{"id":32295,"date":"2025-11-04T04:08:20","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T04:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/32295\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T04:08:20","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T04:08:20","slug":"new-parking-ordinance-stirs-up-cape-coral-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/32295\/","title":{"rendered":"New parking ordinance stirs up Cape Coral controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Being part of a moving crew is strenuous and taxing work. This is what Joseph Gunthner, the business systems and operations manager of Pro Movers of Cape Coral, said.<\/p>\n

As the hot sun bakes the truck loaded with heavy contents, crews toil to ensure all remain in pristine condition, parking as close to the home as possible. This helps limit the amount of time between transporting the contents from the truck onto the property. On top of the already backbreaking work, crews must avoid parking in the customer\u2019s driveway as Gunthner said that when loaded, the trucks are extremely heavy and could damage it. As a result, they typically resort to parking on the road directly in front of the customer\u2019s property. However, Gunthner is worried that come Oct. 1, with the implementation of Ordinance 44-25,<\/a> this will be much more difficult to sustain.<\/p>\n

The approved ordinance would prohibit any business from parking their commercial vehicle within public rights-of-way for a period exceeding two hours while performing a service.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, it\u2019s just an extra expense that we have to pay for, which then has to revolve into our pricing,\u201d Gunthner said. \u201cIt\u2019s not something we want to do. It\u2019s almost as if we are being forced to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many Cape Coral business owners and employees are worried about how new Ordinance 44-25 will impact each business that depends on a commercial vehicle, claiming it would harm the business\u2019s profitability and productivity. They said this will add an unnecessary hurdle increasing the difficulty behind already hefty tasks associated with the job while also placing the increased financial burden onto the customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to be competitive. We want to stay low,\u201d Gunthner said. \u201cBut this time, there\u2019s only so much that we can do until we have to fold our hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ordinance defines a commercial vehicle as any agricultural, construction or industrial motor vehicle, or any bus, step van, truck or truck tractor\u2014including any vehicle with attached commercial lettering. \u201cAny motor vehicle with tools, building materials or merchandise visible from the street or from abutting property shall be deemed a commercial vehicle,\u201d according to the ordinance on page 18<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Violators will be subject to a $100 fine\u2014$75 if paid within 48 hours of issuance\u2014by a law enforcement or parking enforcement officer. However, businesses performing a job under an approved building permit, like construction crews, are exempt from the ordinance.<\/p>\n

\"Following<\/p>\n

Following Oct. 1, landscaping service vehicles will no longer be permitted to park in public rights-of-way for a period exceeding two hours while performing the job. Image taken on Southwest Fifth Place. <\/p>\n

For that reason, some smaller businesses that perform jobs not requiring a building permit feel this ordinance unfairly targets them. Kelly Victor, part owner and business manager for the past 26 years of SliderMan, a patio door company that serves Cape Coral, is one of the businesses that said many services they provide could transpire in excess of two hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely ridiculous,\u201d Victor said. \u201cRoller replacement on a sliding glass door\u2014it could be one door, or it could be five doors. It could be an hour job, or it could be a three-hour job.\u201d<\/p>\n

On top of that, Victor said some residences in Cape Coral have no space in their driveways to allow a service provider to park there or simply do not want them to. Therefore, they are forced to utilize the street and public rights-of-way. This leaves businesses and employees, like those at SliderMan, in a tough position.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019s our business going to be able to do their work if they can\u2019t park at a customer\u2019s home?\u201d<\/p>\n

Business owners and operators are not the only groups in Cape Coral who are concerned about this move.<\/p>\n

Ruthie Chiger, a 14-year resident of Cape Coral, is also worried about the impact this ordinance will have on local businesses as well as its residents utilizing the provided services, specifically moving services. She said while she understands how the concept of keeping the roadways clear from blockages makes sense and could reduce liability, she wonders what the cost is to the resident.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that it\u2019s ultimately going to trickle down to the consumer, the residents of Cape Coral,\u201d Chiger said. \u201cIt is affecting those little guys who are going to have to pass any cost override, any fine, any anything onto the customer, which the customer is a resident of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chiger is not the only Cape Coral resident who feels this way, stressing how there are pros and cons to both sides. Jorge Gonzalez, a Cape Coral resident of two properties since August holds a similar perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes people got to move, and when they move, it takes more than two hours,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cSo that could come back to bite to the consumer in the tail simply because they might factor in that fine if they\u2019re going to be there more time than not.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, however, Gonzalez highlighted how limiting the number of obstacles within public rights-of-way may help curb vehicle accident statistics in the city. This is where Gonzalez described the situation as \u201ca double-edged sword.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think not blocking the right-of-way probably is a great safety measure to avoid accidents,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cBut then again, it might impact the services that are being rendered, and you never know if one day those services may be a life-saving service.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chiger said that while this may sound like a good idea, it\u2019s not the most productive option to paint the entire city with the same brush. Instead, she said it inhibits the city\u2019s \u201cgrowth and beautification.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are asking people to move to our beautiful city,\u201d Chiger said. \u201cWe are asking people to beautify the community and now you\u2019re tying their hands when they want to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chiger alternatively suggested a comprehensive plan that specifies certain roads and areas of public rights-of-way where she said there should be a similar rule in place to limit hazards to pedestrians and drivers.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, it\u2019s a one-size-fits-all, and I don\u2019t think our city is that,\u201d Chiger said. \u201cI don\u2019t think that you can apply the same standard on my little side residential circle that you are applying to major thoroughfares like Del Prado, Veterans, and so on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veterans Parkway and Del Prado Boulevard are two major roadways that connect both the eastern and western regions of the city. Del Prado Boulevard is six lanes wide while the majority of Veterans Parkway is four lanes wide with the exception of a six-lane portion running through central Cape.<\/p>\n

Instead, Chiger proposed the ordinance should apply to roads with a specific number of lanes or a speed limit greater than 45 mph rather than a blanket policy to the entire city regardless of street specifications. She said this plan will provide better odds for what Kaitlyn Mullen, the city\u2019s senior public information specialist, said the ordinance\u2019s main goal is.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ordinance aims to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the city, reducing the obstruction of views of drivers and pedestrians who are attempting to navigate city streets; by reducing impediments to the flow of traffic; and by reducing aggravation to the aesthetic standards of the city,\u201d Mullen said.<\/p>\n

Even so, residents of the city remain skeptical regarding how well the currently proposed ordinance will deliver its intended results while business owners and employees of Cape Coral businesses like Victor and Gunthner brace for what\u2019s to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing forward, we are strategizing, trying to figure out ways to make this work, and how to make it so we don\u2019t get tickets, and we don\u2019t have to raise prices,\u201d Gunthner said. \u201cWe want to see what unfolds first. This is a double-edged sword we\u2019re grabbing here, and I don\u2019t think that they realized what they\u2019ve done and how they\u2019ve done it,\u201d Gunthner said.<\/p>\n

WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and\u00a0donate\u00a0<\/a>now. Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Being part of a moving crew is strenuous and taxing work. This is what Joseph Gunthner, the business…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32296,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-32295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}