OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

City Code Chapter 2150 Code Change Hearing - December 1, 2025

City Council — Monday, December 1, 2025
BodyColumbus, Ohio
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, December 1, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:03:56

Transcript — Verbatim
0:05

First, I want to thank everyone for coming out on a snowy uh Tuesday afternoon.

0:11

Um it's the snow day for some.

0:13

Wish it was a snow day for us, but I appreciate everyone being here.

0:16

Uh because this is a code change hearing, our hope is to be efficient uh to get everyone out of here before the temperatures drop anymore, although our snow warriors are out there making sure you get home safe.

0:27

But I want to be part of that solution.

0:29

So today we will be discussing proposed changes to code City Code Chapter 2150.

0:36

This chapter governs parking infractions and establishes procedures, penalties, and enforcement of parking violations.

0:44

The proposed changes to the code will clarify definitions, clear up inconsistency, modernizing the code, and among the changes will emphasize safety and mobility focused violations, allow more time for parking before penalties are assessed, and introduced tiered and early payment to incentivize expedient payment.

1:04

The Department of Public Service has also proposed adding new safety violations to enhance safety of our residents and dedicated bike lanes, and in anticipation of bus rapid transit as part of the Link Us initiative.

1:18

So before I hand it over, I also want to acknowledge my colleague, uh Councilmember Beatty.

1:22

Councilmember Beatty, do you have any thoughts you want to share?

1:26

Great.

1:27

Um we will begin the hearing tonight with a presentation from our Department of Public Service, followed by public testimony and then concluding remarks.

1:37

So uh we'll start with a presentation from two members of the Department of Public Service from the Division of Planning and Operations Administrator Amanda Ford and Mobility and Parking Services Division Administrator Justin Goodwin.

1:51

Before we start, I don't want to bury the lead.

1:54

I we talked about this a little bit, but if you all could very very quickly a quick synopsis of why, why now, and why this is important, and then dive in.

2:07

Absolutely.

2:08

Uh good afternoon, and and thank you, Chair Barossa de Padilla and Councilmember Beatty.

2:12

Again, I'm Justin Goodwin, administrator for mobility and parking services, joined by Amanda Ford, our parking operations coordinator.

2:19

Um so why are we here now?

2:22

Um I'll touch on this in a couple of slides, but um, we've undertaken a strategic planning effort in our division over the past couple of years to modernize our operations.

2:32

We've been doing a lot of modernization of our operations over the past few years.

2:36

Um we have a new strategic parking plan that I'll give a little bit of an overview on, and this is one of the recommended implementation items out of the plan.

2:44

Um we have an updated parking citation finds themselves for over a decade.

2:50

Um that's quite a while.

2:52

Um, but also uh this section of code is a little bit cumbersome to administer.

2:57

Um it's a little cumbersome for folks, the the average person to read if you want to understand what is the process if you get a parking ticket.

3:05

And we want to make sure that we're administering processes fair and consistently and predictably for everybody.

3:12

So a combination of policy recommendations and um no time like the present to improve our processes.

3:19

Well, 10 years ago, we also didn't have a parking app, so the world has changed a lot in 10 years.

3:26

So all right.

3:29

Uh I'll go to some slides here.

3:34

Uh so we thought it might be helpful to start with a little bit of an overview of who we are and how we manage the system before we get into the actual code recommendations.

3:42

So uh these are the things that we're gonna cover here.

3:45

I'll do a little bit of parking one-on-one.

3:48

Um, and then we'll talk about what actually are we proposing to amend in the code.

3:54

So uh as you noted, Chair, um, we are the division of mobility and parking services.

3:59

We're one of the four transportation focused divisions in the Department of Public Service.

4:04

Uh, you can see some key figures there about our system that we manage.

4:08

Uh we, of course, uh operate and enforce on-street parking throughout the city uh as well as the city's public parking garages.

4:16

Uh we also include our our team includes the transportation multimodal planning team.

4:22

Um we manage all parking and curbside management programs uh as well as the shared micromobility system in the city.

4:30

So there's a lot that we cover uh in our division.

4:35

And with our new strategic parking plan, we updated our division's mission.

4:39

We we really are committed to providing safe, equitable, and predictable mobility and parking options for for everyone who needs to get around the city uh with an emphasis on mobility choice on safety and facilitating access as our city continues to grow.

4:57

I mentioned our strategic parking plan.

5:00

Our first strategic plan was adopted in 2019.

5:04

We've updated this earlier this year.

5:07

And this lays out some guiding principles for a wide variety of policies and program recommendations.

5:14

One of which is to update and modernize this section of code.

5:18

I heard you talking earlier about what cities have we we looked at.

5:22

There are a few benchmark cities on this slide here that we looked at for a wide variety of best practices.

5:29

A couple of them, like Cincinnati and Austin, specifically around how they manage their citation ticketing process and things like early payment and the what's the right amount of time to give somebody to respond to a ticket, which we'll touch on a little bit more here.

