From the October-November 2000 Edition 

Overnight Parking   Fair Lawn’s Council members have recently discussed requests from a number of Fair Lawn residents who want the Borough to lift the overnight parking ban on Fair Lawn streets.   The Council members are all opposed to allowing parking overnight throughout the borough, but they are grappling with requests for exceptions.     The ban is in place both for aesthetic and safety reasons. They Council members have all expressed their desire to preserve the character of Fair Lawn.  Councilman Marty Etler has noted that if there is parking on the street, the street cleaners cannot get through and many people would not bother putting their cars in the driveway.  Banning overnight parking also makes people feel safer, since it is easier to identify vehicles which do not belong to residents or their guests.    At a recent Council meeting, John Walters representing the Park Hill Condominiums stated that their homes were built when the zoning did not make provision for the amount of cars people have today. There are 142 units with only 125 parking spaces. Mr. Walters indicated he understood the Council's desire to preserve the quality of life but this is a problem that will not go away or get better.   Residents between 318 and 328 Plaza Road North have requested permits for overnight on-street parking in front of their houses. These residents lost their parking spaces this year when the garages behind their homes (along the railroad tracks) were torn down to make way for townhouses. Borough Manager Barbara Sacks believes that unlike other instances, this case is a genuine hardship, because these residents bought their houses with the understanding they had parking.    Although sympathetic to residents parking needs, the Council members are concerned about creating a precedent that could lead to overnight parking allowed on all Fair Lawn streets.  Borough Attorney Richard Lustgarten is concerned that approving overnight parking in one place will have the same domino affect that the 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. parking restrictions had.  Mayor David Ganz has offered his assistance in encouraging cooperative parking agreements between residents, businesses and religious institutions.     Send Us Your Opinion About Overnight Parking.