What is the Rule on Overnight Parking?
(BELMONT)- The Belmont Police Department would like to remind citizens that parking for over (1) hour between the hours of 1AM and 7AM is prohibited on all of Belmont’s public and private ways. A complete list of the Town’s parking regulations can be found in the General By-Laws of the Town of Belmont, Chapter 60-805, Vehicles and Parking, located on the Town’s web page: https://www.belmont-ma.gov/parking/pages/parking-rules-regulations
Over the years, the police department has exercised discretion when enforcing this bylaw. At times, residents would call to report that they were having an overnight guest and made a request to leave a car on the street. We would make no promises that the car in question would not be ticketed but we would pass the request along to the officer working the overnight shift. This practice was widely abused and resulted in numerous phone calls to the station on a nightly basis from residents asking for overnight parking consideration. The same individuals were calling three and four times a week asking for the officers to use discretion in not ticketing their vehicles. At the same time, we were receiving calls from residents in the same neighborhoods asking us to ticket the cars left overnight on their street. We currently ask our officers to exercise their discretion when enforcing the overnight parking bylaw in the following circumstances:
(Death) would include, but not be limited to, friends, relatives visiting for a funeral or staying to comfort an acquaintance to someone who has passed away and is connected to the address looking for consideration.
(Emergencies) would include, but not be limited to, instances where a resident or resident’s family member is transported to the hospital and is unable to move their vehicle. A tree falls in the driveway and the resident is not able to access the driveway.
The Officer in Charge will enter the address, plate number, date(s) and the reason that the consideration is to be given into record.
This Bylaw tends to be widely misunderstood as realtors and landlords will often neglect or purposely not tell potential buyers and renters about the bylaw. Please also know that we receive many calls from residents asking us to enforce this bylaw on their streets.
The overnight parking Bylaw from the General Town by Laws: Article 8 Streets and Sidewalks.