Oak Avenue 'No Parking' Request Receives Commission Approval

The Safety Harbor City Commission agreed on Monday night to enact a "no parking" ordinance for the east side of Oak Avenue after receiving complaints from residents.

The issue was brought before the commission after Oak Avenue resident Jim Crutchfield sent a letter to the city describing the situation he has been dealing with regarding cars parking in front of his home.

The letter states in part:

I live at 6 Oak Ave., the last home before the gates to Los Prados condominiums. The condo residents have always parked on the streets and walked to their homes. It has not always been easy to leave my driveway and navigate when cars are parked on both sides of the street.

How can we get a no parking sign on one side of the road? I’m concerned when the new condo complex is completed the spillover parking will only make the situation worse.

In response to Crutchfield’s letter, the city sent letters to residents on the east side of Oak Avenue and Los Prados in order to gauge their reaction to the proposed ordinance. 

According to the agenda item backup materials, three residents responded and expressed support of the proposal, including Glen Farmer of 1797 Main Stz, who spoke at the meeting Monday night

“I have no parking on the street at all in front of my house,” Farmer told the commission. “I have people blocking my place “I can’t get into my yard. I can’t go anywhere.” 

Farmer went on to say he wasn’t sure if a "no parking" policy for the east side of Oak Avenue is even the best solution, because he believes the perpetrators will just migrate to the west side of the street.

He stated that residents of Los Prados park boat trailers, large vehicles and vehicles for sale on both sides of Oak Avenue because they can’t fit in the condo complex.

“I’m not sure if the ‘no parking’ zone on the east side is the answer,” he said.

But in the end the city ultimately decided to enact the ban for the east side of the road and revisit the issue in the future to see if further action needs to be taken.

“The recommendation is to post the east side ‘no parking’ at this point in time,” City Manager Matt Spoor said.

“Then … we could monitor the situation and then come back to you with an update and then you could decide if you wanted to do something on the west side that's been suggested by Mr. Farmer.”

The commission agreed with Spoor's recommendation and passed the request by a vote of 5-0.

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