City of Aberdeen – Notice of Ordinance No. 25-05-04

CITY OF ABERDEEN

ORDINANCE NO. 25-05-04

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING PUBLIC PARKING REGULATIONS

WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Aberdeen is charged with protecting the health, safety, and property of its citizens through the provision and regulation of vehicle parking on public properties and rights-of-way; and

•             WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that the following ordinance will protect the health, safety, and property of its citizens.
• BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF ABERDEEN THAT THE FOLLOWING CHANGES AND ADDITIONS SHALL BE MADE TO THE ABERDEEN CITY CODE:
•             1.         Sections 52-114 and 52-115 are hereby transferred to Article V – Stopping, Standing and Parking, of Chapter 52 – TRAFFIC AND VEHICLES and renumbered as Sections 52-217 and 52-218, as amended:
• Sec. 52-114.  Reserved.  [Transferred to 52-217.]
• Sec. 52-115.  Reserved.  [Transferred to 52-218.]

• Section 52-1 is hereby amended with underline indicating text to be added, and the remainder of the section to be left unaffected:

• Sec. 52-1.  Definitions.
• The definitions in SDCL title 32 apply to this chapter. In addition, the following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
• Downtown core area means the area in the city bounded by Railroad Avenue on the north, the west side of First Street on the west, the east side of Washington Street on the east, and the south side of Sixth Avenue on the south.
• Intersection means the area embraced within the prolongation of the lateral curb or roadway edge lines of two or more streets which join one another at an angle, whether or not one such street crosses the other. However, such area where an alley and a street meet is not an intersection.
• Laned street means a street, the roadway of which is divided into two or more clearly marked lanes for vehicular traffic.
• Loading zone means the space adjacent to a curb reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles during the loading or unloading of passengers or materials.
• Operator means any person who is in actual physical control of a vehicle.
• Pedestrian means any person afoot.
• Police officer means every officer of the city police department or any officer authorized to direct or regulate traffic or to make arrests for violations of traffic regulations.
• Street means a highway.
• Traffic means pedestrians, ridden animals, herded animals and vehicles while using any street for purpose of travel.

• Article V – Stopping, Standing and Parking, of Chapter 52 – TRAFFIC AND VEHICLES is hereby amended with strikethrough indicating text to be deleted, underline indicating text to be added, and the remainder of the Chapter to be left unaffected:

