County to revisit parking fee hike

Increase unfair to merchants outside central business district, opponents say

The smaller independent businesses located farther away from the Silver Plaza area noted that patrons were likely going to go where the parking was free — and less likely to visit their establishments.

A public hearing on the revisions, which would affect the Silver Spring, Wheaton, Bethesda and Montgomery Hills parking districts, will be held 7:30 p.m. July 26 in Rockville. From there, the council will make a decision.

The initial change extended paid parking hours to 10 p.m. and raised the rates.

Business owners collected more than 500 signatures on a petition against the changes that they passed on to County Councilwoman Valerie Ervin (D-Dist. 5) of Silver Spring, and implementation of the new rates and hours has since been put on hold while the issue is further discussed. The petition stated that the increases will hurt small businesses and help chains, are a disincentive to attracting new businesses, and make Silver Spring less competitive with nearby Washington, D.C.

Most meters and garages in eastern Montgomery County did not charge after 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. and some did not charge for parking on weekends. Business owners hope it stays that way.

Crisfield Seafood Restaurant was one of the many businesses that signed the petition opposing the rate and hour hike, said Bruce Mancuso, one of the restaurant’s managers. He is hoping the rates will remain the same instead of being extended late into the evening.

Other businesses had similar concerns.

‘‘The rates going up will hurt my business,” said Brenda Smoak, owner of Alchemy, an arts store in south Silver Spring. ‘‘It’ll hurt all the businesses around me.”

Smoak, who also signed the petition, said she believes that with the higher parking rates and longer hours, people will elect to go elsewhere. People will likely want to go where parking is cheaper or free, she said.

Additionally, Smoak said, residents who live in the neighborhood will probably have to pay for on-street parking with the extended hours.

Evan Glass, a south Silver Spring resident and member of the Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board, is one of the residents who would be affected by the increase. Free street parking would be eliminated until 10 p.m. under the legislation, and he would have to feed a meter.

It’s important to support small businesses, but it’s also important that the parking district generates money, said Phil Olivetti, a Silver Spring resident and member of the Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board. The advisory board approved a letter to be sent to the County Council opposing extending the parking meter hours.

Money the parking lot district earns goes toward sidewalk repairs and lot maintenance, which will still need to be funded, Olivetti said. Money could be cut from elsewhere in the budget to compensate. It is important to think about how those costs could be offset, he said.

At a July 3 council meeting, Ervin asked the County Council to re-examine the extended hours in county parking districts.

‘‘I have heard from several businesses who have indicated to me that there are problems, especially in south Silver Spring, with equality,” Ervin said.

‘‘We’ve created something that put a number of small businesses at a disadvantage, particularly in Silver Spring, to one project,” agreed Councilman Marc Elrich (D-At large) of Takoma Park.

If you go

There will be a public hearing on changes to the current parking legislation 7:30 p.m. July 26 at the County Council building, 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville. Call 240-777-7900.