The East Baton Rouge Parish Metropolitan Council adopted a new ordinance Aug. 27 prohibiting a person to stop, stand or park a vehicle on the grass of a house in a subdivision.
Councilman Jim Benham said when parents buy students a house in a subdivision near campus, students sublet the house to numerous other students.
“Each of these students has a car,” Benham said. “One or two cars are in the driveway, and the rest are parked in the front yard. This causes the yard to deteriorate and leads to a decrease in perceived value of the home and homes around it.”
Benham serves District 12, the area north of campus including Highland Road, Lee Drive, Perkins Road and Kenilworth Parkway. Students parking in the grass in the front yard is the number one complaint from voters in this district, Benham said.
Since parking in the front yard has always been against the law, the ordinance has changed the enforcement mechanism, Benham said. Instead of a person filing a report against an illegally parked car, the ordinance allows policemen to write tickets.
Chris Okubo, an international studies senior, said the ordinance should create zoning areas where students can park.
“If [the metro council members] want a more efficient ordinance because they are worried about depreciation value, have an ordinance that doesn’t allow students to move into higher class neighborhoods,” said Okubo.
The ordinance went into effect Sept. 1, said Assistant Parish Attorney Lee Ann Batson. Even though judges will decide each ticket cost, Batson said the ordinance will take faster action against people parking in the yard of a residentially zoned area.
Kara Bourg, a studio art senior who lives on Ivanhoe Street, said a lot of students park cars, boats and miscellaneous items in their yards.
“Having an ordinance for some stranger parking in your grass is great. But, if I am paying rent for the property, I should be able to park a car in my own yard.”
Bourg said the ordinance’s intention to upkeep neighborhoods’ appearance is good even though she said the law does not have the right to tell renters where to park.
Benham said students can put parking pads, big enough for three to four cars, in their yard beside the street.
“When cars are parked in a paved area, everything looks neat and the yards will not deteriorate,” Benham said. “The Metro Council wants to maintain neighborhoods. We want to keep people investing.”
To get in and out from Lee Street more easily, Jessica Coon, a communication studies senior, and her four roommates put in a gravel driveway in the front yard of their house.
“We don’t allow parking in the grass,” said Coon. “It’s tacky, and it kills the grass. We put in a circle driveway in the front yard so people would park there.”
For students who park cars on side streets near campus and walk to class, Benham said the ordinance will apply only to parking on private property. Parking on a medium or public property does not apply.
During football games, Benham said the ordinance will not be enforced unless by complaint. Since policemen are busy with security on game days, Batson said the ordinance will not be a high priority for police.
Justin Brewer, a marketing junior, said there is no real solution to parking problems.
“I’m totally against the ordinance,” said Brewer. “It’s the property owner’s choice to allow people to park in the grass. A lot of students don’t have enough money to pay for a circle driveway.”