**Area Permit Parking Programs
The Area Parking Permit Program (APPP) began in 1981 in response to citizen concerns about commuter parking in neighborhoods. Commuter parking originates from outside the permit area and has no apparent connection or business within the permit area.
The program is designed to help people who live or work in areas with a commuter parking problem by creating a visitor time limit. Those who do have businesses or live in the area may apply to purchase a permit, allowing parking beyond the visitor limit.
There are currently several zones in operation. Each zone's boundaries, visitor time limits, and hours of operation are designed around the needs of the individual neighborhood. Each zone has their own combination of residential, business, and visitor permits available for purchase. Neighborhood and/or Business Associations work with the Bureau of Transportation to create the rules for their particular zone.
Each area's parking permit committee has designed and adopted rules concerning that area. These rules are contained in Supplemental Plans. All supplemental plans, including Homestead's Supplemental plan can be found on the city's website.
The Homestead Neighborhood Association is interested in reviewing and possibly changing the Homestead Plan in order to improve the parking difficulties, particularly in the Zone C area.
Homestead Parking Permit Program
The Issues
The supply of on-street parking spaces in Homestead is static, while the demand for parking is increasing. The result is an increasing difficulty for residents to find places to park. Some of the reasons for existing and expected parking shortages include: (1) increased residential densities allowed by City rule changes, (2) proposed commercial developments that could result in guest and employee permits issued under current rules to exceed available parking spaces, (3) landlords and property owners illegally selling off-street parking to commuters while requiring their tenants to purchase city-issued permits, (4) residents selling or allowing commuters to use guest permits, (5) inadequate eligibility verification when City issues permits, and (6) lack of enforcement of parking violations.
Possible Remedies
The Homestead Area Parking Permit Program Committee has some authority to change Rules governing the parking permit program (Supplemental Plans). The changes the committee is considering include the following:
1. Reduce visitor parking limits from 2 hours to 1 hour in Zone C (west of OHSU). Visitor parking would remain at 2 hours in zones D & E.
Reason: Enforcement of visitor time limits would be easier for the City. Parking officers would visit zone C more frequently and would therefore be able to catch and cite offenders easier.
2. Replace Guest Permits with daily scratch-offs
Reasons: This could be a cost saver for most legitimate residential use (a book of 10 daily tickets costs $15 compared with $75 for an annual guest permit). The rules for guest permits include a limitation of five days per month for any single car, which is very difficult to enforce. Daily scratch-offs would eliminate some abuses of guest permits being sold or given to commuters. There is no time limit for use of daily scratch-offs. They can be used beyond the year in which they are purchased.
3. Eliminate or Limit the issuance of Business Permits (see changes being considered below)
Reasons:
a. There is a lack of enforcement by the City in issuing business permits. The current rules indicate that business permits may only be issued to 3 types of businesses: (1) non-resident property owners; (2) Bed & breakfast (& guesthouse) proprietors; and (3) businesses operating from commercially zoned properties in the area. For businesses in commercially zoned properties the number of business permits that can be purchased is one-half the number of full-time equivalent employees working there. A review of the 2018-19 permits issued in Homestead found the following: 22 of the 32 business permits issued were issued to properties zoned residential; the only registered bed and breakfast in zone C had 4 business permits issued to it (by employees would have only qualified for 1); a single address on Gibbs (that rarely, if ever, has more than 2 to 4 employees working at a time) was issued 7 business permits(probably only qualified for 2); and a residential property on 13th that has no employees was issued 4 business permits (should have had zero). At a meeting with PBOT on this matter, the City admitted that they do not check property zoning (therefore are not enforcing the rule requirement). Further, there is apparently only an honor system used when reviewing for number of employees.
b. There is no need for a non-resident property owner to have a business permit when they are only parking when they are performing maintenance or showing a rental to potential tenants, A book of scratch-offs would save them money and be more than enough to meet the needs of most non-resident property owners.
c. There is no need for 4 business permits issued to one bed and breakfast when there is no more than one employee.
Changes to Business Permits being considered:
A. Do not allow Business permits for non-resident property owners, bed and breakfast or guesthouse establishments, except by specific approval of the APPP Committee (criteria for approval to be established).
B. Limit business permits to 1 (or 2) per address of a licensed business (must show city license)
C. Require the APP Committee to review and approve any business permits (criteria for approval to be established).
D. Eliminate all Business permits.
In addition to possible changes to the supplemental plan rules noted above another remedy addressing a specific area where a proposal has been submitted and approved by the city for a 100+ room hotel is to pursue the removal of that property from the parking permit zone. That involves a petitioning process where a majority of effected and adjacent property owners would have to agree to have the property in question removed from the permit area. Limiting business permits through one or more of the four suggestions above may be a simpler way of providing the same protection.
