City wins parking stall case
Driver challenged bylaw after being ticketed for parking in handicap space
Daniel Campbell
Northern News Services
Published Friday, December 13, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A Yellowknife man might have thought he got off easy after successfully arguing he shouldn't have to pay a $250 fine for illegally parking in a handicapped spot in September 2012.
City lawyer Kerry Penney says the bylaw regarding handicap parking spaces will be amended next year to make it less specific as to which organization issues handicap parking placards in Yellowknife. - Daniel Campbell/NNSL photo |
Donald Weston initially won his case in front of a Justice of the Peace (JP), arguing the wording of the city's bylaw surrounding handicapped parking was imprecise.
But it was the city claiming victory Tuesday following a successful appeal in NWT Supreme Court. Justice Karan Shaner quashed the JP's decision, found Weston guilty and fined him the $250 set out in the original ticket.
In September 2012, JP Eric Kieken said he couldn't enforce the city's bylaw on handicapped parking because it's incorrectly worded.
The bylaw states a vehicle must have a handicap placard displayed while parked in a handicap stall. In a subsection of the bylaw, it notes the placard must be issued and registered with the Yellowknife office of the Northwest Territories Council for Disabled Persons.
"There is no such entity," Weston said during his September 2012 court appearance.
"This organization ... is now called the Council of Persons with Disabilities."
Kieken ruled since no one could obtain a placard - whether or not they qualified as a disabled person - from the non-existent NWT Council for Disabled Persons, as written in the bylaw, Weston shouldn't have to pay the fine.
Kerry Penney, the City's lawyer, said the decision to appeal wasn't about money, but to make sure bylaws are being interpreted correctly.
"We don't make any extra money - we're not on commission," Penney joked
Penney confirmed the City will be amending the bylaw in January "to clarify, so it won't be quite so specific" as to which organization issues handicap placards.
Weston, who defended himself on Tuesday, made no mention of ever applying for a placard or if he was entitled to one, said Penney.
"His argument was more based on that he was just temporarily parked there," Penney said.
In the six years Penney has been a lawyer for the City, this is the first time she's witnessed them appeal a decision, she said.
Penney said many people argue traffic tickets at trial. She said she hasn't noticed any backlash against the ticket-writers this year.
"Municipal enforcement applies the law equally to everybody. It's just luck if you happen to get caught a certain day or time and other people aren't."
Weston has until Jan. 31 to pay the $250 fine.
