Darien Hopes To Deter Use Of Expired Commuter Parking Permits
DARIEN, CT — Darien is looking to crack down on the use of illegal commuter parking permits after the town said residents were still using 2023 tags as late as February.
The Board of Selectmen on Monday discussed a proposal that would list the usage of an expired permit as an abuse of a permit. Under the proposed parking regulation changes, residents could face a fine of $100 for a first violation. In the event of a second violation, the parking permit would be invalidated and revoked.
Signs would also be installed next year to give residents plenty of reminders to change their permits.
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Monday’s meeting was held at Darien Town Hall and broadcast via Darien TV79.
A formal vote wasn’t taken, but the selectmen all expressed support.
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Town Administrator Kate Buch explained that Darien typically allows January as a grace period for people to install their new permits in their cars.
“We had a lot of people this year still in February with their 2023 ticket permits on the cars, so we did ticket them,” Buch said, noting that people have renewed their 2024 permits but haven’t made the change.
“The code clearly says they expire on Dec. 31; using an expired permit is potentially fraud because you can put your ’23 permit on one car and give your ’24 permit to your neighbor.”
First Selectman Jon Zagrodzky said he’s experienced leaving an old permit on his car before, but said Buch’s plan “is a helpful clarification of the rules, and something we can point to when there’s a problem in the future.”
“I went through this myself and it’s really annoying, but at the same time nobody reminds me when my taxes are due, nobody reminds me when my bills are due, it just shows up in the mail and I remember twice a month to get all that stuff done,” he said. “In terms of personal responsibility, this is no different… As much sympathy as I have for folks who forget things, just like a lot of things in life, if you forget, you’ll get shellacked.”
Selectman Monica McNally said she understood the need for enforcement, but she felt $100 was too steep a penalty for a violation.
“The fine for abuse of a permit is steep for a reason because we’ve had issues with people,” Buch remarked. “We had someone try to sell their permit on Facebook, we’ve had them giving them to neighbors or outright selling them. When we’ve got a waitlist of 600 people or so, it’s not fair for you to do that… I think it needs to be clear to people that you can’t do this.”
Selectman Michael Burke said it’s proper to have a meaningful fine if residents are also given adequate notice. Fellow Selectman Sarah Neumann, who has a commuter parking permit, also said she felt the fine was steep, but she called it a “problem” that people are using 2023 permits this late.
“There’s a huge waiting list, and $100 seems very steep to me, but if you want to add more signs that’s great,” Neumann said. “This is not an accident that people are forgetting to put them on there.”
View Monday’s entire Board of Selectmen meeting on Darien TV79.
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