5:52

I think all of them are pretty familiar in the news over the past few years here, whether it's Link Us, our new bike plus plan adopted just a year ago, uh, the zoning initiative, the climate action plan, uh Vision Zero, not on the slide, but all of these are supported by our strategic parking plan.

6:10

Uh and um of these uh plans really are specifically supported by some of the code changes that we're recommending tonight, specifically around safety and mobility.

6:21

So a little parking 101.

6:24

Uh first, uh, one of those principles on the strategic parking plan side noted uh a sustainable revenue stream.

6:33

I think it's important to uh share how we're structured from a budget standpoint within the department and within the city.

6:40

Uh since 2022, the the parking operations have been set up into an enterprise fund called the Mobility Enterprise Fund.

6:48

So it's a self-sustaining fund that's separate from the city's general fund.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Transportation Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████75%
Public Safety███████████19%
Equity in Transportation██3%
Fiscal Sustainability█2%
Procedural█1%
Summary of Proceedings

City Code Chapter 2150 Code Change Hearing - December 1, 2025

On a snowy Tuesday, the Columbus City Council held a code change hearing to discuss proposed modernization of City Code Chapter 2150, which governs parking infractions, penalties, and enforcement procedures. The Department of Public Service (DPS) presented a comprehensive plan to simplify the appeals process, introduce a tiered fine structure, extend response times from 10 to 30 days, and add new violations for safety and mobility issues like bike lane parking. The goal is to align the code with current safety standards, the upcoming Link Us Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) initiative, and strategic mobility goals while maintaining a user-friendly system.

Consent Calendar

  • Routine administrative approvals were not explicitly detailed in the transcript; the meeting proceeded directly to the code change presentation.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Asileen Rodriguez, Senior Director of Regional Strategic Partnerships at Central Ohio Transit Authority (CODA):
    • Position: Expressed full support for the proposed code changes.
    • Stated Reasons: Argued that clarifying enforcement around bus-only lanes is critical for the success of the Link Us mobility initiative and future Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors. Stated that clear lanes are essential for maintaining travel time savings, reliability, and safety for hundreds of riders. Advocated for the code update as a necessary step to ensure the public has predictability and to support the transition from a car-centric city to one with diverse mobility options.
  • Written Testimony: Councilmember Beatty acknowledged four pieces of written testimony received prior to the meeting, all of which were expressed in favor of the changes, with specific focus on improving safety for cyclists and preventing the misuse of bike lanes and shared-use paths.

Discussion Items

  • Modernization and Strategic Goals (Justin Goodwin & Amanda Ford):
    • Proposal: DPS presented a proposal to replace the outdated, wordy code (last updated over a decade ago) with a modernized version that clarifies definitions and simplifies the appeals process.
    • Key Changes: Proposed shifting from a 10-day to a 30-day response window before penalties are assessed. Introduced a tiered payment structure with discounts for those paying within the first seven days to incentivize early payment.
    • Revenue Structure: Clarified that parking operations and citations fund the self-sustaining "Mobility Enterprise Fund," reinvested directly into staff, technology, and infrastructure rather than the city's general fund.
  • Tiered Fine Structure and Safety Violations:
    • Proposal: Shifted from inconsistent fine amounts to a category-based tiered system where higher fines mirror the severity of safety risks.
    • Specifics: Safety violations (e.g., blocking a crosswalk, parking in a bike lane or bus lane) will carry the highest fines, capped at $100 (except handicapped violations at $500). Management violations (e.g., meter non-payment) have lower fines. Some fines may decrease with early payment options.
  • New Safety and Mobility Violations:
    • Proposal: Removed the exemption allowing loading and delivery in bike lanes to prevent cyclists from being forced into traffic lanes (specifically citing issues on East Broad Street).
    • Proposal: Added a new infraction for parking or stopping in a bus lane to prepare for future BRT infrastructure.
    • Position: Speakers emphasized these changes are proactive measures to support the "Link Us" initiative and ensure future transit reliability.
  • "Failure to Display" Registration Violation Reform:
    • Proposal: Split the current single violation into two distinct categories: failure to display a handicap placard and failure to display a valid vehicle registration.
    • Position: DPS expressed concern over a cycle of accumulation where residents receive multiple tickets for a single registration lapse due to mail delays or bureaucratic holds. Proposed a new administrative approach: issuing a warning ticket (no fine) within 30 days of expiry, followed by a standard ticket only after another 30 days if unregistered, rather than stacking fines. The fine for this specific violation was proposed to drop from $50 to $30 and not escalate.
    • Concerns Raised: Council members discussed the unintended burden on residents and the need to avoid punitive accumulation of costs that could lead to vehicle impoundment for minor administrative oversights.
  • Enforcement and Logistics:
    • Implementation Timeline: Council members noted that while code changes are expected to pass in December, the new ticket structure involving paper stock updates for Columbus Police will not take effect until April 2026. Public education campaigns will commence in early 2026.
    • Language Access: Council members raised the need for translation services and accessibility information regarding the new process. DPS acknowledged the current limitation of English-only paper tickets and agreed to explore solutions (e.g., QR codes, updated ticket design) during the implementation phase.
  • Reporting and Scope:
    • Inquiries: Council members requested clarification on reporting violations in residential areas and the "72-hour rule" regarding abandoned vehicles. DPS confirmed that 311 is the primary reporting channel and that resources are focused on high-demand core areas, deferring to Public Safety for deep residential areas where enforcement is less frequent.

