Residents, city council debate Cape parking ordinance

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WINK News / The line of people waiting to speak at the council meeting about Cape’s parking ordinance

On Monday night, Cape Coral city councilors heard public concern from citizens on both sides of a heated parking battle.

It was an argument of beauty versus utility.

Some are calling on the city to enforce an existing statute prohibiting homeowners from keeping large commercial vehicles, boats and RVs in their front yards and driveways.

“We don’t want our city to be a junkyard. Pure and simple. We don’t want to live in junk,” said Cape Coral resident Maryanne Sweeney.

But many were also on the opposite side of the debate.

Resident John Logan told the council the current code is costing him time and money.

“My home office is up in Bokeelia. So I have to travel from my house in South Cape all the way up to Bokeelia to get my vehicle to come back out. Which wastes my time. Which also puts another vehicle on the road,” Logan said.

Logan thinks the city should make an exception allowing one commercial vehicle in driveways, as long as it’s a reasonable size.

“These are working class people that are servicing our community. And if they’re going to have a work vehicle out there, I don’t have a big issue with it as long as it’s maybe just one,” Logan said.

But others weren’t convinced.

“A business is a business. You work during business hours…OUT OF your business,” said Sweeney.

The city council and the mayor said they plan to look at tweaks to the number of vehicles that can be parked in the front yard and the number of boats that can be parked in the backyard.

They also plan to look at the types of commercial vehicles that they’ll allow to be parked in driveways.

The city is still working on a timeline for these changes.

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