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Paid parking clears first hurdle; commission final vote set for January 6
The Fernandina Beach City Commission took a pivotal step Tuesday toward implementing the city’s first paid parking system in decades, voting 3–1–1 to approve Ordinance 2025-13 on first reading. The ordinance would establish paid parking across roughly 900 downtown spaces and create a dedicated fund for long-delayed riverfront/downtown infrastructure projects.
Vice Mayor Darron Ayscue voted against approval, while Commissioner Tim Poynter abstained after disclosing what he described as a “perceived conflict” involving business properties he owns or leases within the defined paid parking area.
The paid parking program only becomes official following a final city commission vote scheduled for Jan. 6, 2026, after the required public notice and an additional attorney-client executive session.
City Attorney Teresa Prince began the ordinance discussion disclosing that the Florida Commission on Ethics had issued a verbal opinion finding “no voting conflict” under state statute, but said Poynter had requested a written opinion and would abstain from voting until it arrives.
That was followed by Poynter reading his disclosure: “I own or lease seven of the 460 parcels located within the downtown boundary … Of those seven, I own or lease six parcels within the paid parking area where the paid parking will be implemented.”
Poynter later used his discussion time to deliver one of the strongest defenses of the ordinance, arguing the city could no longer delay funding major capital projects.
“Waiting five more years (to do improvements) — you think it's going to be cheaper?… It doesn't get cheaper. It just gets more expensive. This commission … they aren’t taking this down. They are doing the right thing.”
He criticized decades of inaction by previous commissions:
“Being a one-off commissioner… you just don’t get things done. And that’s what has been the scenario for decades. For decades,” Poynter said of his first term on the commission when he was voted down on proposals.
Poynter cited an example from 15 years earlier: “Alachua (street)… was going to cost $165,000 to open … It was $1.79 million to open it up this time,” