Parking changes will be coming to downtown Clarkesville.
During a work session Monday, April 7, Clarkesville City Council approved a policy change spearheaded by Councilman Brad Coppedge that will apply to businesses and tenants parking on the square. As a downtown business and property owner, Councilwoman Angelia Kiker recused herself from Monday’s vote. Councilman Franklin Brown wasn’t present during the work session.
According to language in the policy, prior to receiving a business license, all 26 (plus future applicants) establishments on the downtown square must acknowledge that the 88 (on-square) spaces will be designated for “customers only,” with business owners, employees and tenants expected to park in any of the 500 (off-square) spots, from Monday-Saturday between the hours of 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
To enforce the new policy, three cameras in the amount of $9,000 will be installed on the square as city officials monitor vehicles parked for an extended period of time.
Surveillance footage, viewed by three monitors, will be stored in tandem during a 14-day window, with the latter seven days available directly in a city system and the former seven days of footage accessible in a digital cloud.
Repeated violators could likely be cited with fines ranging from $50-$100 for infractions after multiple warnings.
As written, the policy includes a provision that downtown “retailers” would be “required” to monitor and email violation information (via “pics, vehicle descriptions, etc.”) to city officials.
Clarkesville City Manager Keith Dickerson said he feels the new policy strikes the right balance in terms of freeing up parking space downtown.
“I think it’s not going to deter people from coming (to Clarkesville),” Dickerson said. “I think not restricting it helps us, and I think this puts it more on the owners…this is not to run anybody out. Our downtown is humming along right now. I think a lot of that is a testament to business owners that have enforced the current parking (test program).”
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 has maintained that an ordinance is necessary to ensure parking remains available for downtown businesses to thrive.
“The monitoring is strictly a function of what we agreed to originally – if the retailers saw something, they would report something,” Coppedge said during the work session. “Then, it’s up to the city to manage it from there.”
The camera system is expected to be installed in the next 30-60 days, according to Dickerson.
To address security concerns, Dickerson said the city has brightened illumination of the lighting in the off-square lots since February.
Dickerson said employees in fear of walking to their cars during evening or nighttime hours can call the Clarkesville Police Department for an escort at any time.
“I think we’ve done exactly what I hoped we would do,” Clarkesville Mayor Barrie Aycock said after Monday’s meeting. “We have made an ordinance that we hopefully can try to enforce, but it’s not to restrict. It’s just to try to manage and keep our parking available for customers.”
