City Council Meeting Date: May 12, 2026
To: Mayor and Members of Council
City Administrator
From: David E. Bennett, Public Works Director/City Engineer
Jeff Schroepfer, Police Chief
Title
Discuss Winter Parking Rules and Overnight 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. November 15 to March 15 Winter On-Street Parking Ban.
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield City Council Discusses Winter Parking Rules and Overnight 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. November 15 to March 15 Winter On-Street Parking Ban.
Summary Report:
The overnight winter parking ban has been in place for decades in the City of Northfield. This overnight parking restriction has generally served the City well. It has allowed for ease of snow removal in the winter, with streets getting cleared curb to curb within 12 hours of the snow event. In addition to the ease of access for our emergency service, specifically the fire department, to have adequate clear space for responding with their apparatus.
The City has a hardship permit process for the winter parking ban. Residents can apply for permits if they have a hardship. For example, we do not issue convenience permits for residents that have available parking spaces in the garage and driveway but want to park on the street so they do not have to move specific household vehicles around. However, if the household does not have enough parking spaces in the garage and driveway, a permit is typically issued.
Below is a summary of permits issued and denied over the last three years.
|
Winter Season |
Hardship Permits Issued |
Permits Denied |
Total Permit Request Received |
|
2025-2026 |
31 |
30 |
61 |
|
2024-2025 |
15 |
16 |
31 |
|
2023-2024 |
17 |
6 |
23 |
|
Note: The City has ~ 5060 Households so less than 1% of households are requesting a permit |
If the City is considering eliminating the winter parking restriction, and only having it required for snow emergencies, there are some things to consider.
• Northfield is a college town, and this can cause issues with college students leaving their vehicles off campus and parking in neighborhoods. This is the current issue occurring by St. Olaf, with long term storage of student vehicles. Police, if available, are trying to enforce the 48-hours parking rule.
• If the snowfall is less than 2-inches and a snow emergency is not declared, the streets that are heavily parked will not be cleared curb-curb.
o Currently what happens and could occur more often is residents call the City after the street has been plowed but there were cars parked during these plowing operations. Once the cars move, residents call for the City to go back out and clear the street again.
o A snow event is a 3-day plowing operation, so this could lead to numerous calls back to neighborhoods to plow streets.
Options moving forward could be to leave the winter parking as it currently is, a less restrictive winter parking system such as an example from Stillwater below or eliminating the winter overnight parking ban.
Stillwater Winter Parking
From 12:01 a.m. November 1 through midnight April 1, all vehicles parked on City streets must follow odd/even day rules www.stillwatermn.gov <https://www.stillwatermn.gov/community/resident-resources/snow-removal-information>:
• Odd-numbered days: Park on the odd-addressed side of the street.
• Even-numbered days: Park on the even-addressed side of the street.
• 7:00 p.m.-midnight: Move your vehicle to the side for the next day’s parking.
City Plans & Policies Relevance:
The City Winter Parking Rules are in City Ordinance Chapter 78
Alternative Options:
Just Discussion
Financial Impacts:
NA - currently
Tentative Timelines:
NA