By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Parking spots are often hard to find in Sea Isle City during the bustling summer tourism season. So it comes as no surprise that the 400 seasonal parking permits that go up for sale each year are a highly coveted prize.
The $250 permits, which sell out year after year, save motorists from the headache of fumbling for cash or coins to feed the parking kiosks and meters. They can be used for both the metered spaces and municipal parking lots around town.
But this summer, there will be a major change with the parking permits. The city has decided to put restrictions on them to avoid some of the confusion in the past.
City Council approved an ordinance Tuesday that will limit each seasonal parking permit to a maximum of three vehicles. Complete information about the three vehicles, including the make, model and license plate number, will be required in order to use the parking permit.
However, only one vehicle at a time will be able to use the permit. In addition, the permit must be displayed in the vehicle when it is being used.
The new restrictions represent a major shift in the city’s policies regulating the seasonal parking permits. Before, the permits were transferrable, allowing friends or family members to share them for different vehicles.
However, confusion arose when a vehicle that supposedly could use the transferrable permits was given a parking ticket by police. Police would ticket the vehicle if it was parked at an expired meter and did not have a parking permit on display.
When the owners of those vehicles would show up in municipal court to dispute the tickets, they would claim that they were one of the people who were allowed to use the transferrable parking permit, City Council President William Kehner said.
“People were saying, ‘I have a permit,’” Kehner said.
When that happened, the municipal prosecutor and the police officers were unable to prove otherwise, so the judge would be forced to dismiss the parking ticket, Kehner explained.
“The judge would say there was no conclusive evidence and would throw it out,” he said.
But now, a parking permit will be registered to a maximum of three vehicles, with only one vehicle at a time allowed to use it.
When City Council introduced the new ordinance in January, it took an even tougher stance. The original version of the ordinance would have completely banned the transfer of any seasonal parking permits, meaning that they would have been restricted to just one vehicle.
But the final version of the ordinance that was approved Tuesday included an amendment allowing the parking permits to be registered to a maximum of three cars.
According to city regulations, the permits must be hung on the rear-view mirror. They allow drivers to park continuously, including overnight, in any metered space or at any metered city parking lot. The city forbids the parking permits from being resold.
There will be 400 seasonal parking permits available for sale beginning April 1, City Clerk Shannon Romano said. They will be sold on a first come, first-served basis.
“They are a very popular item, especially for residents. We are limited to 400 and over the past few years we have been selling out,” Romano said.
The city also sells weekly parking permits at $50 each. A weekly permit is limited to only one vehicle and is not transferrable.
Sea Isle charges for parking from May 15 to Labor Day.
