designed to make it easier to ticket and impound “junkers” and other vehicles clogging up parking lots and public rights of way could be used to target low-income and unhoused people., which sent a letter outlining its concerns about the proposed law change to the City Council offices on May 1, hours before the ordinance was set for a second and final vote.
With complaints from the public largely dictating where the city’s limited parking enforcement resources go, there is strong potential the proposed ordinance could lead to the over-policing of marginalized groups like the unhoused, Kurtz said. “It’s certainly tight but we’ll do the best with the time we have,” Kurtz said when asked if she felt the ordinance could be amended in a way that would allay her concerns.
What qualifies a vehicle as a “junker” would also be changed under the updated law. The new definition would include any vehicle that is apparently inoperable, disabled, in unsafe condition or does not have up-to-date plates. Even vehicles with up-to-date plates could be classified as junkers if they are deemed to be extensively damaged. That could include vehicles with broken windows or windshields and vehicles with missing wheels or deflated tires.