The Cranston City Council Ordinance Committee voted Thursday to continue discussion to its next meeting on an overnight street parking pilot program sponsored by Ward 1 Councilman Steven Stycos.

The committee voted 4-1, with Ward 3 Councilman Paul Archetto the lone dissenter, to delay the vote on the program pending results of a forthcoming report from the traffic engineer on any potential complications.

The report includes discussion with the city’s police and fire departments and should be done in time for next month’s ordinance committee meeting on April 13.

“We should have another committee meeting and see the full traffic report,” Council President Michael Farina said, adding that he would like input from the Finance Committee on the “fiscal impact” of the idea. “It’s a good idea, but we could roll this out to other parts of the city, including Ward 1. We could pick streets in each ward, pick a subcommittee. How do residents apply?”

The pilot program would hypothetically include just three streets, given that the committee does not add more: Grand Avenue, Villa Avenue and Wheeler Avenue. The ordinance would allow for the purchase of a “1-year Residential Parking Permit” for $100.

Part C of the ordinance states the residency must be proven, and any fraudulent attempts at doing so would result in a $250 fine. Vehicles would have to be registered in Rhode Island and there are a bevy of restrictions: commercial vehicles, students living at a college or university within Cranston and those at a “complex or dwelling that contains more than five units.”

The proposed program received mixed reviews from a couple of Wheeler Avenue residents Tuesday. Erin-Kate Heap, who bought a house about a year ago, thought overnight parking could work on the street as it is wide enough for parking on both sides without restricting the flow of traffic. Also, she thought it would be good for residences being rented to college students where there are three or four cars that require moving if all parked in a single lane driveway. She was pleased that Stycos is looking at the issue.

“He does try to do what makes people happy,” she said.

Fifty-year resident of Wheeler Avenue Len Shappy didn’t see the benefit to overnight parking. He agreed that the existing ban requires people to move cars around and he questioned what might happen on a snow day when residents with permits would assume they could leave their cars in the street. Told that residents would pay to get permits, he said, “of course the City of Cranston always needs more money.”

Both Shappy and Heap thought there might be issues with trash collections if people blocked the pickup of bins.

Under the proposed ordinance, the parking permits would be non-transferable and there is a limit of two per address. The current law in Cranston states, “It shall be unlawful for the operator of any vehicle to park on the same street for a period of time longer than two hours between the hours of 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. of any day.”

“The traffic report would give us the criteria of how to roll this out,” Farina said. “The traffic engineer is looking at it from that perspective. These streets make sense, these streets don’t. We’re looking at this in the big picture.”

In other news, the committee voted down an ordinance, 4-1, that would have made the electronic filing of any planning or land use documents mandatory. Director of Administration Rob Coupe expressed concerns over the ordinance, mainly that it could become a burden to the City Planning Commission and it would “likely” face a veto.

Coupe said the commission has a new internal policy that would allow for the posting of plans and documents, adding that this “meets the transparency intent of the ordinance.”

The committee also voted unanimously to continue discussion on the proposed ordinance amending the “Comprehensive Plan of 2010,” which involves use of land for solar power and renewable energy facilities, until the next meeting for public comment.

The committee unanimously approved an amendment to the Vehicles and Traffic ordinance concerning the penalty for overnight parking. The municipal judge has the right to dismiss tickets or “impose or waive” court costs “in lieu of the payment of the ticket[s] fine” based on the offender’s history and degree of violation. Those court fees will range between $20 and $39.

Cranston Municipal Chief Judge Matthew Smith gave an example of how the new system could work.

“Say a student comes in and the landlord said you could park there [overnight],” Smith said. “They would get a warning for the next notice. The court could dismiss the ticket but impose court cost.

(This story includes reports from John Howell.)