OGDEN -- The city may soon have a new ordinance dealing with street parking during harsh winter weather.

On Tuesday, the Ogden City Council discussed fine-tuning a proposed ordinance that would limit street parking during snow events that require plows out on the streets.

Ogden City Council Executive Director Janene Eller-Smith told the Standard-Examiner that concerns about safety brought the ordinance forward.

"The administration indicated they're requesting an ordinance because of some safety issues for snow plows and also to reduce damage plows sometimes cause inadvertently," she said.

She said that this has been an issue nearly every winter and that existing statutes weren't quite cutting it anymore.

"There's generally a few claims every snow season," she said. "There is an existing ordinance, the administration just felt that it wasn't quite strong enough and that there were loopholes that made it difficult to enforce."

Under the proposed ordinance, no person would be permitted to park in the street:

• After the time of the projected arrival of an imminent snowstorm as forecasted by the National Weather Service until the time the street has been plowed or otherwise treated by the city.
• When it is snowing or when snow removal is apparent or imminent.
• When there is an accumulation of snow or ice of 1 inch or more.
• Within 24 hours after a snowstorm.

Eller-Smith said the proposed ordinance has gone through several iterations as it's gone through work sessions. A provision blanket prohibiting street parking between Nov. 1 and March 15 of the following year was struck from the proposed ordinance.

"Right now, it just adds some limitations on parking saying ... there's no parking on the street when it's snowing or when snow removal is imminent or when there's an accumulation of snow or ice of 1 inch or more," she said. "It also clarifies some exemptions."

Exemptions include streets that are controlled by the state of Utah such as Washington Boulevard, streets with inadequate off-street parking that have been designated as exempt by the mayor or the mayor's designee, and properties with no driveway approach.

"It's kind of trying to weigh the balance of how this impacts residents that really don't have any other options of where to park their vehicles against this issue of safety and controlling damage," Eller-Smith said.

The parking ordinance will be considered during the council's Jan. 9 meeting.

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