The City of Centralia’s new parking ordinances have been approved by the Washington state Administrative Office of the Courts and went into full effect on Friday, Aug. 11, according to the Centralia Police Department.
The ordinances prohibit camping on the streets and prohibit RVs from being parked on any street, alley or public parking lot for over 16 hours at a time. Additionally, it gives officers the authority to impound RVs.
While the two ordinances were approved by the Centralia City Council on July 25 and were meant to go into effect on July 31, the ordinances required approval from the Washington state Administrative Office of the Courts to ensure they met state law standards, according to Centralia Police Chief Stacy Denham.
While reviewing the ordinances, the Administrative Office of the Courts had discovered several discrepancies related to penalties, time to respond to violations and fees that need to be amended before approval, according to Denham.
After working with the city attorney for Centralia, the Administrative Office of the Courts approved the ordinances on Aug. 11, the Centralia Police Department announced in a news release.
“Effective immediately, the Centralia Police Department will begin the process of enforcing CMC-11.20.022, Camping on Roadway Prohibited and CMC-11.20.049, Recreational Vehicle Parking Restrictions that were passed by the Centralia City Council on July 25, 2023,” the police department stated in a news release.
The full text of both ordinances is accessible online at https://www.codepublishing.com/WA/Centralia/.
To read The Chronicle’s latest coverage on the ordinances, visit https://tinyurl.com/yzwzzhhw.
