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BELLEFONTE -- During this week's Bellefonte Borough Council work session and business meeting, they discussed the suggested amendments to the Parking Ordinance draft.
"I think the draft is in pretty good shape for advertisement purposes," said Borough Manager Ralph Stewart.
The draft has been in the works for two meetings now, with the council members discussing and suggesting changes for the outdated language in the draft.
"(The ordinance) was in need of an overhaul," said Stewart, "It looked like it's been a few years since we really went through this ordinance and updated it."
One of the updates made was the definition of what a pedalcycle was in Section 530-29. The definition was added as a clarification for the restriction of what is allowed to be ridden on the sidewalks in the Business and Waterfront Districts; a pedalcycle is defined as a bicycle, e-bike or tricycle.
Other minor changes were made throughout the document regarding wording or clarifications; in some areas where fees or fines were mentioned, the ordinance was updated to include the Borough fee schedule.
An exception that was suggested to be added into the ordinance was in Section 530-41, subsection B, number 7. The original rule said, "At no time shall a recreational vehicle be used for living or housekeeping purposes, nor shall it be connected to water, gas, electrical or sanitary sewer facilities, except for the purpose of heating, cooling or battery charging preparatory to departure, or for general vehicle maintenance purpose."
Council member Joanne Tosti-Vasey suggested an exception be written into the ordinance that allows for the zoning officer to authorize an individual to live out of their RV while a home is being repaired after damage from a disaster.
Another section that has been under scrutiny was 530-53, regarding days and hours of parking meter operation.
"There's been a lot of discussions over months," said Stewart, "I just want everyone to be aware that it's still listed in the ordinance from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays."
"We tried to clarify the language about violations of parking meters," Stewart explained, indicating 530-55 which had numerous additions and corrections. Section 530-57 explains specifically parking in Borough Municipal lots, most notably it details Electronic Vehicle (EV) parking spaces.
Subsection F states, "The cost of the EV spaces shall be designated by signage and paid at the individual parking meter. Anyone parking and using an EV parking space and pays at the meter does not have to pay at the kiosk. The cost of these meters shall be independent of the parking kiosk and is the same for electric and non-electric vehicle parking. If you are using these spaces, you must pay the independent parking meter rate 24/7 365 days a year."
"Basically, if someone desires to park in that space they have to feed the meter. Whether they're using a charging station or not so it's fair across the board," said Stewart.
The draft will still be able to have minor edits at the next meeting, but an action item is scheduled.
For those interested in seeing more of the changes made, the full document and all of the changes is available for public view on the Borough's webpage under the "Council Agendas and Meeting Minutes" tab, in the July 5 "Full Agenda Packet." It will also be advertised by the borough.
Bellefonte Borough will meet again on Monday, July 17 with the work session beginning at 6:30 p.m. and the business meeting beginning at 7:30.