University Place mayor pro tem asks residents to complain to city, not media
Mar 23, 2015, 3:59 PM | Updated: Mar 25, 2015, 12:05 pm
(AP)
Following a media report claiming University Place residents are upset about not being able to charge for parking on their lawns during the U.S. Open, the mayor pro tem is asking “Where are they?”
University Place Mayor pro tem Javier Figueroa told KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz the city hasn’t heard one complaint from the public regarding a ban on residents charging for lawn parking around the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay this June.
“Not one has come in and gave any testimony as to their concern about not being able to make money on charging for parking, so where are they?” Figueroa asked.
A report from Q13 featured statements from a couple University Place neighbors who said they disapproved of the ordinance.
One resident, Donna Malloy told Q13 she thinks the ban is ridiculous. “It’s our property, and we should be able to do whatever we want with it.”
The other neighbor quoted in the article told the news outlet he didn’t want to use his name for fear of backlash.
Figueroa said he’d like any residents unhappy with the ordinance to reach out to the city instead of the media.
“We can’t do anything for them if they go to you instead of us,” Figueroa told Rantz.
There was actually one person who appeared to make public comment on the ordinance, but Figueroa said it was for a portion that had to do with RV parking. But based on that one comment, Figueroa said they are taking action.
“We took the question of RV parking per acre out of our ordinance on Monday to study it and re-look based on the feedback we got from just that one person,” Figueroa said. “So we would have done the same thing with anyone that would have came in about parking their cars, but no one has come in.”
Figueroa said they’ve been very transparent and tried to notify the public regarding all that’s happening with the big event coming this summer. He said they want it to be a good experience for everyone, so they want to hear from anyone with issues.
“We have an open door here in our city that people can come in and complain,” he said, encouraging those upset to reach out directly to the city.