Second thoughts from one commissioner after a unanimous vote last month to amend Kingfisher’s parking ordinance triggered a lengthy debate at Monday night’s city commission meeting when the issue was revisited.

However, at the end of the discussion, no motion was called to amend or rescind the ordinance, which will take effect next month.

The approved amendment provides that cars in residential neighborhoods can be parked “adjacent to a street or driveway, in an organized and regular manner that is satisfactory to the public eye.”

In other words, beginning Oct. 11, residents will be able to park on their lawns, a change requested by Kingfisher Police Department to alleviate congested streets in older neighborhoods with insufficient driveway or garage space to accommodate every vehicle.

“I woke up the next morning and felt like we had opened Pandora’s box and I called and asked for it to be put back on the agenda,” Commissioner Roxie Alexander said Monday night. “I think it was a bad move and I’m not the only one.”

The ordinance is one of the exceptions to the city code’s requirement that all vehicles be parked on a paved surface that is sealed and dust-proof.

Chief Dennis Baker, who attended the meeting along with Assistant Chief David Catron and code enforcement officer Jason East, asked for time to access the impact of the ordinance.

“I think the important thing is to strike a balance between what we want to do as a city and allowing people to use their property in the way they want to use it,” Baker said. “I wish you would give us a chance to see how the community reacts. Let us strike some rules and boundaries and let it play out.”

The new exception would only apply to vehicles which are regularly driven, but Alexander argued that the police department already is not enforcing existing city code prohibitions against undrivable vehicles being parked on lawns.

“We already have cars parked on the lawns all over town with grass growing up around them,” she said.

“What frustrates me is hearing about a lot of houses with cars on the grass at meetings like this and no one has notified us, given us those addresses and given us a chance to address it,” Baker said. “We do try to stay up on it. Obviously we miss some things. If you have specific addresses, we want that. If there are parts of our ordinance that are being violated, we will address it.”

“I get phone calls. Who should I tell them to call?” Commissioner Wendell Prim asked.

“Have them call our office because that’s where it’s going to get handled,” Baker said. “Also, there’s a complaint form for code violations on the city’s website.”

Kyle Mecklenburg, who owns residential investment property, and Gayle Cox, a local realtor, also spoke against the new ordinance.

“I have nothing but respect for the gentlemen in uniform and I understand their concerns,” he said. “But before a decision is made to allow people to park on their yards, we need to look at other traffic control options.

“There’s more than one way to skin a cat. You guys have chosen the easiest route to try to fix the problem but there are other solutions that need to be addressed.”

“When you park on grass, you’ll discount the value of your neighbor’s property when it’s appraised,” Cox said. “We have a super great older part of town and we need to keep it that way.”

“When you buy a home, you understand what the parking is and if you have five vehicles then you need to figure something out,” Mecklenburg said. “The argument that ‘it’s their private property’ doesn’t apply because when you choose to live in a municipality, you choose to abide by the city code.”

Mecklenburg suggested allowing parking off the alleys in older neighborhoods or allowing parking on just one side of the street.

“Which side?” City Manager Dave Slezickey asked.

“If it’s the east side, who’s going to tell residents on the west side that they don’t get to park in front of their own house but those across the street do?” Mayor Steve Richards asked.

“Whichever way you choose to skin this proverbial cat, you’re going to end with one ticked off cat,” Baker said. “I don’t think we’ve been given a chance to see how we can enforce it.

“We do miss things but it frustrates me that we’re not informed. When you see violations, I want to be a phone call so that we have an opportunity to address it.”

East pointed out that the ordinance contains language that requires vehicles to be parked adjacent to driveways or streets and in an organized manner.

“We’re not talking about letting people park vehicles every which way like drunken hillbillies,” East said.

Alexander continued to press what she sees as a lack of current enforcement efforts.

“How many tickets have you been writing to people for parking on the grass?” she asked.

“I can tell you how many I’ve written – none,” East said. “I go ask them to become compliant. I’ve gone this far without a citation because I try to work with people and ask them to meet me in the middle.”

“Jason doesn’t issue a lot of citations and he gets a lot of results,” Slezickey said. “It’s about working with people too and Jason is very good at it.”

Alexander suggested requiring a permit for people to park on the grass.

“Can you require a permit for someone to park on their own property?” Slezickey asked City Attorney Jared Harrison.

“That’s something I’d have to look at,” Harrison responded.

“My opinion is no,” East said. “Telling someone to pay to park on their own property isn’t right.”

“I don’t even care if they pay,” Alexander said. “I just want them to have to come in for a permit so we can tell them exactly what the rules are for how they park.”

Harrison pointed out that the commission will have the option to rescind the ordinance at a later date if the results are not acceptable.

“Let’s give the police time to assess how it’s working and then have them bring us a report,” Slezickey said.

“I disagree with this completely. I see that we have a problem but this isn’t the answer,” Alexander said.

No vote was taken, but Richards and commissioners Prim and Tammy Mueggenborg all expressed an interest in allowing the law to take effect and giving police time to assess its effectiveness.

“This is a safety issue and we’re trying to get vehicles off the streets so that it will be safer for everyone,” Richards said.

“I’m for giving the police some time with this to see if it will work,” Prim said.

“In some areas, I can see where parking in the grass is the only option,” Mueggenborg said.