A new policy that would bring more restrictions to parking in downtown Clarkesville could potentially go before council in a matter of weeks.
Since launching a test program last year to resolve issues of parking, Clarkesville Councilman Brad Coppedge plans to bring a draft of his proposed ordinance before city officials in May.
As written, Coppedge said the ordinance would limit parking on the square to between 2-3 hours, with possible exceptions (extended hours) for customers of solons or pet groomers, between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. Monday-Friday – or, as Coppedge has suggested, Monday-Saturday.
Clarkesville has almost 600 parking spaces in and around the city, with about 88 on the square and nearly 500 (off-square) along the perimeter of the downtown area.
With each space on the square potentially generating an estimated $300 a year in retail sales, and the newly-opened The Hush restaurant bringing in more consumer traffic, Coppedge believes an ordinance is necessary to ensure parking remains available for downtown businesses to thrive.
Whether a camera system would be installed to capture potential violators of the proposed parking policy hasn’t yet been decided, according to Coppedge, who said the ordinance is subject to change pending input from fellow council members.
If the ordinance is approved, a sign will likely be displayed on the square that reads: “Customer Parking Only,” meaning business owners and employees will be required to park in the off-square lots.
Under the potential ordinance, as proposed by Coppedge, parking violators could get one strike before they’re forced to pay a citation. The first “infraction,” Coppedge proposed, would warrant a “violation notification.” The second, he said, would be a potential fine. And the third, a higher fine. Coppedge said he hasn’t decided on how high those fines could be.
“It’s just to keep cars rotated,” Coppedge said. “It’s a very modest way to make sure people don’t park all day. We want this to be something that is directional in the sense of doing the right thing for downtown. The square is for customers to shop the retail establishments. I think, if we write it correctly that we’re trying to maximize customer shopping space and parking locations … then it’s the best use of our space allocation.”
Councilman Franklin Brown said he’s inclined to support a 2-3 hour parking limit for the greater good of downtown commerce.
“I still need to read the (ordinance),” Brown said. “I want to see what Brad (Coppedge) and the merchants are proposing. We do need to improve our parking situation – because we’re full most of the time.”
Clarkesville Mayor Barrie Aycock said she’s leaving it up to council to decide once the ordinance is complete.
“I don’t want us to make it too strict,” Aycock said. “I do agree a limit on parking is probably needed. I’m going to leave that up to council.”
Councilman Rick Wood told Now Habersham he’s still undecided, explaining that he’d like to see the official ordinance before he makes a decision.
“I understand something needs to be done, but I’m not sure if anybody’s figured out how to handle that,” he said.
Council members Angelia Kiker and Don Nix could not be reached for comment.
Business owners react
Charlotte Collier, owner of Personalize It Boutique said she’s in favor of the proposed policy as someone who worked closely with Coppedge in drafting it.
“We absolutely need it,” she said. “Parking is a problem. I have customers who can’t even park because employees are parked out there (on the square).”
A manager of a downtown clothing store who asked to remain anonymous said she never considered parking a problem before Coppedge launched the test program.
“I haven’t had anyone complain,” she said. “People find spots. I just don’t understand. There wasn’t a parking problem.”
Richard Avirett, owner of 1442 Cocktails and Café, has been a vocal critic of Coppedge’s proposal, citing specific concerns regarding the security of his staff during late night hours when lighting in the off-square lots is poor.
Coppedge said there’s so far no plan to enhance lighting in those lots.
“If the security measures are addressed, I’m all about it,” Avirett said. “…I don’t see any urgency to fix security measures. Until that happens, nobody (on my staff) will be parking back there under any circumstance. (The city) is welcome to ticket me, and I’ll make a lot more noise if I need to.”
Still, Coppedge has long been a proponent of adopting a downtown parking policy, insisting something should be done to free up spaces.
“This isn’t anything to run customers out of here,” Coppedge said. “This is a way for us to manage (downtown) employees that are taking up those spots all day.”
