Can Anyone Get Accessible Parking Outside His or Her House?

On my way to the El Cielito trailhead, I noticed blue-curb parking outside a house on Cielito Road. Can any homeowner request it? —V.

According to the Accessibility Resources section of the City of Santa Barbara’s website, accessible parking in residential areas was “established to accommodate the parking needs of a disabled resident when an accessible off-street space is not available or feasible.” The resident can be an owner or a renter. The application lays out the criteria:

• Applicant (or guardian) must be in possession of a valid license plate or placard for “disabled persons” or “disabled veterans” issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

• Applicant must provide a photo or copy of their vehicle registration for valid “disabled persons or disabled veterans” license plate or of valid placard. To submit with your online application, the file must be in either JPEG or PDF format.

• The applicant has a vehicle registered in his/her name, or in the name of their primary, live in caregiver.

• If residence has off-street parking, a detailed explanation must be provided for why that space is not sufficient to meet, or cannot be reasonably modified to meet accessibility needs.

Once the curb is painted blue, anyone with a disabled-driver placard or plates can park there. And “accessible Parking Zones are monitored and reviewed annually” by the Downtown Parking department, which oversees the program.

As for the accessible parking spots in commercial areas, downtown services manager Sarah Clark offered this explanation:

We spread blue zones throughout our commercial districts and try to make sure we have disabled parking available near essential services, such as the post office, government buildings, medical clinics, etc. (if off-street parking is in short supply). We do accept blue zone requests from businesses, or any member of the community, although these requests are pretty uncommon outside of residential areas. For each request, we would evaluate both off- and on-street parking availability, as well as the layout of the curb space in the area before making a determination about where a space can be added.

Is there a question you’d like investigated? Email [email protected] or text 917-209-6473.

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