The Student Association Senate voted Sunday to unanimously support a parking ordinance changing the parking ban on Garden Road from 2-9 a.m. to 2-6 a.m.

SA Senate Speaker Dillon Domke said DeKalb Police Chief Gene Lowery approached the Senate Friday and asked its members to form an opinion on the parking ban change. Garden Road runs past Anderson Hall, the Engineering Building and Barsema Hall.

The ordinance, which would allow students with 8 a.m. classes to park on Garden Road without penalty, will be presented before City Council at its meeting Nov. 24.

Update from city

DeKalb Mayor John Rey attended Sunday’s meeting and spoke about parking issues on and off campus, fostering community relationships and sustainability initiatives. Another goal of the city’s enhancement committee is public art, with artists possibly decorating the control boxes at the intersections around town over the next year, Rey said.

A sustainability plan has been approved by the city’s environmental commission, Rey said, and the task force will look over the initiatives of the plan to decide what should be prioritized. The nature of the world is changing with increasing technology, Rey said, and he hopes DeKalb will “stay ahead of an evolving world.”

Rey said DeKalb is looking at regionalizing the DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport to increase passenger traffic, specifically for student athletes, rather than having them travel to Rockford, Midway or O’Hare airports to make connecting flights.

The closing of Barnes and Noble is scheduled for Dec. 31, Rey said, and the city has been working over several months speaking to Barnes and Noble corporate, local authors and other regional bookstores to attract a bookstore to the community.

“It’s unacceptable in my mind to have a university town without a Barnes and Noble-type bookstore in the setting,” Rey said.

Other business

The Senate approved two senator-at-larges, a deputy speaker and two new clubs.

Sara Partington and Akeem Williams were elected senators-at-large, while Paul Are-Latosa did not receive the votes necessary for approval. Senator Robert Kreml was appointed deputy speaker by a unanimous vote.

The NIU Mahjong Club applied for recognition and was approved unanimously, and the Society of Plastic Engineers was also unanimously approved for recognition.

Participants in Mahjong Club, which has eight members and is open to anyone, get together to play the four-player card game, which originated in East Asia. Members hope to play competitively.

The Society of Plastic Engineers, which is open to anyone, has four members and aims to provide training, networking and knowledge-sharing about plastic engineering.