The Kent City Council on Tuesday night won’t be considering new residential parking zones in Mill Creek and Kentridge neighborhoods after all – in part because voters defeated a measure to hire more police officers.<\/p>\n
City staff and leaders pulled the ordinance from the May 15 council agenda because of “two significant events,” according to the council’s Public Works Committee documents.<\/p>\n
Public Works staff named the defeat of Proposition A (57-43 percent) on April 24 as the first event. The measure would have increased utility taxes to 8 percent from 6 percent to hire 23 more police officers.<\/p>\n
“Proposition A did not move forward creating difficulty with the ability to move forward with new initiatives that require police enforcement,” according to a May 7 document from city staff to the council committee. “Public Works, Police and the Mayor’s Office will need to determine the effect of these new no parking zones on police enforcement.”<\/p>\n
The second event revolves around King County traffic officials who recently sent documents to Kent about no parking ordinances adopted by the county before the Panther Lake area annexed to the city in 2010. City staff will need to determine whether the county measures carry over to Kent.<\/p>\n
On April 16, the council’s Public Works Committee recommended that the full council approve the residential parking zones on May 15. Residents requested that the city restrict Sounder train commuters and Kentridge High students who park on neighborhood streets because of full parking lots at the school, 12430 SE 208th St.<\/a><\/p>\n The removal of the ordinance from the council agenda didn’t go over well with residents who support the parking restrictions.<\/p>\n “I am real disappointed,” said Jim McHugh, a 35-year Mill Creek neighborhood resident who helped lead the drive to get parking by permit only. “I went to Costco at 10 this morning (Wednesday), came back at 11:30 and lost my parking spot. It is getting worse almost every week.”<\/p>\n