Council discussed complaint data and asked staff to consider options for allowing, prohibiting, or conditionally permitting parking on unimproved surfaces. The Sept. 30 workshop sent staff back to develop the alternatives described in the official meeting recording.
New Braunfels property owners could be required to use approved parking surfaces if council later adopts the staff proposal. That would make the cost of a qualifying surface, and any exception, important parts of the next draft.
Speakers raised concerns about the cost of requiring residents to add approved parking surfaces and the possibility of fines. Those concerns became part of the council discussion about how a new rule would work for current parking areas.
What would change
City staff currently use code sections 82-11 and 144-5.1 to address parking on unimproved surfaces. The city’s item file says those provisions lack definitions and standards tailored to the issue, especially in residential areas. Staff wants clearer rules that residents and enforcement workers can apply.