted to raise the citation for parking on city streets during a winter parking ban from $40 to $130 and to expand access to city-owned lots during bans.
City staff originally proposed increasing the fee to $175, arguing a $40 fine did not sufficiently deter overnight street parking during storms. A more substantial penalty, they said, could improve compliance and help plow crews clear roads more safely and efficiently.
Discussions around the increased penalties date back to early October, when the council’s Sustainability and Transportation Committee advanced the proposal to the full council.
Pelletier said his early support for the increase was shaped by city staff’s recommendation that a higher fee would be the most effective way to improve compliance. But, he said, much of the public reaction that followed the Nov. 3 vote changed his mind.
“We heard from a lot of constituents, and I heard from constituents in District 2 specifically, that the amount was just too high and it would be too much of a burden on them,” Pelletier said.
Pelletier said he remains skeptical that increasing the fee will meaningfully improve compliance and noted that with several changes happening at once — including expanded off-street parking — it will be difficult to determine which changes are responsible for any improvements.
“I think it’s worth reopening, especially in light of how clear voters have made it that affordability is one of the biggest things affecting them,” he said, referencing the decisive passage of Question A on Election Day, which will raise the city’s minimum wage.
OTHER COUNCILORS STAND THEIR GROUND
Councilor Kate Sykes was the lone vote against the fee increase earlier this month and said Friday she stands by that vote.
While she supports expanding city lots and improving communication around snow bans, she said increasing fees takes it too far, since the people most likely to be affected by a higher fine are renters without driveways or paid parking options.
“I just don’t think it is going to do what we want it to do, and it only hurts working people,” she said. “That fee could be the difference between being able to pay their rent or not.”
Councilor Sarah Michniewicz said she thinks it’s odd the issue is being brought back to council after such a decisive vote at the last meeting.
“I’m surprised. It was an 8-1 vote. I don’t really understand what the issue is,” she said. “Although apparently (Pelletier) was confused about what he was voting for.”
Michniewicz said she still supports the fine increase. She said she’s concerned about people with mobility issues being able to move around if the streets are not properly plowed because of cars that weren’t moved.
“I have heard from people who are very relieved to know that the streets will be clear,” she said.
Under council rules, Pelletier cannot reopen the discussion on his own. To make any changes, the council would have to take two votes Monday: one on whether to reconsider the matter at all, and a second on whether to amend or uphold the previously approved fee. The vote to reconsider requires at least a 5-4 majority. Without that support, the $130 fee will stand.
If the council agrees to reconsider the matter, Pelletier said he plans to introduce an amendment lowering the fine to $80.
“I’m still on the fence as to whether or not I support raising it at all, but I do think it’s important that if anything passes, it’s lower,” he said. “$130 is just too high.”
Monday’s meeting will determine whether the council reopens the issue before winter storms begin or leaves the newly approved fee as is.