Regulations

Granting Authority

Colorado Revised Statute 23-5-107. Authority of governing boards—parking. (1) The governing board of any state institution of higher education is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations providing for the operation and parking of vehicles upon the grounds, driveways, or roadways within the property under the control of the governing board. Such rules and regulations may include, but not be limited to, regulation and control of the following:

1. Assignment of parking spaces, designation of areas for parking, and regulation of the use of such spaces and areas, including the assessment of charges thereof;
2. Prohibition or limitation of parking in the manner deemed necessary;
3. Removal of vehicles parked in violation of institutional rules and regulations, ordinances, or law at the expense of the violator;
4. Assessment of charges for violation of rules and regulations.
    

Delegation of Authority

Pursuant to Laws of the Regents – or unless otherwise expressed by the Board of Regents, the President of the University of Colorado, or the Chancellor of its Colorado Springs Campus – responsibility for the promulgation and enforcement of campus parking and traffic regulations has been delegated to Parking Services (PS) and UCCS Police Department.

General Liability

UCCS is not responsible for injuries, losses, or damages. Vehicle owners are solely responsible for losses, damages and/or theft to their vehicles and/or their contents while parked on UCCS property. UCCS assumes no responsibility for the damage to and/or theft of any vehicle or its contents while the vehicle is parked or moving on campus. UCCS is not responsible for damage that may occur when a vehicle is impounded, relocated, or when any other authorized official of the University is assisting in a help‐related service or while issuing a citation.

Definitions

The following words and phrases used in these regulations have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

1. “Accessible” or “Accessibility Parking” means parking reserved for use by persons with disabilities that possess a state-issued disability license plate, placard, decal, or permit.
2. "Automobiles" includes all motor vehicles (e.g., cars, pickup trucks, vans, recreational vehicles, buses, etc.) excluding motorcycles.
3. “Emergency Vehicles” are vehicles operated by fire departments, law enforcement agencies, or ambulance services for the protection and preservation of life and property, and that are equipped and operated as emergency vehicles pursuant to state law.
4. “Electric Personal Assistive Mobility Devices” are a self-balancing vehicle that is powered solely by an electric motor not exceeding 750 watts, designed to transport one person, with a top speed of 12.5 mph. A common example of an EPAMD is a Segway scooter.
5. "Motorcycle" means any motor vehicle designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground. This includes mopeds and motor scooters (other than e-bikes as defined in 3, above).
6. “Motor Vehicles” includes all motor-driven vehicles (including, but not limited to, automobiles and motorcycles).
7. “Oversized Vehicles” are any vehicles over 18 feet in length or over 8 feet 6 inches in width. This includes any vehicle with trailer in tow that will occupy more than one standard parking space.
8. "Park" means the stopping of a vehicle other than very briefly for the purpose of and while actually engaged in loading or unloading passengers or equipment.
9. "Parking Facility” means parking lot, garage, loading dock, service space and area immediately adjacent to the facility.
10. "Pedestrian" means any person afoot or any person using a wheelchair.
11. “Personal Transportation Device” means any self-propelled vehicle other than an automobile, bicycle, motorcycle, skateboard, or wheelchair (as defined in these regulations) which is generally and commonly used to transport persons and is not eligible for operation on the public highways.
12. “Scofflaw Behavior” is the demonstration of disregard for these regulations by failing to pay or appeal one or more parking and traffic tickets within the time limits set forth in these regulations, such that more than $151 in ticket fines remains outstanding or if a vehicle has no license plate or registered owner.
13. “Service Agency” is any company, organization, or person thereof who conducts campus business or provides goods or services for the University of Colorado Colorado Springs.
14. “Service Drive” means those campus roadways designated by signage indicating “service vehicles only”.
15. “Service Vehicle” is any vehicle owned by a company or service agency dedicated to the delivery of service, material, and/or equipment, the exterior of which is visibly marked with a company or organizational logo.
16. “Special Events” includes all events on the UCCS campus that would necessitate a change in the normal parking and traffic patterns and regulations, e.g., sporting events, cultural events.
17. “Standard Parking Space” means a parking space 18 feet long by 8.5 feet wide.
18. "Students" means persons enrolled in graduate, undergraduate, or continuing education coursework on CU campuses.
19. “Universal Accessibility Symbol” is the symbol commonly used to mark accessible parking spaces.
20. "Wheelchair" means a motorized or non-motorized wheeled device designed for use by a person with a physical disability.
21. “Worksite” means any area where construction or maintenance to university buildings, grounds, or property is underway.
     

