Under a new ordinance, parking enforcement officers, as well as police officers, will be able to cite those misusing disabled parking placards.
The change was approved by the San Diego City Council Tuesday as they discussed ways to crack down on people who abuse the placards.
Offenders will also face a $740 fine, the council determined, and an additional 10 percent penalty mandated by state law.
The DMV requires if a disabled sign is used to park in a reserved spot, the person in whose name the placard is registered must be present.
But a city staff report says about 60 percent of disabled placards are abused. People are flagrantly misusing the signs to park in preferred spaces.
According to the report, police issue an average of 400 placard abuse annually.
An NBC 7 investigation earlier this year caught a state employee, a city employee and others who were using relatives’ placards to get free parking downtown.
