CYPRESS : State Law Leads to Bigger Parking Fines

The City Council this week raised fines for parking tickets to cover the cost of issuing the citations.

The move was necessary, city officials said, because the state passed a law requiring cities and counties to take over all administrative responsibilities regarding parking citations.

In Cypress, the new fees, which take effect Jan. 1, will range from $5 to $40.

Owners of oversized vehicles parked on city streets between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. will face fines of $40, Police Chief Daryl M. Wicker said. Currently, there is no fee for the violation.

Other violations such as having no valid registration or license plates on vehicles currently receive tickets without fines.

But beginning Jan. 1, $5 will be charged for not having license plates and $10 will be charged for not having valid registration.

Citation fees for parking at red curbs or other painted curbs, at “no parking” zones, in alleys and most other violations will increase $6, ranging from $25 to $40.

Parking on divided islands, along or across railroad tracks will result in parking fines of a dollar more than the current $34 charged.

For most violations, the city’s new fines will exceed those imposed by other cities in Orange County.

“We just had to up these things because the state keeps taking money from cities and we have to recover our costs,” Mayor Richard Partin said.

Of the revenue generated by the new parking fees, the state and the county will collect $5 for each citation issued.