Many neighborhood organizations have worked together to try to clean up their community. One area of concern they have worked with is front yard parking. Neighborhoods felt that vehicles parked in the front yard not only had a negative impact on the neighborhood, but also them. Through their group efforts they were able to approach the City of Springfield about the problem. As a result, a new City Ordinance was implemented and is now in effect. This new ordinance makes it easier to enforce illegal front yard parking.

On March 26, 2002 a new City Ordinance was passed addressing front yard parking. Ordinance # 106-535 reads: "Front yard parking prohibited, placing of citations on illegally parked vehicles; presumption of responsibility for violation." Basically this ordinance states that it is against City Ordinance to park a vehicle of any kind in the front yard of private property. The front yard is considered the area of land that faces a street that is in front of the house. If a house is on a corner lot and faces two streets, then both sides are considered a front yard. The ticket will be issued to the registered owner of the vehicle and it will be a $25 fine. If the problem persists at any given address, the residence of that address will be turned over to Zoning for further fines.

If you have a problem with someone in your neighborhood parking in the front yard, there are different steps you can take. The first step would be to call 911 when the vehicle is actually parked in the front yard. This will allow an officer to be dispatched to that location and give a warning or summons. If the vehicle is not there at the time of the call but it is a persistent problem at that address, the next step would be to call the City PIO office at 864-1010. A service request will be filed with the police department and officers will check the area on various occasions to look for the violation.

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Ordinance 5165 | Ordinance 5166