Melvin Butler was one of several people who made a submission on the proposed parking control bylaw during a hearing on Tuesday.
This was not the first time Mr Butler had fronted the council.
Last year he took them to court after being fined $40 for allegedly failing to activate an inner-city parking meter, which the council said was necessary to measure 30 minutes of free parking.
Mr Butler disputed that claim and said his bid was successful when the justice of the peace said the council was not empowered to require the meters be activated to qualify for the free-parking period.
"Because of that, the council had to reimburse 12,000 parking tickets," he said.
"I don’t believe that you should have to register your plate.
"There’s obviously privacy issues there.
"Council should be encouraging people to come to the CBD and support local businesses, not scare them away with complicated parking systems."
He said the requirement to "register the vehicle’s number plate" was restricting the use of a section of road for parking to those who undertook a further "permitting" or "registration" process.
He said the council did not have the power to do this, under the Land Transport Act 1998.
Mr Butler also believed the council failed to provide the correct signage to notify residents and visitors they were parking in an area that required registration of their plate.
"Requiring the registration of a ‘plate’ for free parking is not a lawful purpose. It suggests that the main purpose of the provision is to collect revenue in the form of infringement fines."
A report from chief risk officer and general manager Andrew Cameron stated registration of the plate number at the time of parking was required to determine the length of time the vehicle had been in the park.
Mr Cameron noted the 30 minutes of free parking was an initiative by the council upon introduction of the new parking meters and the weight of the submissions suggested the initiative was adding a layer of complexity that did not justify the benefits anticipated for users.
Mr Butler said if the council decided to do that, it would be outrageous and unfair and his counsel Kristy Rusher told the hearing panel it would be illegal if they did so because they did not consult that specific matter with the public.
Hearing panel chairman Darren Ludlow asked how the 30 minutes’ free parking could be measured and Ms Rusher spoke about the old system of marking car tyres with chalk.
Mr Ludlow asked if she believed this would be practical because a parking officer would need to go around every single parking space and mark the tyres.
"I do. It has actually worked successfully over 50 years and I don’t see why it needs to change."
Ms Rusher said the Invercargill City Council was the only council in the country that required people to enter their number plate in order to get 30 minutes of free parking.
The hearing was adjourned.
