THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 14, 1994 TAG: 9408120266
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 19 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY PAM STARR, LARRY W. BROWN AND TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: Long : 153 lines
Barbara Yates is one happy camper.
For years the owner of Angie's Guest Cottage on 24th Street has been complaining to the City Council about the parking problems at the Oceanfront. Last week her gripes were heard when council voted to ban on-street parking by non-residents of specified resort neighborhoods from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily, on a year-round basis.
Yates knows several residents who don't share her euphoria. But she said those who are opposed were not ``fully informed'' of the benefits and how the plan will work. Residents will receive free decals in order to park on the streets outside their homes until Jan. 1. They also will receive one free pass for a guest. After this year, though, the city may charge for the permits.
``I think as far as the cost goes, nothing in this life is free,'' said Yates, who also runs a youth hostel. ``We should have had this parking program 10 years ago. The Oceanfront is such a nice place to come to - it doesn't have to be dangerous. Residents should be protected from the masses.''
Among the problems that have plagued the Oceanfront for several years, neighbors cite public drunkenness, urinating on private property, car stereos being blasted at full volume and general rowdy behavior.
Paris Williams, who lives on the corner of Arctic Avenue and 16th Street, said tourists and others who park in the neighborhood are not considerate.
``They urinate in yards, sleep in cars, hollering and yelling. They don't care,'' Williams said.
``(The restriction) is the best thing that's ever happened to Virginia Beach. It will help clean up the mess.''
Louise White, who has lived on 26th Street for 20 years, agrees with Williams. She said that in the last two years she has not felt safe.
``They're not considerate of people trying to live a normal life,'' said White, a science teacher at Virginia Beach Middle School. ``It's not so much the parking as it is using the neighborhood as a public facility.''
One night a few months ago two men opened the gate to White's back yard, took the cushions off the chaise lounges and slept on the ground. White, who didn't hear them, figures the men were drunk and decided not to drive home. She thinks that the parking restriction will stop that kind of behavior as long as towing is enforced.
``It will work if there are consequences for the offenders,'' White said. ``I don't think the city staff is out to punish residents or tourists. I think they're trying to keep the dignity of the neighborhoods.''
Some residents will have problems with the new rules, said Mick Kauffman, a resident of the 1500 block of Baltic Ave.
``I'm in favor of it, but I think there are some areas of concern that need to be explained.''
Paying an additional fee for guests may be more difficult than the city imagined, said Kauffman. Residents may need guest decals when city offices are closed.
``Whenever there's a price it's a hardship. You never know when there's going to be an impromptu gathering on the weekend,'' he added.
Ada Walton, who lives a few blocks west of Louise White on 26th Street, dislikes the parking ban. Walton, a 40-year Beach resident, said it will make the resort area ``a police state.''
``If someone wants to see me I have to get a permit,'' said Walton. ``I'm very much against it - the city didn't give us any time to do anything about it.
``I don't feel I should have to pay $15 to park in front of my house,'' she continued. ``I just feel that my freedom is being taken away.''
While some Lakewood residents see the ban as a violation of rights, many agree that expanding the restricted parking hours will help curtail disorderly crowds.
``Why should you have to pay to park in front of your own house?'' said Edith Seamans, who lives in the 500 block of 16th St.
``I don't want the new decals,'' she said. ``When I have visitors it's going to be a nuisance.''
Brenda McCormick, an activist for the homeless, said residents do not realize the effects the parking arrangement will have on them. She said teenagers, who may be visiting friends' homes, will have to leave at 8 and roam the streets.
``You now have to get advance warning when people are coming through. You can't always know when someone's coming over,'' she said.
``They need to go back to unrestricted parking. That would make everybody happy.''
City Councilman Linwood O. Branch, who represents the Beach borough, defended the action, saying the parking plan will encourage use of newly completed municipal parking lots while also making the borough's streets safer.
``This is about secure neighborhoods at night and, let's face it, we'll never be able to make the municipal parking lots work if we have to compete with free parking on the streets,'' said Branch, during a meeting of the Lakewood Civic League on Wednesday evening.
The city has just completed construction of a 258-space lot that occupies land at 25th Street, between Pacific and Arctic avenues. An expanded lot is planned at the site of the Dome, which is scheduled for demolition this year after asbestos removal. Today, the city has 682 public parking spaces at the Oceanfront, excluding street parking.
Calling the plan ``experimental,'' Branch also said the $15 fee that local residents will be asked to pay next year is not final and could change if public opposition is strong enough.
Bill Huff, a resident of Pinewood Drive, said he was not opposed to the idea of the parking restriction but to the manner in which the council approved it.
``There was not enough time for citizen comment,'' said Huff, a chemist. ``The situation was approved without time for citizens to effectively voice their opinions.
``There is no clear cut definition of what the council can do in a situation like that,'' he added, ``but more time should have been taken to study it than simply telling everyone they were going to vote on it and then, four days later, voting.''
It appears that the farther west people live on the resort area's numbered streets, the fewer problems they have. Herbert Hempel has lived on 23rd Street, seven blocks from the beach, since 1970 and said he doesn't feel ``threatened.''
``It's a terrific burden to pay $15 for a decal,'' said Hempel. ``It's an unfair tax. I can count 1,000 parking spaces they've eliminated from Atlantic Avenue.''
Peter Cantanese, who has owned and operated the Barclay Cottage Bed & Breakfast at 16th Street and Arctic for four years, is pleased with the changes.
But parking is secondary to the real issues the city needs to work on, Cantanese said, such as drinking and driving at the Oceanfront.
``I'm concerned with the issue of safety and how to get rid of the bad element in Virginia Beach,'' he said.
``Overnight you could have a situation that would destroy a $7 billion industry and people have to be aware of that.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH
IN FAVOR: ``It will work if there are consequences for the
offenders,'' says Louise White, a Virginia Beach science teacher.
``I don't think the city staff is out to punish residents or
tourists. I think they're trying to keep the dignity of the
neighborhoods.''
Staff photo
AGAINST: ``It's a terrific burden to pay $15 for a decal,'' says
Herbert Hempel, a resident of 23rd Street since 1970. ``It's an
unfair tax. I can count 1,000 parking spaces they've eliminated from
Atlantic Avenue.''
Staff photo by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
AGAINST: ``You can't always know when someone's coming over,'' says
Brenda McCormick, a homeless activist. ``They need to go back to
unrestricted parking. That would make everybody happy.''
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCIL PARKING
by CNB