Finances

The construction, improvement, and maintenance of all university parking facilities are financed solely through permit sales, fines, and meters. In addition, all money expended for the administration of PS comes from these same funds. No state funds may be used for any of these purposes. Fees described herein are subject to change subsequent to appropriate administrative review.

Parking Times

These regulations apply to all persons while on the university campus in the manner described in the detailed regulations below and to all persons driving any motor vehicle, including state and federal government-owned vehicles. Violation of any section of these UCCS Parking Rules and Regulations shall subject the offending person or vehicle to ticket and/or boot/tow.

Paid Parking Enforcement Times: Parking permit registration or payment of hourly/daily parking fee is required in all UCCS parking lots during each semester while classes are in full session. Enforcement Hours are:

• Mondays – Thursdays from 8am - 10pm
• Fridays from 8am - 4pm

Times when Payment is not Required: Permits or payment of hourly/daily parking fee is not required outside the days & times listed above when classes are not in full session. Therefore, permits and daily/hourly parking fee payment is not required on:

• Weekends
• Holidays or campus closures when classes are not in session
• The 3 -4 weeks breaks between each semester

24/7/365 Enforcement of Parking Violations: While payment for parking is only required during paid parking enforcement days/times, all other parking related violations are enforced 24/7/365, such as:

• Parking in a reserved space/lot/zone without proper authorization/permit
• Parking in a loading dock/zone without proper authorization/permit
• Parking in a fire lane
• Parking in a ADA disabled space without the proper state-issued disabled plate/placard
• Parking in a Z space without proper authorization/permit
• Parking in a time-restricted space beyond the allotted time
• Or any violation listed in these regulations
   

Duty to Enforce

Unless otherwise provided herein, it shall be the duty and responsibility of parking enforcement officers of PS and the UCCS PD to enforce these regulations.

Approval of and/or Revisions to Regulations

The university reserves the right to change these regulations as necessary. University administration or the Board of Regents may change the parking permit fees at their discretion.

Types and Descriptions

All official parking areas are designated with signs. If an area is not designated for parking, you may not park there. The sign regulates the type of parking authorized. Types of parking at UCCS include:

1. Accessibility Parking Spaces: Parking spaces (including adjacent areas with blue or white ground markings for loading and unloading) reserved for vehicles transporting disabled persons, marked by signs bearing the Universal Access Symbol. Vehicles parked in these spaces must display a state-issued disability license plate, placard, decal, or permit. An appropriate parking permit or hourly payment is required.
2. Loading Zones (building docks): Areas designated for use by any vehicle delivering or picking up cumbersome materials and equipment on campus. Parking in loading zones is restricted to the time period necessary for loading or off-loading material onto or from delivery vehicles. Vehicles parked in loading zones for more than 15 minutes or the posted time period without associated loading activity are subject to ticket or tow.
3. Motorcycle Parking: Areas within which parking is restricted to motorcycles bearing valid UCCS motorcycle permits or hourly parking. Motorcycles may also park in regular parking spaces if they have purchased an appropriate permit or hourly payment.
4. Pay-by-Plate (In-lot Machines or Parkmobile App): Computer-based devices used in parking lots. Drivers must enter the license plate number of their vehicle and a receipt for parking will print out. The driver does not need to display the receipt on the dashboard of their vehicle.
5. Permit-Only Lots: Areas within which parking is restricted to vehicles bearing permits authorized by the UCCS Parking Services office; specific lot designation and restrictions are posted within each lot.
6. Permit & Pay-by-Plate lots: Vehicles must either have appropriate permit or hourly payment.
7. Reserved parking: Spaces posted for the use of specific vehicles only.