• Sec. 52-216.  Purpose of parking regulation. 
•             The free circulation of traffic through the streets of the city is necessary to the health, safety, and general welfare of the public.  The extensive use by the public of vehicles and the parking of such vehicles in the streets and off-street parking facilities creates congestion, obstructs the free circulation of traffic, diminishes property values, and endangers the health, safety, and general welfare of the public.  Regulation of parking facilities is therefore necessary to the exercise of the police power in the regulation and control of traffic and to alleviate conditions injurious to the public welfare.[1]
• Sec. 52-217.  No parking and no traffic zones.  [Transferred from Sec. 52-114 and amended.]
• (a)        Zones. The public works director/city engineer, or his or her designee, is hereby authorized to establish permanent or temporary no parking zones upon one or both sides of any street and temporary no traffic zones on any street when parking or traffic in such zones would, in his or her opinion, interfere with traffic or an approved parade route, activity, or event, create a hazardous condition, or be contrary to the public interest.
• (b)        Downtown core area. City council approval shall be required to establish a temporary no parking zone in the downtown core area for more than one month or a no traffic zone in the downtown core area for more than three days.
• (c)        Review criteria.  The city council shall approve and from time to time review the criteria developed by the public works director/city engineer to establish no parking and no traffic zones.
• (d)        Appeal.  Only the denial by the public works director/city engineer of a request to establish a no parking or no traffic zone in the downtown core area, or for more than one week elsewhere in the city, may be appealed to the city council.
• (e)        Fees.  The public works director/city engineer is authorized to impose fees to establish no parking and no traffic zones in the amount set forth in the fee schedule on file in the office of the finance officer.
•             (f)        Signs. Any no parking or no traffic zone shall be indicated by signs placed at the end of each such restricted zone designating no parking or no traffic between signs. Where parking is prohibited on one or both sides of any street for entire block areas, such no parking zones shall be indicated by signs placed at the end of each of such restricted blocks and by one sign in the center thereof, or by painting the curb adjacent to such restricted parking zone or block with a solid yellow stripe, and no person shall park a vehicle in any such zone in violation of any such sign or yellow marking.
• Sec. 52-218.  Regulation of designated parking spaces for persons with disabilities.   [Transferred from Sec. 52-115, without amendment.]
• The public works director/city engineer is hereby authorized to designate, at such place as he or she deems proper, special parking spaces which will be accessible to and useable by persons with disabilities, and such spaces shall be identified by signs indicating such spaces. Owners of private property may further designate handicapped parking spaces for persons with disabilities by appropriate signs.
• Sec. 52-220. Overtime parking notices; increased penalties for continuing violation; towing.
• (a)        Original offense. When a vehicle is illegally parked in violation of a time limitation, the officer shall attach to such vehicle a parking violation ticket indicating the offense and penalty associated with the offense.
• (b)        Subsequent offenses. If a vehicle remains in the same parking space after being ticketed once at least one hour thereafter:
• (1)        A second violation ticket shall be attached with the second offense penalty being doubled from the initial ticket.
• (2)        Any continued violations where a vehicle remains in the same spot may be enforced on an hourly basis with the fines being increased as set forth in the fee schedule on file in the office of the finance officer.
• (3)        The total of overtime parking fines shall not exceed $100.00 in any given day from midnight to midnight. Fines for a violation continuing into the following day shall begin at the original offense amount and increase for subsequent offenses. The total of all fines for a vehicle overtime parking continuing violation may not exceed $300.00.
• (c)        Towing.  The vehicle may be towed 48 hours after the first ticket. The owner of the vehicle shall be liable for the penalties prescribed for all violations in addition to any costs for towing or storage by third parties, if applicable.
• Sec. 52-222.  Circumventing parking enforcement.
• (a)        Circumventing prohibited.  It is unlawful for any person, at a time that a vehicle is parked within a limited time parking space, to circumvent or attempt to circumvent parking enforcement as follows:
• (1)        Erasing marks.  No person shall erase, alter or conceal any mark placed upon the tire or tires of any vehicle that has been marked by employees of the city police department for the purpose of determining the extent of such parking.
• (2)        Evading. Any of the following shall be deemed evading to avoid continuing violation and shall be prohibited:

• Moving a vehicle to a parking space on either side of Main Street from Railroad Avenue south to Sixth Avenue on the same block as the original parking space.
• Moving a vehicle parked on Main Street from Railroad Avenue south to Sixth Avenue to a parking space on either side of Main Street on a block immediately north or immediately south of the original parking space.

