Bend begins enforcing 3-business day parking limit

(Update: Adding police comments)

The Bend Police Department on Wednesday began enforcing a recent amendment to Bend Code that reduces the number of days a vehicle may park on the public right of way from five calendar days to three business days.

City officials said the change is intended to promote parking turnover, shorten the time between when a vehicle is reported as being illegally parked and when the vehicle is towed, and “align with the police department’s enforcement capacity.”

Prior to the recent amendment, a vehicle was allowed to park on a public street for up to five calendar days. Starting Wednesday, July 31 the number of days a vehicle may park on a public street was reduced to three business days.

As a complaint-driven process, the law lets community members to report vehicles that have been parked illegally on a public street for more than three business days. Volunteers from the Police Department respond to complaints in the order they are received. They mark the illegally parked vehicle’s tire with chalk and make a record of its location. Three business days later, they return to the marked vehicle. If it hasn’t moved within this time period, the vehicle is towed.

“The city code applies to vehicles on a public right of way, so if it’s a public street or a public parking. It wouldn’t apply to private property or private streets,” police Sgt. Mike Landolt said Wednesday.

Community members can file a parking complaint online at: www.bendoregon.gov/parkingcomplaint. Paper complaint forms are available at the Police Department, located at 555 Northeast 15th Street, Bend, OR. Illegally parked vehicles may also be reported by calling 541-312-7972.

Complaints received before Tuesday, July 30 must be resubmitted if the vehicle is still illegally parked. For more information on changes to parking limits in the right-of-way, read the issue summary and parking ordinance.