General Information

1. Students, staff, and faculty who wish to park a motor vehicle in a UCCS parking lot must have a valid UCCS campus virtual parking permit attached to the displayed license plate or hourly/daily payment.
2. It is the responsibility of the permit holder to ensure that the virtual permit is attached to the vehicle(s) to which it is registered with PS.
3. Permits are valid only in parking areas specified by the permit and on days/times specified by the permit.
4. Permits are valid through the expiration date noted in the parking portal. 
    

Waitlists

1. Parking permits for students are sold on a space-available basis. To ensure that we do not oversell permits and that students who have purchased permits are able to find parking, we limit the number of permits sold and implement waitlists.
2. Parking Services assesses lot utilization and releases waitlists as space becomes available.
3. Joining a waitlist does not guarantee that a permit will become available.
4. Students may bypass the waitlist if they meet the following criteria:
   1. Students with permanent disabilities as verified by a licensed physician.
   2. Students with temporary disabilities as verified by a licensed physician.
5. While on a waitlist, students may purchase a different permit. If they are released from the waitlist they can exchange their permit. 
    

Motorcycle Parking

Motorcycle permits are restricted to parking in designated motorcycle parking only. Parking in automobile spaces is only allowed if the motorcycle is attached to a regular permit for the zone or has paid hourly. 

Number of Vehicles on a Permit

1. Employee Permits: As many as three vehicles may be registered to the same virtual permit.
2. Commuter Permits: As many as 2 vehicles may be registered to the same virtual permit.
3. Resident Permits: Only one vehicle may be registered to a resident permit. 

Share Permit Violation: Although commuter students and employees may register more than one vehicle per permit, only one vehicle per permit may be on campus at a single time. Separate permits must be purchased (or the hourly/daily fee paid) if vehicles under the same virtual permit are parked on campus at the same time.

ADA Spaces

1. If you have a state issued ADA placard/plate, you must also possess a valid UCCS permit for the lot where the ADA spot is located or make hourly payment.
2. Exceptions:
   1. Resident students with a Resident permit and valid ADA plate/placard may park in any ADA designated spot on campus.
   2. Commuter students with a valid central campus permit may park in ADA spots in 300/400 series lots and level 3 of Gateway Garage during the days/times their permit allows.
3. Z Spaces:

   1. The UCCS campus complies with all ADA requirements for accessible parking spaces. However, due to high demand, these spaces may occasionally be unavailable in certain lots. To address this, we offer a special Z Permit, allowing parking in designated Z spaces when ADA spaces are full or as an alternative to ADA spaces. These spaces are typically near ADA spots or at the front of parking lots but do not meet ADA standards for ramps, width, or slope.

      If you have a valid state-issued ADA plate/placard AND a valid UCCS parking permit that allows parking at the lot/area the Z spot is located, you may use Z spaces as long as your ADA plate/placard is displayed.

