City trying to impose new parking laws on students

[activestudent]

Utah State - Utah County

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The local city council and mayor are attempting to pass a law making it illegal to park on the streets in a 10 square block area only 3 blocks south of a University Campus. The attempt is to prevent students from parking on the streets, as a few locals have made complaints about the issue. Students will then be charged a monthly fee to park on the street in the range of about $50 per month. Permits will be sold at the County Office. The issue is that most students are not registered voters in the state, due to their transitory nature in the area, and most students own a car with insufficient parking space due to old complexes under old zoning laws. If passed, the law will cause students to park long distances from their homes and campus, and students feel this law is being passed regardless of student feelings. The council is not allowing students to discuss the matter at their meetings, saying that the current and future agendas have no room. The mayor has also denied a meeting to discuss the issue. Is there any legal action we can take? Or any suggestions?

[racer72]

students feel this law is being passed regardless of student feelings.

How many other laws are passed, from the local to the national level, do you disagree with? The politicians can't please everyone. It also appears the local folks have a lot more clout than the college kids do.

[Stevef]

Originally Posted by activestudent

The issue is that most students are not registered voters in the state

The mayor has also denied a meeting to discuss the issue.

The mayor is interested in keeping voters happy. As you've stated, the students aren't voters, so have little or no influence with the city.

Your best recourse is to complain to the school, and demand that the school provide adequate parking.

The real issue here is that people own homes three blocks from the campus but cannot park near their homes because the streets are full of student vehicles. These people are paying taxes to maintain the streets that students want to use for a parking lot. They are fed up and have asked the city to address the situation.

[Lia]

I live next to the school and sometimes I cannot get out from my own driveway because it's blocked by someone from school. I have to always watch out for someone trying to block it and run out screaming if they do (before they leave) otherwise I'll be stuck. I work from home but I do need to do pick up/delivery and also drive my kids to and from schools. I tried calling cops and since it's not a "real" emergency, they showed up after like 40 minutes passed and the car was gone a couple minutes before they showed up. I had some problems with my work because of that. Now I'm watching out for myself. I tried posting "no parking" signs but nobody really pays attention