§ 11:451. Parking spaces for mobility-impaired persons.

(a)

The director of the department of public works is hereby authorized to determine the need for and to designate by proper signs areas on public streets and in publicly owned parking facilities which are to be reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles bearing a license plate issued to a person with a disability. The director of public works shall determine and designate the appropriate signs and/or markings to be used to designate such parking areas.

(b)

Each owner or lessee of a public facility shall, in accordance with applicable zoning and building codes, provide and maintain a minimum number of specially designed and marked motor vehicle parking spaces for the exclusive use of persons whose vehicles are identified by license plates or parking cards for the mobility impaired issued pursuant to R.S. 47:463.4 or 463.1. The mobility impaired parking spaces shall adhere to the ADAAG specifications and shall include mobility-impaired loading and unloading areas, access aisles, access ramps, and curb cuts. The minimum number of such parking space shall be as established by ADAAG. Public facility, as the term is used in this section, shall be as defined in R.S. 40:1732, and shall include private property which is open to the public and to which the public is invited for commercial or governmental purposes. The fire marshal may, in cases of extreme hardship, waive any provisions of this section after consultation with the office of rehabilitative services.

(c)

Owners of private facilities which do not fall within the definition of being a "public facility," as defined in R.S. 40:1732, may designate certain spaces within their parking areas to be reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles bearing the license plate issued to a person with a disability.

(d)

Any owner or lessee of a public facility who fails to provide and maintain spaces reserved and designated for the exclusive use of vehicles bearing a special license plate or parking card issued to a mobility-impaired driver free of obstructions shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00).

(Ord. No. 11625, § 1, 12-8-99; Ord. No. 13688, § 1, 7-26-06)