General Regulations

1. Unless approved by Parking Services, the use of parking facilities for purposes other than those for which the facilities were intended is prohibited. Violators are subject to university ticket, boot, or tow.
2. Parking violations and any associated fees and fines are the responsibility of the registered owner of the involved vehicle. Registered owners are identified through license plate listings with the appropriate state department of motor vehicles.
3. In the event of mechanical failure of a vehicle, the owner or driver is responsible for its removal within 72 hours. Parking Services must be immediately advised of the vehicle’s location, description, and license plate number to avoid possible ticket or tow.
4. Vehicles may be immobilized or towed and impounded for accrual of unpaid parking and traffic tickets in the amount of $151 or more, or for any violation listed in these regulations, or for no license plate or registered owner.
5. Abandoned vehicles may be towed and impounded in accordance with the State Abandonment Law (Colorado Revised Statutes 42-4-1202 and 42-4-1803). Vehicles (trailers, motorcycles) may be considered abandoned if they are not currently licensed and/or operational at all times.
   1. A vehicle is considered abandoned if it is not registered with a valid campus parking permit and is inoperative or partially dismantled, or if it is parked on university property without authorization for more than 72 hours.
6. Counterfeiting, forging, and/or altering state-issued license plates or motor vehicle registrations, parking permits or receipts issued by the Parking Services office, or any other university department or agency, is in violation of Colorado criminal statutes. The unauthorized transfer of license plates from one vehicle to another is a violation of Colorado statutes regulating motor vehicles. Any such violations will be referred to the UCCS Police Department for investigation.
7. Parking at UCCS is allowed only in those areas designated as parking zones/stalls by sign and/or striping. In unpaved lots, parking blocks serve as space markers. Vehicles parked in areas not specifically posted and/or striped as parking areas are subject to ticket and/or tow.
8. Motor vehicles shall not drive or park on plazas, fields, or grounds of the university that are not designated as routes of travel or parking areas unless authorized by Parking Services.
9. Damaging a parking meter or causing a parking meter to malfunction with the intent of rendering it inoperative as a parking control device is a violation of these regulations, and may result in penalty fines and/or criminal charges. Vehicles may not park at malfunctioning or inoperative parking meters.
10. With the exception of police and fire personnel responding to an emergency, no person may authorize exceptions to these regulations without prior written permission of the Director of Parking Services or his/her designee.
11. It is a violation of state fiscal rules to use university funds for personal commuting and parking expenses. Permits may be purchased for the purpose of conducting authorized university business at a campus location away from your primary workplace.
12. Vehicles not properly licensed to drive in compliance with Colorado state law and vehicles not in safe or operating condition or license and registration has become invalid must be removed from campus property within 72 hours. Failure to remove said vehicle will result in a fine and/or immobilization or towing, unless prior arrangements have been made with Parking Services or University Police.
13. Motor-homes, travel trailers, storage trailers and other similar vehicles may not be parked on campus unless approved by the Executive Director of Parking & Transportation or his/her designee.
14. Sleeping in any vehicle overnight on university property is prohibited.
15. Storage of a vehicle permitted or not is not allowed on any UCCS property. This excludes students in UCCS housing if it’s their only vehicle parked on campus. Storage is defined as 2 or more days where any non-UCCS owned vehicle is parked without movement off property. Exceptions can be made by Parking Services to this policy (e.g. students and employees on UCCS sponsored trips).

Duty to Report

Any person receiving a parking and traffic ticket shall respond to Parking Services before closing of the tenth day after the date of issuance of the ticket to submit payment of fine or appeal. 

Fines

1. Schedules for parking violations, fines, and sanctions are available at the Parking Services office and on the UCCS Parking Services web site.
2. Citations not paid within 10 calendar days will incur a $10 late fee.  Outstanding tickets linked to a student account will be transferred to the Student's Tuition and Fee bill.
3. Outstanding ticket fines and any additional fees are subject to Parking Services collection policies including the use of a private Debt Collector or Collection Agency.  All fees and costs of collection may be added to the total outstanding debt amount that has been placed for collection.
    

Towing, Impounding and Immobilization

The decision to tow a vehicle is not taken lightly. The Department of Parking and Transportation will make every effort to contact the owner/operator in an attempt to get a vehicle moved prior to towing. There are, however, certain circumstances when towing will be justified without prior notice.

UCCS reserves the right to tow any vehicle parked in violation of any of the university’s Parking and Transportation rules and regulations, policies and/or the Colorado Vehicle Code at the expense of the vehicle owner.

The accumulated fines and the resulting tow and storage charges shall be reconciled before the vehicle is released. Failure to respond to tickets in the amount of $151 or more will be deemed a waiver of any right to notice or hearing before the vehicle is impounded. The university contracts with a private firm for towing and impounding of motor vehicles.

