DECATUR, Ga. — A proposal in the Decatur City Commission to update the city’s residential parking was unanimously voted down on Monday.
City officials were considering updating the code to require residential parking permits on nearly 40 streets in the downtown Decatur area.
Last week, Channel 2’s Tom Regan reported on a plan by Decatur officials were working to amend a city ordinance to help residents living in that area retain parking spaces, rather than be crowded out by visiting shoppers and others.
Had the measure passed, dozens of streets would be designated as residential parking and residents using street parking would have to get an annual permit.
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The fee would have been $25 per vehicle, but some residents weren’t sold on it.
“In my situation I don’t have a choice to park in a garage or driveway. I depend on street parking in front of my house,” Cozart Smith told Channel 2 Action News.
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According to city officials, the ordinance that was up for a vote would have amended an existing residential parking district ordinance first added to the city code in 1967.
The legislation that is currently in effect, now close to 60 years old, affects 37 streets previously designated as districts, according to city officials.
Decatur city officials said they wanted to update the ordinance that establishes residential parking areas so they could more easily enforce parking rules.
“I feel like, to discriminate against folks like me, who don’t have a choice by forcing us to pay a fee to park in front of my house is not acceptable.’ Smith said.
Moving forward, now that the commission has voted to reject the proposal that was before them, the city said there is now a vote pending to rescind the 1967 ordinance in its entirety.
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