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Council approves
changes to downtown parking times
Village Council at its meeting April 5 unanimously approved
an ordinance that amends some parking time limits downtown, and agreed
to form a committee to study the need for more parking in the central
business district.
Council also announced that the Village has received
federal funds to pay for the “Northern Gateway” project, which
would upgrade a parking lot on Cemetery Street and connect it to the bikepath
with a spur that runs through the Bryan Community Center’s front lawn.
Before passing the parking ordinance, Council did
make one change, agreeing to a suggestion from Council member Mary J. Alexander
to make the Corry Street parking lot limit four hours, instead of two, which
the proposal originally called for. Until now, the time limit in the Corry
Street lot has been 24 hours.
Other changes in the ordinance include:
• The two parking spots on Xenia Avenue in
front of US Bank changed to 30 minutes from 15.
• The four spots on Glen Street next to Town
Drug decreased to 30 minutes from 2 hours. The remaining four spaces on
Glen Street remained 2 hours. All the other downtown on-street parking spots
on Xenia Avenue remain two hours, and the ordinance does not address parking
on downtown Dayton Street.
• The three spaces on Corry Street in front
of the post office changed to 30 minutes from 15.
• The ordinance created 12-hour parking on
Elm Street, between Phillips and South Walnut; on South Walnut, in front
of Mills Lawn School and behind the First Presbyterian Church; and on Xenia
Avenue, between Dayton and Cemetery Streets.
In addition to downtown parking, the ordinance also
addresses parking around the Antioch campus, officially allowing diagonal
parking on East North College Street, and opening up more parking on Livermore.
But the thrust of the parking ordinance, as Council’s
discussion showed, addressed downtown. Council president Tony Arnett said
that the guiding philosophy behind the changes is to focus short-term parking
in the center of downtown and longer-term parking on the fringes. Council
stressed that to make this effort successful, the Village must post better
signage to direct visitors to longer-term parking areas, such as the Bryan
Center lot.
Council members also said that they are interested
in adding more parking downtown, and asked that Yellow Springers volunteer
to serve on a committee to study the idea. Those interested in serving on
the committee should call Village Manager Rob Hillard at 767-1279.
“I’m way committed to adding more parking
spacing,” said Council member Jocelyn Hardman, who suggested that
the Village ask the Yellow Springs school board to reconsider allowing angled
parking on Walnut in front of Mills Lawn. Some have said that angled parking
in front of the school would create more parking spaces. Hardman also suggested
the committee study how many parking spaces downtown needs and what space
is available for additional parking.
“I do agree with those who say we need more
parking,” Council member George Pitstick said. “But until then,
we have to come up with something that improves what we’ve got.”
Alexander said that downtown has enough parking
available on weekdays but not on the weekends.
Those who commented on Council’s parking proposal
said that more parking is needed downtown, but they did not fully support
the changes Council made to time limits.
Pam Adams, the secretary of the Chamber of Commerce
and co-owner of Village Herb Shoppe, said that, according to a survey she
made of downtown businesses, 21 out of 23 businesses surveyed said that
Yellow Springs has a parking problem, but 22 said that Council’s proposal
would not address the problem.
Tom Grey, who owns the downtown grocery store Tom’s
Market, said that shortening parking times will “cause problems for
me.” He added, “I’ve had problems for some time”
with people who park in his lot but do not patronize the market.
Grey noted that he prohibits his employees from
parking in the parking lot of his grocery or next door at Kings Yard, and
instead requires his employees to park on streets such as Elm, where their
cars don’t have as much impact on downtown parking.
Several other people at the meeting said that downtown
business owners should require their employees to park on the fringes of
the central business district, leaving prime parking spots available for
customers.
Bob Baldwin, who owns a number of downtown properties,
said that until additional parking spaces are added downtown, the Village
will just “nibble around the edges” of the parking issue. He
suggested the Village add parking spaces to the Bryan Center’s front
lawn.
Arnett noted that the effort to direct long-term
parking will be enhanced by the “Northern Gateway” project.
The Village and will receive $273,000 in grant money, and have to spend
$152,000 on the project, Village Planner Phil Hawkey said after the meeting.
The Village will likely receive the funds in 2006 or ’07, he said.
The project, which was developed by the Northern
Gateway/Bicycle Enhancement Committee, a subcommittee of the Village Planning
Commission, would include improving the Cemetery Street parking lot and
connecting it to downtown with a bike spur. The lot will include 130 spaces,
50 of which will sit on pavement, the rest on gravel and grass. The committee
designed the project to provide additional parking mainly for people who
come to Yellow Springs to use the bikepath.
Arnett called the project a “dramatic”
investment into downtown parking.
In other Council business:
• Council unanimously approved a resolution
placing a moratorium on accepting zoning applications for sexually oriented
businesses. The action comes after Council and the Village Planning Commission,
in a joint meeting last month, agreed to consider legislation that limits
where adult-entertainment businesses could locate in town. The 180-day moratorium
gives the Village time to study and likely eventually pass such a law.
• Council unanimously approved the second reading
of an ordinance amending three sections of the Zoning Code. One change allows
owners of nonconforming structures to add on to their houses. Another change
eliminates the Village’s current regulation, which requires property
owners who want to amend the boundary of a residential zoning district to
get the signatures of two thirds of their neighbors.
• Council agreed to add a second name to Limestone
Street, James A. McKee Way, in honor of the longtime chief of police who
died last year. McKee Way would be considered a secondary designation to
Limestone. Naming the street on which McKee lived was proposed by the Yellow
Springs Men’s Group, which McKee founded.
• Council unanimously approved the second reading
of an ordinance that allows the Village to sell surplus property to an existing
tenant, without going through a bidding process. The ordinance allows the
Village to sell one of its rental properties, 1274 State Route 343 in Miami
Township, to the tenants, Jamie Sharp and J.J. Yates. Hillard is negotiating
the sale of the property to Sharp and Yates.
• Council unanimously approved the second reading
of an ordinance amending the Village tax code to reflect changes in state
law. The ordinance does not change the Village tax rate of 1.5 percent or
the tax credit the Village issues to local residents who work outside of
town.
• Joan Chappelle, a member of the Village Human
Relations Commission, gave a report on the commission’s activities
for 2003 and its goals for this year.
—Robert Mihalek |
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