AUBURN – The city could do away with the annual November to April on-street parking ban, according to officials.

Instead, the city could announce parking bans during individual storms, requiring people to move their cars or face having them towed.

“We have many areas with multiple dwelling units and many cars per building,” said Community Services Director Eric Labelle. “We’re running into problems when people park on their lawns or on the sidewalks to get their cars off of the street for the winter.”

The city currently bans on-street parking overnight beginning Nov. 15. That’s designed to make sure snowplows can get through and clear streets easily.

But Labelle said it’s a problem for tenants in apartment buildings without dedicated parking lots or driveways.

The new plan would let those people keep their cars parked on the street unless more than an inch of snow is expected to fall. If a storm is expected, the city will declare a parking ban and require that cars be moved.

Labelle said he’s looking for overflow parking for people forced to move their cars during a storm. That could be parking in city lots, school lots or vacant lots.

It would require an ordinance change, and Labelle said he expects councilors will see a proposal on Monday’s regular meeting agenda.

“The bottom line is we need the streets clear when we have to plow, but there’s no reason they can’t use those parking spaces when there’s no storm,” he said.