THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 22, 1995 TAG: 9511220498
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
Fearing that a recent increase in parking fines will permanently drive away downtown shoppers, the City Council gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a partial rollback.
The council voted 4-3 to reduce fines for overtime parking from $25 to $15 and to decrease the penalty for meter feeding from $30 to $25.
However, the action must be approved again when the council reconvenes on Dec. 5 because it failed to win five votes.
If the measure passes again with only four votes, the rollback would pass but would not become effective for 30 more days. A five-vote approval, however, would mean immediate implementation.
In either scenario, the reduced fine for overtime parking still would not be rolled back to the previous $10 level.
Mayor Paul D. Fraim and Councilman G. Conoly Phillips said the $25 overtime-parking fine created a psychological deterrent to parking downtown.
But Councilman Joseph N. Green Jr., who voted against the decrease, said the increased fine should have been tested for a full six months. ``I think it was working. People were beginning to pay attention,'' he said.
Shoppers could avoid fines, Green said, by being more conscientious about minding their meters. ``It's a choice you can make. . . . You don't have to get a fine,'' he said.
Councilman Herbert M. Collins Sr., who also opposed reducing the fines, said the rollback seemed to be rushed through the council. ``You need to be consistent,'' he said. ``I haven't seen this happen before.''
But Councilman W. Randy Wright, who favored the decrease, said, ``We also need to listen to our business community. . . . This has been hurting their businesses.''
Fraim said he thought the council already had devoted much discussion to the fines on Nov. 7, when they deferred a vote because three members were absent. He also noted that the higher fines have been in place for about five months.
``I am the last one that would want us to look like we're acting in a knee-jerk fashion,'' he said. ``I get phone calls in my office. There was one today about a lady who was six minutes late and it cost her $25.
``There's a certain drumbeat in the mayor's office. I'll get a letter. I'll get a phone call. This has been happening on a fairly regular basis. This is what caused my reaction.''
Phillips said he, too, has received many citizen comments against the higher fines. ``It's an image thing,'' he said. ``It's a psychological thing. This is not citizen-friendly no matter what anybody says.
``We're competing with every shopping mall in the region. . . . People say they're not coming back (downtown). We don't want people making that emotional decision.''
Councilman Mason C. Andrews said the higher fines were established to encourage more shopper turnover downtown. He disputed the notion that the increases were primarily to raise extra revenue to help finance parking garages for the proposed MacArthur Center shopping mall.
In another matter, the council voted 6-1 to give city employees a holiday on Dec. 26. Phillips voted against the extra day off.
KEYWORDS: NORFOLK CITY COUNCIL PARKING FINE by CNB