NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – A developer is getting some heat from New Smyrna Beach residents, businesses -- and now the city -- for putting in a paid parking program.
The business owners in Venetian Bay told News 6 that since the program was implemented, it’s cost them a lot of money -- and customers.
The city has now issued the developer a violation.
“New Smyrna Beach found them at fault. They started the violation on December 27. I don’t think Geosam has paid anything yet. They’re still continuing,” said resident Carl Scharwath said, one of the residents who has protested and fought against the paid parking since it was put in place in the fall.
The developer, Geosam, started charging $2.50 an hour for parking around the community’s town center. The tab for the parking has mostly gone to the businesses, which then validate the payment so customers can park for free and will hopefully keep visiting.
Scharwath said the bill even forced one business, Happy Deli, to close.
“He just lasted a week. He did not want to pay the $1,000-$2,000 a month that our businesses are required now to pay,” he said.
City leaders caught onto the issue, found a problem with the paid parking, and issued the violation to stop the program by December 27.
The city said it has a Planned Unit Development, or PUD, agreement with Geosam, which does not allow income-producing programs like paid parking.
A city spokesperson told News 6 that since Geosam didn’t comply by the given date, there is now has a hearing scheduled. A magistrate will decide if they should change the agreement so the developer can keep the program.
“It’s something that we never knew Geosam was going to put on us necessarily, and it’s just an expense that we never really accounted for,” said Travis McDonald, owner of Snap Fitness in Venetian Bay.
He said he hopes the city keeps the current agreement so they can afford to stay.
“We want to keep the doors open. Rent is not getting any cheaper,” said McDonald, “We’ve talked about moving, we’ve talked about potentially closing. We don’t want to. That would be worst case scenario, but we’re hoping for the best right now.”
News 6 reached out to Geosam for comment but has not heard back. The special magistrate meeting for the city and developer is scheduled for February 26.