North Las Vegas team patrols for illegally parked vehicles
Three parking enforcement officers have been patrolling North Las Vegas since January to issue parking citations for illegally parked vehicles.
Those who parked illegally were warned in January, and the citation system went live Feb. 4.
“We have a daily log where every 20 minutes, we have to log where we are,” said Anthony Coleman, one of the enforcement officers with the new Parking Services Division. “We’re in constant contact with dispatchers.”
Under the new division, parking violations are civil infractions instead of criminal. The division handles the tickets internally.
“So if you don’t pay your ticket, you won’t go to jail,” said Serafin Calvo, who was hired as the division’s parking services manager. “We do, however, place DMV holds on registrations that have outstanding fines. In other words, a person will not be able to register their vehicle until they pay the City of North Las Vegas their fines. We are also able to boot a vehicle and not release it until fines are paid.”
With chalk, parking enforcement officers mark the day they assess a violation on the tire of the offending vehicle. Those who park in spots reserved for those with disabilities are cited immediately. Other violators get a warning and a follow-up 72 hours later. If the vehicle hasn’t moved by the time the officer returns, it becomes eligible for tow by Ewing Bros., which takes cars to a yard at 1200 A St. The company has an exclusive, unpaid contract with the city.
“Initial tow is about $100,” Calvo said. “Every day after that if the vehicle isn’t picked up, the tow yard starts the process to auction off the vehicle. If it goes unclaimed, after a while, they auction it off or they’ll scrap it and salvage for another.”
The projected cost for the new division was about $700,000 for the first 18 months and $600,000 a year thereafter, according to the city. Officers work staggered shifts so the division is staffed seven days a week. Two officers patrol from Monday to Thursday and one patrols Friday through Monday.
“Over 900 warnings have been issued from January 7 to February 4, and the majority of them complied,” Calvo said, adding, “We’re at 14 vehicles towed and we’ve definitely had people come in and ask why they were cited. We just explain it to them.”
Three Square and other entities that assist lower-income or homeless residents declined to comment on whether the changes will create challenges for people living in their vehicles.
Parking enforcement officers hand out 20 to 30 citations in a given day, Coleman said. On Feb. 5, during a ride-along with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a parking services officer cited about five offenders within 30 minutes in a residential area in Ward 3, at the northwest end of the city. Tickets range from $20-$250; handicap-parking violations are the most expensive, according to Calvo.
“I’ve lived here since I was born,” Coleman said. “Grew up in my grandmother’s house near Civic Center. Parking violations have definitely become a problem lately as the City of North Las Vegas has grown.”
The inception of the division came around late April, Calvo said, after several complaints from residents, many of them in the Aliante area. Parking citations were previously handled by the North Las Vegas Police Department.
“It wasn’t something they were able to follow up on consistently because it wasn’t really their purview of responsibility,” Calvo said. “But we’ve often heard abandoned cars get in the way of people trying to sell their homes; Realtors won’t drive clients though the neighborhood to see the listing. We’re hoping this may help increase property values, help the quality of life for residents.”
Residents can report violations by calling the Parking Office at 702-633-1560 or email them at parkinginfo@cityofnorthlasvegas.com, Calvo said.
Contact Mia Sims at msims@
