Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office deputies have towed more than 125 vehicles since Jan. 1 under a new parking ordinance, which is about four times the number they’d towed by the same time last year.

The county’s new parking ordinance went into effect on Jan. 1 in unincorporated Arapahoe County, allowing deputies and other county staff to issue $150 parking citations and tow vehicles blocking the road or parked in “no parking” zones. 

It is a “first step” in solving ongoing parking issues in the Four Square Mile area of the county, which is just north of Cherry Creek State Park, County Commissioner Leslie Summey said. 

Deputy Jason Presley said he initially thought enforcing the ordinance to improve the area would be a long haul, but the improvement they’ve seen since Jan. 1 has been “overwhelming.”

Summey toured the area in June to develop a plan to address the parking issues, which have been an issue in unincorporated Arapahoe County for years, according to Four Square Mile HOA President Mark Lampert.

When the ordinance passed at a commission meeting in October, dozens of residents attended to urge commissioners to approve it, citing safety concerns about illegally parking vehicles, stored vehicles blocking public rights of way and a variety of other issues.

Melissa Steiner, a county resident, expressed her support for the ordinance at the meeting, saying parking around her house is made difficult by parked trailers and cars that haven’t been moved “in five years.”

Resident Jesse White said he supports the ordinance, but hopes it’s not “too little, too late.”

“These neighborhoods have turned into basically salvage yards, used car operations,” he said. “It has destroyed property values, I’m not going to be too light about that.”

Presley has seen an increase in oversized and illegally parked vehicles in the area over the years, saying he’s seen people rebuilding their cars on sidewalks.

“It just turned into a complete mess,” he said. “We got so many parking complaints from residents.”

Under the ordinance, parking on Arapahoe County highways and roads and on county-owned property is regulated and there is a $150 fine for violating the regulations, according to commission documents. Violations include the following:

• Illegally parked vehicles
• Vehicles parked in “no parking” zones
• Unregistered vehicles without license plates or with expired tags
• Vehicles abandoned or inoperable in various states of repair
• Storage of recreating vehicles and camping trailers
• Oversized commercial vehicles parked in residential areas

Deputies have started putting green tags on abandoned, oversized and illegally parked vehicles, giving 48-hour notices to the owners before issuing citations and towing vehicles. 

Violations can be reported to the Sheriff’s Office at 303-795-4711.

“The people spoke about a problem and we worked to find a better way to enforce it and it’s worked,” he said. “The amount of thank yous we’ve heard is really great.”