Sunset Beach council approves free resident parking permits, schedules community input
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Summary
The new council approved a no-cost resident parking permit process and scheduled community input and data review before setting program dates; the vendor said previous season revenue peaked at about $88,000 in March and April.
Sunset Beach’s newly seated Town Council voted unanimously on Dec. 31 to authorize a free resident parking permit program and begin implementation work, while asking staff and the vendor to return with usage data and firm program dates.
The council’s action authorizes the town to implement a resident permit system at no cost to property owners. The vendor presenting the plan said last year resident seasonal permits cost $25 per vehicle but the updated system can renew many accounts automatically and support zero-cost permits going forward. "Last year, effectively, it's the same process … Last year, it was $25 per vehicle. This year, it's no cost per vehicle," the vendor said during the presentation.
Councilmembers asked for more precise usage and revenue breakdowns before finalizing season dates. The vendor said March and April produced “very big revenue numbers” — roughly $88,000 in March and nearly that in April — and explained the town’s registration process uses parcel IDs and license-plate scans to count both permit purchases and actual parking events. "We use the parcel IDs, property parcel IDs as the authorization code," the presenter said.
Several councilmembers recommended community outreach before locking in a schedule. Mayor Shannon Phillips and councilmembers voted to schedule a community feedback session and asked staff to set up an online portal or email capture so residents and businesses can submit comments ahead of the next meeting. "What I would recommend we do is next week, we set up some sort of community feedback session regarding the island parking," Councilmember Christie Bachelor said.
The council approved the free-resident-permit process on a motion to implement the vendor’s proposal, with the condition that the council later establish exact permit dates and limits per property. The motion passed with an 'Aye' vote by all members present.
Next steps: staff and the vendor will distribute the vendor’s detailed parking presentation and usage figures to council members in advance of the January meeting; the council also directed staff to advertise and hold at least one community input session prior to setting final program dates.
