Purpose
The Office of Public Safety enforces parking regulations on the SMCM campus, Trinity Church property and Historic St. Mary’s City property. The purpose of this directive is to establish clear guidelines for monitoring and enforcing established parking regulations on the three properties within the department’s jurisdiction.
Definitions
- Legal Space: parking spaces bounded by two parallel control lines and do not have specific signs reserving the use of the space.
- Immobilization device/boot: an immobilization device or boot is a device that is designed to prevent vehicles from being moved and can only be removed with a unique device.
- Habitual Offender: an individual whose vehicle has received four (4) or more tickets in a single academic year.
- Abandoned Vehicle (MD Transportation Code §25-201): any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer that is inoperable and left unattended on public property for more than 48 hours; or that has remained illegally on public property for more than 48 hours; or that has remained on private property for more than 48 hours without the consent of the owner or person in control of the property.
Regulations
I. No Parking or Standing
a. Parking or standing is not permitted in the following areas on the College campus:
i. Fire Lanes
ii. Designated No Parking Areas
iii. On the grass
iv. Roadways
II. Additional Violations
a. The following are also considered violations of the College’s Parking Regulations:
i. Blocking a fire lane
ii. Blocking a handicap space
iii. Parking in a handicap space without a handicap permit
iv. Parking in a manner that blocks the flow of traffic
Procedures
I. Vehicle Parking Permit
a) All vehicles must have on display in or on their vehicle: a college issued numbered permit designating the parking lot(s) that a vehicle may legally park in on campus.
b) Types of permits
i) Annual Residential Students
(1) Issued by the Business Office
(2) Numbered and color coded designating the approved residential lot
ii) Annual Commuter Students
(1) Issued by the Business Office
(2) Numbered and color coded designating the approved commuter lot
iii) Staff/Faculty
(1) Issued at the Office of Public Safety
(2) Numbered sticker on the rear of the vehicle, or
(3) Numbered hang tag on the rear view mirror
(a) The cost for faculty & staff hang tags is $5.00 per tag
(b) Hang tags may be moved from one vehicle being used by the staff or faculty member to another vehicle as needed.
iv) Visitor
(1) Issued at the Office of Public Safety
(2) Visitors are issued a white numbered paper permit.
v) Temporary
(1) Residential students are issued red temporary permits.
(2) Commuter students are issued green temporary permits.
(3) Temporary handicap permits
(a) Faculty, staff, and students may be issued temporary blue permits.
(b) Requestors must present a copy of a physician-signed application for a state-issued handicap placard.
(c) The temporary permit may be issued until the state placard is obtained.
II. Parking Lot Designations
a. All parking lots on the SMCM campus are clearly marked, designating the type of permit allowed to park within the lot.
b. Trinity Church and Historic St. Mary’s City parking lots are clearly marked stating parking regulations.
c. Parking Lot Restriction
i. Students driving vehicles with a faculty/staff permit must park in a commuter lot.
d. Event Parking
i. All parking for events must be coordinated through the Office of Public Safety.
ii. A minimum of two weeks’ notice to the Office of Public Safety must be provided.
e. The Office of Public Safety reserves the right to reallocate parking on campus as needed.
III. Enforcement
a. Ticketing
i. SMCM Public Safety Officers may issue parking tickets for violations of established parking regulations.
ii. Vehicles will be issued one ticket per violation.
iii. Vehicles in violation of established parking regulations will be ticketed once in any 24 hour period for each violation.
iv. Fines
a. Blocking and/or parking in a fire lane: $50.00
b. Blocking and/or parking in a handicap space: $50.00
c. Blocking a dumpster: $50.00
d. Parking on the grass: $50.00
e. No college parking decal: $25.00
f. Parking in the roadway: $20.00
g. Blocking the flow of traffic: $20.00
h. Parking in an unauthorized parking space: $20.00
i. Parking in a marked no stopping/standing zone: $20.00
b. Immobilizing/Booting
i. SMCM Public Safety Officers may immobilize vehicles for the following reasons:
1. Illegally parked unregistered vehicles to determine ownership.
2. Habitual offenders
ii. Removal of Immobilization Devices
1. No parking permit
a. Boots will be removed at no cost to SMCM students, staff, and faculty after the vehicle owner or user: (1) provides his/her personal information (name, proof of affiliation to St. Mary’s College of Maryland) and (2) obtains an SMCM vehicle permit.
2. Habitual offenders after receiving the fourth and more tickets will incur costs as follows:
a. Boot removal will cost $100.00 in addition to the violation fee(s).
b. Boot removal and violation fees shall be paid for and arranged within 72 hours after the boot has been secured on the vehicle or by the close of the next business day in the event of a holiday.
c. Towing
i. SMCM Public Safety may tow vehicles at the owner’s expense where a vehicle is:
1. Parked in a marked handicap space without authorization.
2. Blocking the roadway or blocking service or emergency vehicle ingress or egress.
3. Creating a road hazard or damage to property or grounds.
4. Deemed to be abandoned on college property.
5. Designated by the college as banned from the campus.
6. Determined by the Office of Public Safety to have had a boot on it for more than 72 hours.
7. Parked in a marked fire lane.
ii. Towing cost and Procedures
1. The Office of Public Safety and local towing companies have a created a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to ensure consistent towing charges and practices.
2. Towing fees to be paid by the vehicle owner will be:
a. $100.00 standard tow fee
b. $25.00 per day for storage at the local towing company after the first 24 hours has passed.
c. $20.00 gate fee for release of vehicle from the local towing company after business hours.
d. $65.00 drop fee if the owner, authorized operator or authorized agent of the owner of the motor vehicle attempts to retrieve the motor vehicle while the local towing company is in the process of removing the vehicle from the property whether the vehicle has been hooked up or not.
e. $30.00 fee if the owner, authorized operator, or authorized agent of the owner of the motor vehicle attempts to retrieve the vehicle 20 minutes after the tow truck has been requested by the Office of Public Safety.
3. Towing practices include:
a. Towed vehicles will be secured in a locked impound lot.
b. Subject to the fees outlined above, all towed/impounded vehicles will be released to the owner upon request and after payment of all fees at any time of day.
c. The tow company is responsible for collecting all fees.
d. Conduct Board Referral
i. Students may be referred to Student Conduct Board for the following reasons:
1. Accumulating five or more parking violations.
2. Refusing to register a vehicle and purchasing a parking permit.
3. Damaging or attempting to damage an immobilization device.
4. Altering a college parking permit
5. Using a College parking permit/decal not issued to the subject vehicle.
ii. Sanctions
1. The Student Conduct Board may impose sanctions in accordance with the provisions set forth at: https://dev.smcm.edu/tothepoint/sanctions.
2. In addition to the above options students may lose campus driving privileges at the discretion of the Board.