The Seattle City Council’s Transportation Committee will hold a public hearing next week on Council’s proposed changes to the Restricted Parking Zone (RPZ) program.

The meeting will be held May 27, 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 600 4th Ave. in City Council Chambers, 2nd floor.

The committee will take public comment on their proposed amendments to the Residential Parking Zone program. The council’s amendments would:

● Manage parking demand by limiting permit sales to 4 per household with the exception for adult family homes, assisted living facilities, domestic violence shelters, and permitted congregate residences.

● Modify the business pilot to explicitly limit it to the seven Central Link Light Rail Stations and not allow its expansion to other RPZs; to establish a trigger point beyond which permits for non-residents would cease to be issued in order to keep parking demand from exceeding available on-street parking spaces in residential areas; and to set a time frame for evaluating and deciding whether or not to continue the pilot.

● Change the threshold for establishing an RPZ to 35 percent non-resident vehicles to favor parking for residents while still allowing for an increase in visitor parking.

● Not approve the mayor's limit on major institution support for RPZ permits costs for affected households; instead leave in place determination of level of major institution support for RPZ permits to negotiations as part of the master plan update process.

● Modify the mayor's proposal to include additional public involvement approaches.

● Add a requirement for a public hearing prior to decisions on RPZs by the Seattle Department of Transportation Director; and clarify that appeals process applies to establishing, modifying, or dissolving an RPZ.

● Not approve the mayor's limit on major institution support for RPZ permits costs for affected households; instead leave in place determination of major institute support for RPZ permits to the negotiation process as part of the master plan update process.

● Create a new resolution stating council’s intent to have the Seattle Department of Transportation report back to city council on January 1, 2011 on how the changes to the RPZ program have affected neighborhoods and what additional tools are available to manage RPZ permits.

For more information in this legislation, please go to: http://www.seattle.gov/council/Drago/rpzpermits.htm.