Residents urge referendum and alternatives as paid-parking plan resurfaces

Multiple residents used the meeting's public-comment period to oppose the commission's paid-parking proposal and to urge alternatives or a public referendum.

Speakers included business owners and downtown residents who argued paid parking would change the character of Fernandina Beach, push employees into residential neighborhoods and impose safety and enforcement costs. Marisol Triana specifically urged the commission to send paid parking to referendum, saying voters cast ballots based in part on campaign promises against paid parking.

Others recommended targeted alternatives: Alexis Reynolds and other speakers suggested creating an employee-only lot to reduce all-day employee usage of downtown stalls; Tynan Christner proposed improved enforcement of existing parking laws as a revenue source; Mack Morris warned that a discounted pass for residents could be undermined by rising enforcement costs.

City manager Sarah Campbell and staff said they will hold a town hall on June 24 focused on the Brett's demolition and related costs, and staff noted a companion survey will present images of design options with price tags and an open-ended question asking residents how they would prefer to pay for any chosen plan. Campbell said preliminary estimates of paid-parking revenue used in earlier studies were in the roughly $1.8 million to $2 million range; she told commissioners that finding those recurring dollars elsewhere would require cuts on the order of about 6% of the general fund if paid parking were not implemented.

No formal vote on paid parking occurred at the meeting. Commissioners and staff said they would take community input at the upcoming town hall and via the survey before advancing procurement or an ordinance.