Can a New York village reserve on-street parking spaces for municipal employees and for people doing business at village offices?

Plain-English summary

The Village of New Paltz wanted to designate certain on-street spaces for use by village employees and people coming to do business at municipal offices. The village attorney asked the AG whether that was legal under New York's framework of state primacy over the highways.

The backdrop was a recent loss. An unreported Albany County Supreme Court decision (People v Stafford) had invalidated a City of Albany ordinance that set aside on-street parking for designated public officials and employees. The trial court relied on the Court of Appeals' decision in Public Employees Federation v Albany, 72 NY2d 96 (1988), which struck down Albany's resident-permit-parking system on the ground that V&T Law §§ 1600 and 1604 reserve highway regulation to the State and that local governments may regulate parking only where the Legislature has expressly authorized them to.

Between Stafford and this 1997 request, the Legislature responded. Chapter 663 of the Laws of 1996 added subdivision 22 to V&T Law § 1640(a), authorizing the legislative body of any city or village to enact local laws to "prohibit or regulate the stopping, standing and parking of vehicles in designated areas reserved for public business at or adjacent to a government facility." The bill jacket showed the Legislature meant this provision to fill the precise gap that Stafford had identified.

The AG concluded the new state authorization let villages and cities designate parking for municipal employees, other governmental employees, and members of the public engaged in public business. The opinion left untouched the older limits on resident-only parking schemes; the new authority is narrower than that and ties the reserved spaces to legitimate governmental purposes.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1997. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

What was the legal problem with reserved parking before 1996?

V&T Law §§ 1600 and 1604 reserve highway regulation to the State and prohibit localities from excluding people from free use of the highways, including parking, except as expressly authorized by statute. Without an enabling provision, even sensible-seeming local schemes (resident-only permits, official-only stalls) fell to that statewide rule.

What changed in 1996?

Chapter 663 of the Laws of 1996 added a new subdivision 22 to V&T Law § 1640(a). It expressly authorized cities and villages to regulate stopping, standing, and parking in areas reserved for public business at or near a government facility. The legislative memorandum supporting Senate Bill S.6843 described the purpose: to let officials, judges, fire and police personnel, and similar people park where parking is hard so they can attend to public business.

Did the new statute help only elected officials?

No. The AG read the statute as broad enough to cover employees of the municipality, other governmental employees, and members of the public doing business at municipal offices. The legislative memo gives officials and emergency personnel as examples, not as a closed list.

Could the village restrict the reserved spaces to residents?

The Public Employees Federation line of cases was about exclusion of non-residents. The Court of Appeals in PEF rejected a resident-permit scheme that treated non-residents differently. The 1996 statute does not change that analysis; it lets villages reserve spaces for governmental purposes, not for residents as such.

Did the city or village still need a local enactment?

Yes. The 1996 statute is enabling, not self-executing. A city or village wanting to use this authority would enact a local law, ordinance, order, rule, or regulation under § 1640(a)(22) and identify the reserved areas at or near the government facility.

Background and statutory framework

The premise of New York highway regulation is state primacy. V&T Law § 1600 forbids local exclusion of free highway use except as expressly authorized by statute. § 1604 places further limits on local authority. The Court of Appeals applied that framework in Public Employees Federation v Albany, 72 NY2d 96 (1988), to strike down a resident-permit system, and again in People v Speakerkits, 83 NY2d 814 (1994).

Stafford applied PEF to invalidate Albany's reserved-parking-for-officials ordinance. The Legislature then enacted L 1996 ch 663 to add subdivision 22 to § 1640(a), supplying the express authorization that PEF and Stafford had said was missing. The AG opinion reads the new provision in light of its bill jacket and concludes that municipalities now have the authority they had lacked.

Citations

• Vehicle and Traffic Law §§ 1600, 1604, 1640(a) (state primacy over highway regulation and local exceptions).
• L 1996 ch 663 (added § 1640(a)(22) authorizing reserved parking at or near government facilities).
• People v Stafford (Sup Ct Albany Co. Index No. 4117-95, Aug. 22, 1995) (invalidated pre-1996 Albany reserved-parking ordinance).
• Public Employees Federation v Albany, 72 NY2d 96 (1988) (struck down resident permit parking; reaffirmed state primacy).
• People v Speakerkits, Inc., 83 NY2d 814 (1994) (reaffirmed the PEF rule).

