MORGANTOWN — Morgantown Parking Authority (MPA) Director Dana McKenzie said the evolution of Morgantown’s downtown parking regulations has been aimed at aiding business and increasing turnover, not punishing residents for utilizing the city’s business district.
Further, he explained, the zone system currently in place — which allows someone to park in the downtown zone for two hours each day — is primarily an attempt to address chronic abusers of the previous system.
He said that if motorists don’t regularly leave their cars parked downtown for extended periods, they’re not likely to have an issue with the MPA.
“In order to even issue a warning we need to see a vehicle showing up over and over,” McKenzie said. “This is to promote downtown, not to be a discouragement.”
McKenzie addressed some common concerns expressed about the zone system during Tuesday’s Morgantown City Council Committee of the Whole meeting.
In 2007, the city implemented a two-hour limit on downtown parking spaces. After short-term success, it was noted that a small number of cars were simply being moved from one space to another, thereby avoiding tickets while never actually freeing up any valuable downtown parking space.
The city addressed this in 2016 by limiting parking in the entire downtown zone — comprised of portions of High, Fayette, Walnut, Chestnut and Court streets — to two hours per day.
McKenzie said the MPA is typically very lenient in doling out warnings and fines, which start at $20 for a first offense and jump to $100 for subsequent tickets. He said 12 $100 tickets have been issued since the system has been in place.
Both McKenzie and MPA President Charles McEwuen said that the downtown parking zone appears to be having the desired impact of turning over the on-street parking that is vital to the businesses in the district.
McEwuen, proprietor of Tanner’s Alley, said he’s been doing business downtown for 42 years. He admitted his fellow business owners were initially skeptical of the change to a zoned system.
“After we had it in place for six months or so I went back around and they said, ‘I can’t believe it. I didn’t think it was going to work, but it is working,’” McEwuen said. “Contrary to what some people on social media and other places say, it is working, and we’re hearing that from both the business owners as well as the customers coming in.”
In another parking-related issue, council moved an ordinance forward for consideration that would give the city manager’s office discretion to limit or prohibit parking.
City Attorney Ryan Simonton said council could overturn any such decisions made by administration.
“Council’s authority remains unchanged, but there’s a process for administration to manage parking in appropriate areas,” he said.
In other city news, council:
— Heard from Downstream Strategies President Evan Hansen regarding the consulting firm’s two-year endeavor with the Monongalia County Solid Waste Authority (SWA) to assess trash and recycling services county-wide and explore emerging waste-to-energy technology.
Hansen invited representatives of the city to attend the SWA’s Solid Waste Summit, to be held from 6:30 – 8 p.m. on Oct. 16 in the WVU Extension office, in Westover.
— Will take up a fourth amendment to the city’s Home Rule plan.
This amendment would address two issues. The first would allow the city to implement its own campaign finance laws. The second would allow the city to designate its existing board of zoning appeals to oversee future subdivision and land development laws.
Home Rule is a state pilot program that allows cities to operate outside state code to address specific issues.
— Will take up an ordinance bolstering the city’s laws regarding cruelty to animals.
Specifically, the new law would give more definition to what constitutes “cruel tethering.”
— Will take up a zoning reclassification request for three parcels in the city’s 3rd Ward. The parcels would go from R-1 to R-1A.
