Cameras aimed at enforcing Clarkesville’s new downtown parking policy are expected to be installed within the next 30 to 60 days, according to city officials.
The policy requires all 26 businesses currently operating on the downtown square — as well as any future applicants — to acknowledge that the 88 parking spaces on the square are reserved strictly for “customers only.” Business owners, employees, and tenants are expected to utilize one of the 500 available off-square spots, Monday through Saturday, between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., as a condition of receiving a business license.
To help enforce the policy, the city plans to install three cameras on the square at a cost of $9,000. These cameras will monitor vehicles parked for extended periods. City Manager Keith Dickerson said on Monday, May 19, that installation will likely happen within the next two months, although the exact locations for the cameras have yet to be finalized.
An additional camera will be installed at Mary Street Park to enhance security.
Repeat violations could result in fines ranging from $50 to $100 after multiple warnings, though the city’s ability to actually require individuals to pay those citations is questionable.
The parking rules were adopted during an April 7 city council work session as a policy rather than an ordinance, meaning the city has limited authority to enforce them through legal channels. If a citation were challenged in court, city officials acknowledge there would be little ability to compel payment.
“As much as anything, we just want to keep people that work (on the square) not taking all the parking spots,” Dickerson said. “That was agreed upon by most of the business owners…a lot of the business owners bought into it, so we figured we’d give it a shot. We think the cameras are good, if for nothing else, security.”
Footage from the cameras will be stored for 14 days, with the most recent seven days housed in a city system and the previous seven days stored in a digital cloud. The video will be accessible for periodic review by city staff.
“We’re not going to sit there and monitor it all day,” Dickerson said. “It will be available for review periodically – but I don’t think anybody wants to sit there and watch the parking lot all day.”
The policy, spearheaded by Councilman Brad Coppedge, also includes a provision requiring downtown retailers to report violations by submitting vehicle descriptions and photos to city officials.
“The monitoring is strictly a function of what we agreed to originally – if the retailers saw something, they would report something,” Coppedge said in April. “Then, it’s up to the city to manage it from there.”
