Elections Supervisor Certifies Petition to Block Downtown Paid Parking

Voters in Fernandina Beach will officially have a say in the future of paid parking after Nassau County Supervisor of Elections Janet H. Adkins certified the success of a citizen-led petition effort aimed at halting the controversial program. The certification, issued Monday, clears the way for the initiative to appear on the 2026 ballot.

The petition drive was led by the Paid Parking Political Committee, a group formed in opposition to the City Commission’s plan to implement a paid parking system in the city's historic downtown. According to the certification letter, 1,722 signatures were verified and accepted—well above the 1,135 required under the Fernandina Beach City Charter. Another 170 signatures were rejected during the verification process.

The City Charter, under Section 141, allows residents to propose or amend ordinances through a formal petition process. Once the minimum number of valid signatures is confirmed by the Supervisor of Elections, the initiative must be placed on a City Commission agenda for consideration.

The petition includes a proposed ordinance that reads: “The City of Fernandina Beach shall not implement paid parking in any designated area without majority approval (50% plus one) vote from a public referendum of registered city voters.”

At this point, the Commission has two options: it can adopt the ordinance directly, after holding two official readings, or allow voters to decide by placing it on the ballot in the next regularly scheduled election. A final decision by the Commission is not expected until December.

If the ordinance is not adopted, the measure will appear on the 2026 ballot—either in August or November—depending on how many candidates qualify for the open City Commission seats.

The certification marks a pivotal moment in a year-long political battle that has divided the city. Earlier in 2025, the Commission voted 4–1 to move forward with vendor selection for a paid parking system, awarding the contract to One Parking. The plan calls for metered parking across roughly 1,800 spaces within the city’s eight-block downtown core, including lots near the waterfront. Vice Mayor Darron Ayscue cast the sole vote against the measure.

City officials have defended the program as a necessary revenue source to fund major infrastructure projects. Among them: construction of a seawall along the Amelia River, demolition of the long-closed Brett’s Waterway Café, reconstruction of the Fernandina Harbor Marina docks, and upgrades to downtown streetscapes and lighting. The cost of these capital improvements is expected to reach into the tens of millions of dollars. Officials argue that paid parking would generate critical revenue without raising taxes.

Opponents, however, launched an aggressive grassroots campaign against the plan. Many residents and business owners argued that paid parking would undermine the city’s small-town appeal, hurt local commerce, shift parking congestion into surrounding neighborhoods, and create unnecessary enforcement issues. “No Paid Parking” signs appeared in numerous storefronts, and petition organizers spent the summer gathering signatures at farmers markets, street corners, and community events.

Now that the petition has been certified, City Clerk Caroline Best is expected to place the initiative on an upcoming City Commission agenda. While the proposed ordinance’s language appears straightforward, some legal observers have noted that terms like “shall not implement” and “designated area” could be subject to interpretation. Depending on how the city defines those terms, certain forms of paid parking might still be allowed even if the measure passes.

Meanwhile, negotiations continue between the city and One Parking on a final contract, which must also be approved by the City Commission. There are also discussions underway to establish a citizen panel that would help evaluate the contract terms and provide input on how any future paid parking program might be implemented.