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Q: How many parking appeals does the Parking Office process a year? Who is on the appeals committee and is the committee paid? What are some guidelines for writing your appeal to the Parking Office?
-- Receiving too many tickets at University Park
A: All recipients of parking violations have the option to pay or appeal. Violations may be appealed by completing an appeal form or by submitting a written appeal to the Parking Office. The Parking Office will submit the appeal to the appropriate appeals committee and notify the permit holder of the committee's decision. The ticket history, if any, of the permit holder will be attached to the appeal form for the committee's consideration in the case of repeat offenders. The decisions rendered by the committee are final. Appeals must be submitted within 20 calendar days of the violation date.
Penn State currently has two appeals committees, consisting of voluntary members. The first is the faculty/staff appeals committee, composed of three members of the University faculty and staff community. The committee reviews faculty/staff appeals to determine if a parking infraction occurred, as outlined in the parking rules and regulations. The second is the student appeals committee, consisting of one graduate student, one undergraduate and one faculty/staff member. This committee has the same responsibilities as the faculty/staff committee.
Committee members do not hold group meetings. An appeal is sent to one committee member, who notes his or her decision and sends it to the next member. Each time the Parking Office sends appeals to the committee, the initial recipient is rotated to give each member a chance to make the lead decision. The identities of committee members are kept confidential to deter attempts to influence their decision.
The committee bases its decisions on the current parking rules and regulations. In most cases, if a regulation has been violated, the ticket will stand. Extenuating circumstances may be reflected in the committee's decision and each case is looked at separately. If the individual has a string of offenses resulting from parking in the same unauthorized area, grounds for an appeal are very weak.
There are no set guidelines to follow when appealing parking violations. A factual account of the circumstances that prompted the person to get a ticket is the most basic guidance for writing appeals. Using obscenities and threats in the appeal results in an automatic denial. In addition, appeals for people ticketed for parking in marked handicap spaces are usually automatically denied.
From July 1, 1996, to June 30, 1997, there were 1,348 appeals submitted to the Parking Office.
The Parking Office has listed the appeals process as the next subject for review by a Continuous Quality Improvement team, which will be initiated in the next three months.
I recommend that students, faculty and staff read the rules and regulations for parking on campus. If that material doesn't answer your questions, call the Parking Office at (814) 865-1436.
-- Theresa Davis, director of Transportation Services
If you have a question for the Glad You Asked column, please send it, along with your name and office phone number, via e-mail to ask@psu.edu. For publication purposes, Intercom and Online Intercom will use the initials of the individuals sending the questions and their campus location or department, depending on the nature of the question. Submissions must include a contact name and telephone number so that Intercom can verify the source. Requests for anonymity will be honored.
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