•             (b)        Time limitation not interrupted.  In addition to the separate offense for circumventing or attempting to circumvent parking enforcement, the time limitation is not interrupted but shall continue and penalties and remedies, including towing, may be imposed as if the vehicle had remained in the original parking space.
• Sec. 52-228.  Limited time parking
• The city manager, or his or her designee, is hereby authorized to designate any spaces in the downtown core area, a municipal-owned parking lot, and adjacent to any government, state, municipal, or other public building as limited time parking zones. It shall be unlawful for any person to park any vehicle in any such zone so designated for a longer period than indicated by the signs. It shall be the duty of the public works director/city engineer to erect and maintain signs indicating the time limitation for parking.
• Sec. 52-232.  Leased and restricted parking.
• (a)        Designated use. The city manager, or his or her designee, is hereby authorized to designate leased and restricted parking in the municipal-owned parking lots in such number as the city manager shall deem necessary for the orderly conduct of city business. “Leased parking” means spaces designated by the city manager for lease by persons for parking of non-city owned vehicles, or other approved use of such space, in public parking lots and facilities. “Restricted parking” means parking of government vehicles or personal vehicles of city officers or employees who use the vehicles on city business.
• (b)        Signs. The city manager shall cause to be placed and maintained appropriate signs indicating leased and restricted parking and stating the hours or days for leased and restricted parking.
• (c)        Unauthorized use.  No unauthorized use shall be made or vehicle shall be parked in a space designated by the city for leased or restricted parking during the time designated for such parking or use.
• Sec. 52-236.  Immobilization.
•             (a)        Immobilization of motor vehicle. A motor vehicle parked upon the public way or public place at any time may be immobilized, by or under the direction of an officer or member of the city police department, in such a manner as to prevent its operation, if there are outstanding or otherwise unsettled parking violation notices, or warrants issued for the violations, pending against the owner of the motor vehicle as follows:
• (1)        Two or more parking violations of the emergency snow removal regulations set forth at chapter 46; or
• (2)        Five or more parking violations.
• A motor vehicle parked upon private property may be immobilized if the owner or manager of the private property consents to entry onto such private property.
• (b)        Notice of immobilization. Upon immobilization of the motor vehicle, the officer or employee shall cause to be placed on the vehicle, in a conspicuous manner, notice sufficient to warn any individual that the vehicle has been immobilized, and that any attempt to move the vehicle might result in damage to the vehicle.
• (c)        Release of immobilized vehicle. The owner of such immobilized vehicle, or other authorized person, shall be permitted to secure release of the vehicle upon depositing the amount of the fine or penalty for each violation for which there is an outstanding or otherwise unsettled parking violation notice or warrant plus an immobilization fee as provided in the fee schedule on file in the office of the finance officer.
• (d)        Towing and impoundment for failure to pay fines. The immobilizing device or mechanism shall remain in place for 48 hours, unless the owner has complied with subsection (c) of this section. If the compliance has not occurred within 48 hours, the vehicle shall be towed or impounded. Towing and storage fees, as specified in subsection (e) of this section, shall be paid, along with fees specified in subsection (c) of this section, before the owner of the vehicle, or other authorized person, shall be permitted to repossess or secure the release of the vehicle.
• (e)        Towing and storage fees. The owner of an immobilized vehicle which was impounded shall be subject to a towing fee and a fee for storage in addition to such immobilization fee.
• (f)        Unlawful tampering. It is unlawful for any person to remove or attempt to remove any immobilization device, or to move any immobilized vehicle from the place at which the immobilization device was affixed to the vehicle, before a release is authorized by the city.
• (g)        Hearing or trial. Nothing in this section shall be construed to deprive any person of the constitutional right to a hearing or trial as to the violations charged.

• 4. Severability.  The provisions of this ordinance are severable.  If any provision of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
• 5. Effective Date.  The City Finance Officer shall cause this ordinance to be published in the official newspaper in clean text with all deletions and additions incorporated therein and footnotes omitted.  This ordinance shall become effective twenty (20) days after the completed publication, unless the referendum is invoked.

/s/ Travis Schaunaman, Mayor, ATTEST: /s/ Jordan McQuillen, Finance Officer

First Reading: May 5, 2025, Second Reading: May 19, 2025, Final Adoption: May 19, 2025, Published: May 22, 2025, Effective Date: June 11, 2025

[1] SDCL § 9-51-1 Legislative findings and policy

It is hereby declared that the free circulation of traffic through the streets of any municipality is necessary to the health, safety, and general welfare of the public; that the greatly increased use by the public of motor vehicles and the parking of such vehicles in the streets and the lack of adequate off-street parking facilities creates congestion, obstructs the free circulation of traffic, diminishes property values and endangers the health, safety, and general welfare of the public; that the provision of conveniently located automobile parking facilities is therefore necessary to the exercise of the police power in the regulation and control of traffic and to alleviate such conditions, and the establishment of automobile parking facilities including off-street parking facilities is deemed to be a proper public or municipal purpose.

Published once on May 22, 2025, at the total approximate cost of $141.96 and may be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.aberdeeninsider.com