Resident can't sell lawn parking during Ribfest? He contests Naperville ordinance

Out of all the parking lots in use during Naperville's Ribfest, the one in Ben Yu's yard likely was among the smallest, but it still earned him a ticket - and not the good kind.

Yu was cited for violating a city zoning ordinance that restricts off-street parking, saying it must take place on a hard surface approved by the city engineer.

Yu, however, was selling spots on his lawn, allowing customers who paid $10 each to park on his front and back lawns, and sharing the profit with his neighbor, whose yard also was used.

Living on Hazelwood Drive, with only the Edward Hospital campus between the busy Ribfest grounds and his street, Yu said he's seen others sell parking on their lawns, and it's not an uncommon occurrence. This is the fourth or fifth year he's sold spots and the first time it's been a problem, he said.

"I don't know what changed," he said.

Yu said he plans to appear in DuPage County court next month to contest the citation. But he also hopes the 32-year-old ordinance that resulted in the ticket can be changed.

"The sad thing is it's not hurting anybody," Yu said. "It's not like I'm parking on anybody else's lawn; it's in my grass."

Mayor Steve Chirico and police Chief Robert Marshall said Yu's assertion the yard parking wasn't bothering anyone isn't correct because police received "several complaints" that led to action.

Marshall said an officer originally visited Yu and warned him that parking on the grass isn't allowed.

Yu said he interpreted the warning to mean the yard parking couldn't be visible from the street but it was OK in back.

When police received another complaint, Marshall said an officer and a code enforcement employee went back and issued the citation.

Officers have followed up on similar complaints and issued warnings before, but Marshall said Yu was the only person to receive a citation during this year's Ribfest.

"Had we not received phone calls complaining this was being done at his home, we likely would not have issued a violation. But we did receive complaints," Chirico said. "We're not just picking on him. We're following up on a complaint."

Yu said he's gotten the signatures of 20 of his neighbors - including all those directly around his property - on a petition in support of yard parking during Ribfest.

"Why would they crack down on something that really isn't hurting anybody?" he said. "It's been a tradition for Ribfest."

The festival's duration and size - it attracted roughly 150,000 people over four days this year and has been known to draw crowds of up to 200,000 during better weather - strains neighborhoods such as Yu's with traffic, trash and noise, he said. That's part of why he sells his grass as parking; making a little money helps offset some of the hassles and pays to take his sons to the event without spending too much of the disability payments he receives as a survivor of leukemia and stroke.

"The bigger that Ribfest gets, the more inconvenient it gets for the neighborhood," Yu said. "We have to deal with a lot. At least let us park some cars for the people that want to."

Ribfest organizers with the Exchange Club of Naperville say they're aware that churches, Scout groups and schools sell parking near the festival in Knoch Park. Organizers allow them to operate and raise their own funds for their own causes.

But Mary Howenstine, Exchange Club administrator, said the club neither supports nor opposes those options.

"We want to have a positive impact in as many ways as possible," Howenstine said. "And I think the parking is one of the ways we can share."

Ribfest provides roughly 1,000 public parking spaces in four remote lots through the festival and likely doubles that capacity on the Fourth of July, with about a dozen remote sites, Exchange Club Executive Director Rick Grimes said.

Chirico said he plans to meet with Yu about the parking ordinance to tell him why it was enacted and how it is enforced. If Yu still wants to appeal or amend the rule, Chirico said he should meet first with the Naperville Area Homeowners Confederation to gauge support from homeowner groups across the city.

Ribfest: Resident argues his parking fee helps offset event's traffic, noise