Northwest Iowa — If you’ve been parking somewhere else all winter because you would really like to park your vehicle on a city street overnight, but you can’t — you can rejoice. In some communities, it won’t be long now.
In fact, Rock Valley has been — on a trial basis — letting people park on the street overnight since March 1st. Rock Valley’s winter parking ordinance went into effect on November 1st. It states that parking is not allowed for more than 30 minutes between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. The ordinance normally stays in effect until April 1st. The fine is $20 per night. The ordinance does make exemptions for physicians and emergency vehicles.
In Sheldon, motorists are not allowed to park on any street in the city between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. from November 1st to April 1st. Violation of Sheldon’s overnight parking ban will be subject to a fine, and possibly towing. The actual ordinance is a little more complicated than that. For details, you can contact the city office. Sheldon also has certain zones where overnight parking is not allowed year-round. In addition, Sheldon officials ask that people not park on lawns or between the sidewalk and street. You are required to park all vehicles on paved surfaces only. They tell us that not only is it unsightly to park elsewhere, it also creates issues for private utility lines.
In Sanborn, no parking is allowed from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m., year-round, on Main Street. In addition, from November 1st through March 31st, no parking is allowed on any city street in Sanborn from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. Violation of Sanborn’s overnight parking ban carries a $15 fine.
According to Sibley city officials, their overnight parking ban calls for no parking on any city street between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., from November 1st through April 15th. The fine for violating Sibley’s overnight parking ban is $25.
Orange City officials say that no parking is allowed on any of their city streets between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., from October 15th through April 1st. The fine for non-compliance in Orange City is $10.
In Sioux Center, the situation is a bit different. No parking is allowed on any city street between 2:00 and 6:00 a.m. year-round.
There are a couple of cities in our area that don’t have an actual overnight parking ban but do have an ordinance that’s effective when snow falls, ice accumulates, or drifting happens. So motorists who park on the street need to keep up-to-date on the weather forecast.
Hartley City officials tell us there is no overnight parking ban in that city. However, their ordinance says that vehicles must be off the streets when snowfall begins and must remain off the streets until the streets are cleared of snow. Failure to do so will result in a $50 fine from the City of Hartley. That is a change. Last year the fine was only $15.
Rock Rapids officials say their ordinance bans parking “on all city streets and alleys from midnight to 6:00 a.m. during any precipitation activity, including snowing, drifting or freezing rain.” There is an exception, however. Parking is banned from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. in Rock Rapids’ downtown area, year-round, and there are signs posted to that effect. The fine for non-compliance in Rock Rapids is $25.
