Onancock council adopts downtown parking rules, sets Feb. 1 enforcement

The Onancock Town Council on a unanimous vote adopted revisions to Article 2 of the town code covering stopping, standing and parking and set the ordinance to take effect Feb. 1, 2025. Councilors discussed detail changes to the downtown district, signage and time limits before the vote.

Staff said the planning commission designed the three-hour downtown limit to prevent employees and long-term resident parking from displacing customers. Matt, who led the staff presentation, said the rule targets two problems: employees parking all day and upstairs residents occupying storefront spaces. ‘‘The 3 hour parking does that, and it is only for the downtown district,’’ he said. Residents raised line-edit questions (for example, which streets the downtown district includes) and asked that signage and painted curbs be in place before enforcement began.

During public comment, Mary Clements, who identified herself as a business owner and a candidate for town council, said the proposed zone covers ‘‘too wide of a zone area’’ and urged the council to restore business/residential/dock distinctions. Councilors and staff clarified that the ‘‘clean copy’’ of the ordinance restores some provisions and that the downtown district is intended to include marked spaces on King Street and Crockett Avenue, not the entire length of every street. After considering options for enforcement dates, a council member moved the ordinance. ‘‘I move that we adopt the parking article 2, stopping standing in parking revisions with the revisions to those discussed tonight to be effective 02/01/2025,’’ the mover said; the motion was seconded and carried with ayes recorded.

The council asked staff to coordinate signage and wayfinding and said they would review any implementation issues if the town needed to accelerate sign installation.