Elmer City updates parking rules, rental fees

Elmer City council members tightened local parking rules and updated rental and utility service fees Thursday night, then heard from an Okanogan County District Court judge making a rare outreach visit to the small town.

Parking overhaul replaces 1950 ordinance

The council unanimously adopted Ordinance 394, a major update to the town’s parking regulations for vehicles, on city streets, sidewalks and alleys.

The new law repeals a 1950 parking ordinance and largely brings Elmer City in line with state standards. It:

• bars parking within 30 feet of stop, yield or traffic-control signs or signals

• bars parking within 20 feet of crosswalks or fire station driveways

• bars parking within 15 feet of fire hydrants

• bars parking within 5 feet of public or private driveways

• prohibits parking where signs or road obstructions mean vehicles would block traffic.

It also targets long-term storage of vehicles in public right of way. Under the ordinance, it is illegal to park or leave any vehicle — running or inoperable — on streets, sidewalks, alleys or other city property for more than seven days.

Enforcement will follow a stepped process ranging from a letter to a $250 fine per violation.

That maximum monetary penalty is up from about one-tenth of that under the 1950 code.

Council members also approved an updated fee schedule covering room rentals at city facilities and charges for sewer-related services.

Judge makes case for closer ties with small towns

The meeting’s most unusual item was a visit from Okanogan County District Court Judge Byron Moore, who told the council he is making a point of getting out into the county’s smaller communities.

Moore fielded questions ranging from community service requirements and local nuisance ordinances to feral cats, abandoned or unsafe structures, and jury duty.

Moore has also recently attended town council meetings in Nespelem and Coulee Dam.