By Julia Roberts
The Fernandina Beach City Commission will move forward with a plan to implement paid parking in the core of the city’s historic downtown after commissioners failed to take action to prohibit it.
Revenue from charging people to park in the heart of the city’s historic downtown — from Ash Street to Alachua and Eighth to Front — is slated to be used to pay for some major capital projects: a seawall at the Amelia River waterfront ($20-25 million), the demolition of the building that houses Brett’s Waterway Cafe and reconnection of the docks at the Fernandina Harbor Marina ($5-7 million) and a revitalization of the downtown that will include replacing lighting, infrastructure and landscaping ($10-15 million). The measure would require payment to park in 1,800 spaces in the city, including 90 spaces in parking lots A and B, adjacent to the marina.
At the Oct. 21 city commission meeting, a matter of the agenda was an ordinance that would stop action by the city to hire Parking One, a company that will begin the process of installing equipment that will require people who wish to park in spaces in two of the lots on the Amelia River waterfront and from Ash to Alachua streets and Front to Eighth Street.
Commissioners say paid parking will produce revenue necessary to fund the three projects without having to raise taxes in order to pay for a multi-million dollar bond. City commissioners have discussed going forward with a bond referendum that would allow voters to approve the city going into debt for the bond, but as of yet, that idea has not gained any traction.
The action came after months of division and debate in the city that included a grassroots effort to prevent the plan from moving forward. Those opposing paid parking organized a petition that garnered more than 1,700 signatures, which triggered the action Tuesday night. According to the city’s charter, the matter will now be placed on a ballot for voters to decide. That will likely be placed on the August ballot, but the city could hold a special election earlier.
Several residents addressed the city commission on the matter, accusing the commissioners of destroying public trust (Marisol Triana), using incorrect assumptions about the revenue that will be generated by paid parking (Jenae Ruby) and working with a company that sells license plate and car registration information to third parties (Julie Ferreira).
Vice Mayor Darron Ayscue has been the only commissioner, out of five, who has opposed paid parking. He made a motion to adopt the ordinance banning paid parking, but the motion died for lack of a second. He advocated for putting the matter on the ballot, possibly in the form of a special election early in 2026. The cost of holding a special election is roughly $40,000.
After the commission failed to second Ayscue’s motion, members of the audience were audibly upset, shouting “shame.” Mayor James Antun asked for decorum.
“Folks, I understand your opinions,” the mayor said. “Please stop commenting from the audience.”
“No, you don’t,” several people in city commission chambers answered, causing Antun to call for a recess.
Since the ordinance to prohibit paid parking was not passed, the city will move forward with negotiating a contract with One Parking to implement it. Details of that contract will be released as the project moves forward.
