Council approves Ocean Center monthly parking hike but rejects off-season parking discount for nearby restaurants

The Volusia County Council voted May 6 to increase monthly parking at the Ocean Center from $60 to $75 per month, a change approved unanimously. The council also discussed a separate request from Ocean Walk Shops’ management to lower daily off-season parking rates to $10 (from the existing graduated $15 maximum) specifically to help adjacent restaurants attract customers during the four-month off-season.

Staff said the monthly-parking rate change had been inadvertently omitted from earlier fee schedules and recommended the $75 figure to align monthly permit pricing with operational costs; the council approved that item 7–0.

Restaurant owners and Ocean Walk management requested an off-season program and proposed a mechanism where restaurants would purchase $5 voucher credits to subsidize customer parking so patrons would pay $5 and the restaurant would buy down the remaining $5 (for a $10 total), or conversely a county discount to $10 or $5 in off-season months. Management said the discount would be limited to October 31–March 1 and be validated only for customers who met a minimum purchase threshold.

Council members and staff raised two objections: first, the estimated fiscal impact to the county’s parking revenue (staff cited approximately $48,000) and second, the precedent of local government subsidizing private business parking. Several council members suggested restaurant-specific vouchers sold by the property owner (so the private sector buys the subsidy) as a workable compromise. After discussion the council denied the off-season discount proposal (vote recorded 5–1; one member absent) and asked staff to continue working with Ocean Walk management on private validation or voucher arrangements.,

Council members approved the monthly permit increase and took the position that any ongoing parking subsidy should be privately funded by the businesses receiving the benefit.