Tone deaf: City Pushes Forward with Paid Parking Plan Despite Public Opposition

City staff paid parking expenses and revenue projections

Despite clear public resistance and vocal objections from residents, city commissioners moved ahead with the downtown paid parking program during a one-hour workshop Tuesday. The session, filled with technical modeling and revenue projections, stood in stark contrast to the tone set by impassioned public comments urging officials to reconsider or delay implementation.

Commissioners have become oblivious to the negative public comments that are voiced by paid parking opponents meeting-after-meeting.

 "To address you, it feels like it's frivolous. You know, I've seen two commissioners campaign on no -paid parking, or threading the line on the notion of no -paid parking.

And to see where we're at today is extremely disappointing. It's heartbreaking," said Paul Lore, who helped spearhead opposition to the plan.

The issue will be placed on the ballot in 2026 for voters to decide, but first city commissioners will vote whether to adopt the petition ordinance at their Oct. 21 meeting. An affirmative vote would negate the requirement for a referendum vote.

City Manager Sarah Campbell led the workshop with a detailed breakdown of how small changes in parking fees or permit structures could significantly impact overall profit.

“If we go to $2.50 an hour, see that changes the net profit to $2.3 million,” she said. “So little adjustments can have a big ripple effect.”

The program, set to run 345 days a year (excluding holidays and special events), will enforce paid parking from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. Resident permits will be digital, tied to license plates, and restricted to a maximum daily parking time — initially discussed as three to four hours.

Campbell added, “It doesn’t entitle someone to park in the premium zone for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We were thinking in the three-to-four-hour range would be a reasonable amount of time.”

After a commission debate, a consensus was reached to allow only one free residential parking permit per household, with additional permits available at $24 each — a shift from earlier models offering two free passes per household.

Commissioner Genece Minshew pressed for clarity, asking if that would apply even to households with four cars.

“If you had four vehicles at your home…potentially two would be free and two would be $24 (each),” she said.

Campbell emphasized the need for behavior change: “We cannot keep giving away free cars… At some point, we also need to change a little bit of behavior.”

Non-resident annual parking permits are priced at $100, which the commission considers a bargain compared to daily transient rates. For example, Campbell explained that a landscaper paying $20 a day for parking would recoup the cost of an annual pass in one work week.

A special permit for short-term visitors, such as two-week or one-month passes, was debated but ultimately not included in the initial model due to complexity.

“How many ways do you want to slice and dice it before it just becomes inefficient to do it?” Campbell asked.

The city library and local churches have raised logistical concerns, especially about parking spaces directly in front of their facilities. The city acknowledged the potential for library-validated parking and committed to further exploration.

Mayor James Antun clarified, “If you’re dropping a book off in five minutes and coming back out, you wouldn’t need to pay a fee. There is a 20-minute grace period.”

Mark Pratt, president of One Parking Inc. —the firm hired to manage the program —described a system built around license plate recognition (LPR) and digital automation.

“Conceptually, the license plate of your vehicle is your digital permit,” he said.

Residents nearing their time limit would scan a QR code and extend their session or risk receiving a citation.

Mark Pratt, One Parking Inc.

Pratt also introduced the idea of a “club” where users could preload a credit card for automatic charges.

“We have many license plate configuration (LPR) systems where people, what we call, join the club,” he explained.

He stressed that each citation, although generated by a computer program, would be reviewed by a human before being issued and confirmed that an appeals process would be in place.

The workshop’s most heated moments came during the public comment period, where residents lined up to oppose the plan.

Warren Matillo summed up the sentiment bluntly: “From walking in here, it seemed like this is a done deal. What happened to the petition that was presented to the town asking to put it on a ballot?”

Mac Morriss challenged the financial integrity of the proposal.

“You have no guarantees that paid parking revenue is sufficient to repay the $7 million loan… Leaving taxpayers liable for the repayment of up to $14 million,” he maintained.

Julie Ferreira raised civil liberties concerns, citing the American Civil Liberties Union.

“The ACLU is advising municipalities not to enter into agreements with parking companies that share information… There are too few rules for what's becoming a tool for surveillance,” she told commissioners.

Lore, who speaks at every commission meeting, became emotional, telling commissioners: “You have just monetized our city… This town is grounded… in intimacy. And that (paid parking) takes all the intimacy away.”

Another speaker, Sandy Kerry, pointed to costs in other municipalities as a warning. “Delray Beach had a $154,000 contract that ballooned to $599,000. Are you sure this is a good deal?”

Despite the backlash, the commission was committed to pressing forward.

“I think the vast majority of homes could survive with one pass,” said Campbell.

Vice Mayor Darron Ayscue agreed: “I don’t think an employee is going to buy a non-resident permit pass… The behavior change is to use a non-paid lot.”

While commissioners acknowledged many of the citizens' concerns, they repeatedly referred to the need to generate revenue — particularly to support the city’s waterfront redevelopment and seawall repair projects.

“This is a revenue generation model,” said Commissioner Joyce Tuten. “Those are the three decision points that drastically impact your revenue.”

The commission workshop concluded without a formal vote but with a clear direction: the paid parking program will move forward, starting as a pilot with walking enforcement and limited infrastructure. More detailed decisions — including the precise structure for appeals, data privacy, and permit enforcement — are expected in future meetings.

Public dissatisfaction remains high, with residents vowing to continue their opposition at the ballot box or through legal channels.

As Mac Morriss put it: “It’s going to fail at the polls. And you're going to be right back here in nine months.”