Key Outcomes

  • Vote Schedule: The Council is scheduled to bring the amendments for a First Reading on December 8, 2025, and a verbal vote for Second Reading and Adoption on December 15, 2025.
  • Effective Date: If adopted, the code changes are set to go into effect in January 2026, with the new fine structure and citation procedures for police and enforcement staff expected to be operational by April 2026.
  • Directives: The Department of Public Service is directed to finalize internal training for Columbus Police Department, coordinate with payment vendors (e.g., Park Mobile), and develop a public education campaign to inform residents of the new 30-day response window, tiered payment options, and new safety violations.
  • Strategic Alignment: The proposed changes explicitly support the City's "Link Us" mobility initiative, "Bike Plus" plan, and "Vision Zero" safety goals.

Meeting Transcript

First, I want to thank everyone for coming out on a snowy uh Tuesday afternoon. Um it's the snow day for some. Wish it was a snow day for us, but I appreciate everyone being here. Uh because this is a code change hearing, our hope is to be efficient uh to get everyone out of here before the temperatures drop anymore, although our snow warriors are out there making sure you get home safe. But I want to be part of that solution. So today we will be discussing proposed changes to code City Code Chapter 2150. This chapter governs parking infractions and establishes procedures, penalties, and enforcement of parking violations. The proposed changes to the code will clarify definitions, clear up inconsistency, modernizing the code, and among the changes will emphasize safety and mobility focused violations, allow more time for parking before penalties are assessed, and introduced tiered and early payment to incentivize expedient payment. The Department of Public Service has also proposed adding new safety violations to enhance safety of our residents and dedicated bike lanes, and in anticipation of bus rapid transit as part of the Link Us initiative. So before I hand it over, I also want to acknowledge my colleague, uh Councilmember Beatty. Councilmember Beatty, do you have any thoughts you want to share? Great. Um we will begin the hearing tonight with a presentation from our Department of Public Service, followed by public testimony and then concluding remarks. So uh we'll start with a presentation from two members of the Department of Public Service from the Division of Planning and Operations Administrator Amanda Ford and Mobility and Parking Services Division Administrator Justin Goodwin. Before we start, I don't want to bury the lead. I we talked about this a little bit, but if you all could very very quickly a quick synopsis of why, why now, and why this is important, and then dive in. Absolutely. Uh good afternoon, and and thank you, Chair Barossa de Padilla and Councilmember Beatty. Again, I'm Justin Goodwin, administrator for mobility and parking services, joined by Amanda Ford, our parking operations coordinator. Um so why are we here now? Um I'll touch on this in a couple of slides, but um, we've undertaken a strategic planning effort in our division over the past couple of years to modernize our operations. We've been doing a lot of modernization of our operations over the past few years. Um we have a new strategic parking plan that I'll give a little bit of an overview on, and this is one of the recommended implementation items out of the plan. Um we have an updated parking citation finds themselves for over a decade. Um that's quite a while. Um, but also uh this section of code is a little bit cumbersome to administer. Um it's a little cumbersome for folks, the the average person to read if you want to understand what is the process if you get a parking ticket. And we want to make sure that we're administering processes fair and consistently and predictably for everybody. So a combination of policy recommendations and um no time like the present to improve our processes. Well, 10 years ago, we also didn't have a parking app, so the world has changed a lot in 10 years. So all right. Uh I'll go to some slides here. Uh so we thought it might be helpful to start with a little bit of an overview of who we are and how we manage the system before we get into the actual code recommendations. So uh these are the things that we're gonna cover here. I'll do a little bit of parking one-on-one. Um, and then we'll talk about what actually are we proposing to amend in the code. So uh as you noted, Chair, um, we are the division of mobility and parking services. We're one of the four transportation focused divisions in the Department of Public Service. Uh, you can see some key figures there about our system that we manage. Uh we, of course, uh operate and enforce on-street parking throughout the city uh as well as the city's public parking garages. Uh we also include our our team includes the transportation multimodal planning team. Um we manage all parking and curbside management programs uh as well as the shared micromobility system in the city. So there's a lot that we cover uh in our division. And with our new strategic parking plan, we updated our division's mission. We we really are committed to providing safe, equitable, and predictable mobility and parking options for for everyone who needs to get around the city uh with an emphasis on mobility choice on safety and facilitating access as our city continues to grow. I mentioned our strategic parking plan. Our first strategic plan was adopted in 2019. We've updated this earlier this year. And this lays out some guiding principles for a wide variety of policies and program recommendations. One of which is to update and modernize this section of code.

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