Source

• Landing page: https://ag.ny.gov/libraries-documents/opinions/opinions-year
• Original PDF: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/I_97-33_pw.pdf

Original opinion text

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Page 1 of 2

Opn. No. 97-33
VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW §§ 1600, 1604, 1640(a); L 1996 CH 663.
Cities and villages are authorized under section 1640(a) of the Vehicle and Traffic Law to set aside
parking spaces on public highways for use by employees of the municipality, other governmental
purposes and for persons doing business in municipal offices.
July 30, 1997
No. 97-33
J. Philip Zand, Esq.
Village Attorney
Village of New Paltz
P.O. Box 55
New Paltz, New York 12561-0055
Dear Mr. Zand:
You have asked whether a village may set aside certain spaces on a public highway for employees of the
village and for persons having business in municipal offices. You state that you recall a report in the
press of a similar issue being raised in Albany County.
In an apparently unreported decision, the Supreme Court of Albany County determined that a local law
of the City of Albany setting aside certain parking spaces on public streets in the city for the exclusive
use of designated public officials and employees was invalid. People v Stafford, et al.(Sup Ct Albany
Co. Index No. 4117-95, Aug. 22, 1995). The court relied upon the decision of the Court of Appeals in
Public Employees Federation v Albany, 72 NY2d 96 (1988), in which the Court invalidated an Albany
city ordinance creating a resident permit parking system whereby residents of certain areas of the city
purchased permits allowing them unlimited parking in those areas. Non-residents could park in such
areas during weekday business hours for only 90 minutes. The Court of Appeals reasoned that the State
Legislature retains ultimate control over the public highways and that the authority of a local
government to act by local law is expressly subject to the State's power to restrict localities and ensure
uniform highway regulation throughout the State. Public Employees Federation, supra, at 101. This
power is established through sections 1600 and 1604 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, which prohibit
localities from excluding persons from free use of the highways, including parking, except to the extent
such limitations are expressly authorized by statute. Public Employees Federation, supra, at 101-102.
While the Legislature has delegated to villages and cities the authority to regulate specific aspects of
highway use, the Court of Appeals found no authority for the City of Albany's parking regulations,
which patently discriminated against non-residents. Public Employees Federation, supra, at 99. See also,
People v Speakerkits, Inc., 83 NY2d 814 (1994).
Subsequent to the Supreme Court decision invalidating the City of Albany's local law, the State
Legislature enacted chapter 663 of the Laws of 1996, adding subdivision 22 to section 1640(a) of the
Vehicle and Traffic Law. That provision authorizes the legislative body of any city or village to enact
local laws, ordinances, orders, rules or regulations to "prohibit or regulate the stopping, standing and
parking of vehicles in designated areas reserved for public business at or adjacent to a government
facility".

http://www.oag.state.ny.us/lawyers/opinions/1997/informal/97_33.html

4/20/2006

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Page 2 of 2

The legislative history of this provision indicates a narrow purpose. It was intended to authorize cities
and villages to designate certain on-street parking areas
for use by officials or employees engaged in legitimate governmental purposes. The
designation is necessary in areas where parking may be difficult to allow elected officials,
judges, state officials, or fire and police personnel to secure easy and adequate parking so
that they may attend to public business. Bill Jacket, L 1996 ch 774, Memorandum in
Support of Senate Bill # S.6843.
Thus, this legislation provided the State legislative authorization for local regulation of parking that the
Court found was lacking in People v Stafford, supra. Id.The provision was drafted in general terms,
which we believe authorize designation of parking areas for employees of the municipality, other
governmental employees and members of the public engaging in public business. As a result of this
recent legislation, cities and villages are now authorized under section 1640(a) of the Vehicle and
Traffic Law to set aside parking spaces on public highways for use by employees of the municipality,
other governmental employees and for persons doing business in municipal offices.
We conclude that cities and villages are authorized under section 1640(a) of the Vehicle and Traffic Law
to set aside parking spaces on public highways for use by employees of the municipality, other
governmental employees and for persons doing business in municipal offices.
The Attorney General renders formal opinions only to officers and departments of State government.
This perforce is an informal and unofficial expression of the views of this office.
Very truly yours,
JAMES D. COLE
Assistant Attorney General
in Charge of Opinions

http://www.oag.state.ny.us/lawyers/opinions/1997/informal/97_33.html

4/20/2006