University Park council tables Snyder Plaza paid-parking proposal after hours of public comment

The University Park City Council on March 4 postponed action on a proposed managed paid-parking program for Snyder Plaza after heated public comment and extensive staff and task-force presentations.

City staff and the Snyder Plaza Employee Task Force presented a plan that would put monitored paid parking in the plaza, adjacent streets and nearby public spaces and use the revenue to subsidize employee parking off-site. David Rajabian, chair of the Snyder Plaza Employee Task Force, described the task force recommendation as an 18-month trial that would allow the city to collect data on parking behavior and adjust the program. "If a program is approved, it would be for a trial period of 18 months to see how it works," Rajabian said.

The task force’s proposal included several elements: paid parking in selected blocks of Snyder Plaza and nearby publicly managed lots; a rate framework the task force initially proposed at $3 per hour with the first 15 minutes free (staff later presented designated 20-minute free spaces on each block); a resident parking pass that would be free for the first six months of the trial; validation for participating businesses; and directing excess revenue to Snyder Plaza improvements. The plan also proposed continuing the volunteer task force during the trial and outsourcing day-to-day management and enforcement to a private vendor.

City Manager Robbie Quarter told the council the city has been subsidizing employee parking at the Hilltop Garage since 2021 under an agreement that covers 100 spaces at 65¢ an hour and that the subsidy has cost the city roughly $10,000 per month. "So that agreement's in place ... For just, transparency of data, we've been paying about $10,000 a month for 100 parking spaces," Quarter said, adding that the subsidy has totaled about $262,000 since February 2021.

Paige Rudy, the city’s community information officer, summarized public outreach the task force conducted after council direction. The city received 770 survey responses; Rudy said about 50% of respondents described parking in Snyder Plaza as "difficult" or "very difficult," and that about 75% of survey respondents said they were "unlikely" or "very unlikely" to pay for parking. "It's also worth mentioning that the cost of parking and the impact to businesses were the top concerns that were gathered from the survey," Rudy said.

Proponents, including Rajabian and other task-force members, said paid parking would redirect employees to off-site locations such as the Hilltop Garage and the Rankin lot and free up curb spaces for patrons. Rajabian argued the plaza is unusual because it serves a large nearby university and multiple property owners, and therefore different tools are needed than in single-owner shopping centers.

Opponents included many Snyder Plaza merchants and residents, who warned paid parking would depress foot traffic and harm small businesses recovering from recent construction and economic pressures. Logos Bookstore owner Susan Lewis said customers told her repeatedly, "I will not pay for parking," and described the trial as gambling with merchants' livelihoods. Merchant Copper Dallas, who said she owns two businesses in Snyder Plaza, told the council an 18-month trial would risk further losses for small, locally owned businesses. "Eighteen months of hurting small businesses, considering the years that we've gone through, is significant," she said.

Other public speakers raised technical and equity concerns: older patrons and some customers said they would not use phone apps to pay; others queried whether deliveries and service vehicles had been addressed; and one speaker warned about QR-code security risks in public parking systems. Eric Ward, president of Parking Systems of America, the vendor selected through the city’s procurement process, said his company would provide data and operational support and would work with merchants on deliveries and enforcement.

Council discussion reflected the competing priorities. Some members said enforcement could be strengthened without a paid program, while others said the city should not continue subsidizing employee parking indefinitely. Council moved to delay the item for further study. A motion "to table 25,049 for future consideration and continuous study" was made and seconded; recorded votes in the transcript show councilmembers Melissa Raymond, Phil Feldman, a councilmember identified in the record as Mark Horder, and Bill Myers voting in favor of tabling.

The task force and staff repeatedly told the council the plan could be adjusted based on data collected during any trial: occupancy by block, dwell times, weekday peak patterns and effects on adjacent neighborhoods. Task-force members and staff recommended the city consider resident-only parking adjacent to Snyder Plaza to prevent spillover into neighborhoods if a paid program or stricter enforcement were implemented.

Council did not adopt a final policy or implementation timeline. The council directed continued study; staff and the task force said they would return with additional data and refined proposals if and when the council asks them to proceed.