Work on a new parking ordinance for the city of Benton Harbor is underway.
Speaking to the city’s Legislative Committee this week, Benton Harbor Public Safety Director Dan McGinnis said one goal is to add parking meters downtown to start benefitting from all of the activity taking place there.
Deputy Director Michael Clark said they’ll need a new fee schedule for violations.
“Right now, the parking violation is $5 across the board,” Clark said. “So, it obviously needs to be adjusted, and then when we start to focus on putting the downtown parking in, we need to have that set in place.”
McGinnis said the current parking rules are often confusing, especially when it comes to things like even-odd parking on narrow streets when there’s snow.
“It’s very light, very nebulous, and it also only speaks to that on emergency snow routes.”
McGinnis said the new parking ordinance will also clarify whether parking is allowed on lawns.
The goal is to bring an ordinance to the Benton Harbor City Commission in April. McGinnis hopes to begin enforcement of the new rules next year.