1. The vehicle may be released at the scene when all the following conditions are met:
   1. If a tow truck has been called, all applicable charges are paid to the tow driver by the driver and/or owner of the violating vehicle, and
   2. The driver and/or owner agree to immediately accompany the enforcement person to Parking Services for payment of any outstanding tickets, and
   3. The driver and/or owner correct any current violations.
2. The vehicle may be released from impoundment if the driver meets all the following conditions:
   1. Payment of all outstanding university tickets at Parking Services,
   2. Receipt of a release form from Parking Services,
   3. Proof to the Parking Services office that she/he is the registered owner or authorized driver of the vehicle (according to Parking Services guidelines), and
   4. Payment of all applicable towing charges to the tow company.
3. A Scofflaw Tow Penalty Fine is assessed when:
   1. The operator of a vehicle about to be towed for a scofflaw violation avoids the tow by fleeing the scene, or
   2. The operator of a vehicle that is about to be towed for a scofflaw violation agrees to accompany the parking enforcement officer to Parking Services to pay outstanding fines but thereafter fails to pay such fines within five business days of the near tow.

General Information

The parking ticket appeal process is intended to provide an objective forum for the presentation of factual exculpatory information regarding the receipt of a parking ticket.  Information presented by the appellant must be relevant and substantive.  

Appeals

1. Appeals must be filed within ten calendar days from the date of the issuance of the citation.
   1. By failing to file your appeal within ten (10) days you have waived your right to appeal.
2. Appeals must be made through the UCCS parking portal.
3. Appeal filings must contain all of the relevant and substantive information the petitioner wishes to have considered during the appeals review(s).
4. Once the Parking office receives an appeal, any additional penalties on the unpaid citation fines are put on hold until a decision is made on the appeal. 
    

Level 1 Appeals - Administrative Review

Ticket appeals are first reviewed in-house by Parking Services staff. 

• Appeals approved will be of such a nature of clerical error or known circumstance at the time of the violation.
• Appeals denied will be those that evidence can be produced through photos, logs and/or electronic systems in accordance with these regulations.
   

Level 2 Appeals - Parking and Transportation Advisory Board (PTAB)

Level 2 Appeals may be either written or in-person. In-person appeals before the Board are limited to five minutes.

• You may bring witnesses who have relevant information regarding the specific alleged violation.
• You must represent yourself before the board. You may not appoint another (except legal counsel) to represent you.
• By appealing to the Appeals Board you are agreeing to be bound by their decision.
• Appeals are heard by a committee comprised of faculty, staff, and students who have NO connection to Parking Services. All decisions this board makes are final and may not be further appealed.
• Be aware that all correspondence can be forwarded to the board, including, but not limited to, summaries of phone conversations and emails.
• There is a $10 fee added to an appealed citation that is appealed to the board and is denied.
   

Appeal Criteria

• You have substantial and valid evidence that the parking violation was not committed.
• Though the violation charged was committed, you have substantial and valid evidence that it occurred due to circumstances beyond your control. (For the purposes of this section, neither the fact that the parking violation was of short duration, nor the fact that all the designated parking spaces in an area were occupied at the time of the ticket, is, by itself, sufficient grounds for appeal.)
• The violation occurred under circumstances where the appellant believed he or she was not committing a violation, and where a reasonable and prudent person under the same or similar circumstances would have acted in the same manner as the appellant. (For the purposes of this section, neither the fact that the parking violation was of short duration, nor the fact that all the designated parking spaces in an area were occupied at the time of the ticket, is, by itself, sufficient grounds for appeal.)
• It is the responsibility of the appellant to provide evidence sufficient to justify the granting of an appeal.
• Appeals filed for the following reasons will not be considered and will be immediately rejected:
  • I don't agree with or I don't know the regulations.
  • I couldn't find space in my assigned parking lot.
  • I have been parking this way for a long time and have never received a ticket until now.
  • I was late for a class/meeting or my class/meeting ran late.
  • I can't afford to pay the ticket fine.
  • "Someone" told me to park there.
  • I was only in violation for a short time.
  • I didn't see the sign.
  • I parked in an ADA space and do not own a valid ADA placard or plate.
  • I forgot to pay.