LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — At a packed particular assembly Wednesday evening, the Jackson Metropolis Council voted unanimously to repeal its decision to implement parking meters downtown.
This vote comes after widespread criticism from enterprise house owners and residents of town put a pause on the plan final week.
Metered parking was scheduled to enter impact July 1, which town says was supposed to generate income for parking upkeep by transitioning the monetary duty from enterprise house owners to these parking within the house. Meters would have been put in downtown, taking on a lot of town’s enterprise district.
The areas that may have transitioned to metered parking are proven right here in yellow.
Jackson residents and enterprise house owners appeared on the assembly to talk to the Metropolis Council, with many who got time for public remark advising the council to rescind or rethink their decision to implement the metered system.
Brad Brelinski, one of many house owners of downtown legislation agency Curtis, Curtis & Brelinski, P.C., spoke on the assembly, critiquing town’s use of different cities reminiscent of Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Grand Rapids as examples in its decision-making course of.
“Respectfully, we are not those cities. They are much larger,” stated Brelinski. “City of Jackson is about 30,000 people, 35th largest city. Detroit, 1st. Grand Rapids, 2nd. Ann Arbor, 5th. Lansing, 6th. Battle Creek was mentioned. They’re larger, at 52,000. They have free parking, 2 hours to 3 hours.”
Brelinski stated even cities smaller than Jackson had free, meterless parking methods.
“Port Huron, Wyandotte, Marquette, Mount Pleasant, Adrian, smaller but comparable, all free parking, meterless,” stated Brelinski. “There was a comment from someone that talked about we’re the only meterless system. I respectfully disagree, as my research shows that there is free, adequate parking in all of these comparable cities.”
Laura Davenport, proprietor of the Blue Julep, a dessert store downtown, advised the Metropolis Council that she believes metered parking would hurt her enterprise.
“I’ve had so many customers tell me that they will not pay a parking meter to run into my shop to purchase baked goods,” Davenport stated. “I do feel that there is another option that just needs to be explored.”
The town council deliberated for just a few moments after public remark closed, with town’s mayor saying he wasn’t ashamed to confess that town made a incorrect transfer.
“What I’m understanding is [business owners] would rather pay an assessment than for us to have that fee shared across our entire community, for those who live in Jackson, and don’t live in Jackson, that utilize our downtown parking,” stated Jackson Mayor Daniel Mahoney. “Citizens and business owners alike are saying, ‘This isn’t what we want.'”
The mayor proposed making a process power of metropolis officers to judge town’s evaluation system and determine what modifications must be made earlier than the fiscal 12 months ends in June. Conner Wooden, who represents town’s 4th Ward, additionally proposed trying on the metropolis’s zoning ordinance parking minimums, as these may have an effect on the assessments.
The council then moved to vote on a movement to rescind the decision to implement the parking system. They voted to take action unanimously, simply because the council voted to go it earlier this month.
The unanimous vote.
