THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 10, 1994 TAG: 9408100428
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL REED, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
A nighttime ban on parking in resort residential neighborhoods was expanded Tuesday, both in scope and hours, by a unanimous vote of the City Council.
The move means that people who live outside the Beach Borough can park only during the daytime in a section bounded by Laskin Road on the north, Norfolk Avenue on the south, Parks Avenue on the west and Pacific Avenue on the east.
Cars that don't bear residential decals will be banned from the streets from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily. Area residents may obtain a free parking permit for themselves and a free one for a guest until Jan. 1.
After that, city officials will decide on future charges for residential parking permits.
The restrictions will go into effect as soon as the city can install street signs, Public Works Director Ralph Smith said.
As a concession to beach day-trippers from other areas of Virginia Beach, the council also voted 8-3 to give them a fat discount on night rates at three municipal parking lots in the resort district.
Cars bearing city decals on their windshields will be allowed to park for $1 after 5 p.m. at municipal lots at 25th and 19th streets. Before 5p.m., the standard rates - $4 a day on weekdays and $5 a day on weekends - will still apply.
Council members Linwood Branch, John Moss and Nancy Parker voted against reducing the parking fee.
The council action was taken with the hearty support of three major resort business groups, plus a band of resort area residents who want relief from continued acts of lawlessness and rowdyism outside their homes on spring and summer nights.
``The business community of the Virginia Beach resort area is firmly behind the residents before you today,'' said Henry Richardson, president of the Virginia Beach Hotel and Motel Association. Richardson also spoke for the Resort Leadership Council, an umbrella group representing innkeepers, restaurateurs and shopkeepers.
Also speaking for the program was Bill Dillon, former president of the Virginia Beach Restaurant Association. ``In the 11 years that I've been at the Oceanfront, I've seen the behavior problem get worse and worse every year - mostly due to the parking in (nearby) residential areas,'' he said.
Of the 16 speakers who appeared before the council Tuesday to address the expanded parking restrictions, four were opposed. One was Brenda McCormick, an activist for the homeless, who lives on 16th Street.
McCormick accused the council of turning the ``democratic process into tyranny'' by rushing through with the parking ban, but she said she actually favored 24-hour restrictions on her street.
Also opposed was council critic Lou Pace, who said, ``I find it appalling that the bureaucracy comes up with another infringement of citizens' rights.''
A residential permit program first was adopted two years ago in a 22-block area, most of which centered around the 23rd Street to 25th Street corridor. Fifty-one percent of the residents within the area signed petitions agreeing to buy $15 decals that would entitle them to nighttime parking on the street outside their doors.
Vehicles without proper decals were prohibited from 11 p.m. to 6a.m. year-round. Residents could get guest passes for visitors for varying lengths of time: three days for $2, seven days for $5 and 14 days for $10.
Resort businesses could buy yearly parking permits for employees for $20. Provisions governing business and guest permits generally remain in force.
On Tuesday the council appropriated $56,000 to expand the permit parking plan. Most of the money will be spent on signs and barricades, Smith said.
Future plans call for adding two private security guards to a two-man nightly patrol around the neighborhoods, Smith added. The council would be asked for another $126,000 to cover the cost of the program. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
JOHN CASERTA/Staff
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
Photo
IAN MARTIN/Staff
The Swint and Reid families came from New Jersey to enjoy the
Oceanfront. Like many beachgoers, they parked in a residential area
that soon will be off-limits after 8 p.m.
by CNB