Council to waive parking infringement notice
31 August 2007
Council staff have decided a ticket issued to Community Board member Phil Clearwater for election signage on the top of his car will be waived.
Inspections and Enforcement Manager Gary Lennan says a review of the issue of Mr Clearwater’s ticket found it had been issued in error and so it was cancelled.
“People are able to raise concerns about the issuing of a parking infringement notice if they believe there has been a problem,’’ he says. “As Mr Clearwater had raised a concern, the circumstances surrounding the issuing of this ticket were looked at by a Council Parking Enforcement review. This adjudication process scrutinises the legitimacy of the issuing of the ticket from both a legal and public interest perspective.’’
The ticket was issued under Clause 23 of the Christchurch City Traffic and Parking Bylaw 1991.
This states: “No person shall park or leave any vehicle on a road in circumstances where it is used or may reasonably be assumed to be used for the purpose of drawing attention to any advertising sign notice or placard carried upon or affixed to the same, or for the purpose of providing support for any flagpole’’.
Clause 23 prohibits inappropriate use of roads. It stops people parking a vehicle specifically to draw attention to advertising which is fixed to the vehicle.
The clause does not stop someone from parking a vehicle with a sign attached, if the main reason the car is parked is not to draw attention to the sign. An example would be a delivery van with advertising
on the back stopped to carry out its normal business.
In Mr Clearwater’s case, it was clear there was no breach of clause 23, says Mr Lennan. The Council is satisfied he was using the car in normal day-to-day activities.
The review of Mr Clearwater’s ticket is part of a regular process, he says. Last year Council waived 4358 tickets for either legal or public interest reasons. Information about the adjudication process is printed on the back of all parking tickets issued by the Christchurch City Council.
Council will be contacting Mr Clearwater to offer an apology for the incident, says Mr Lennan.
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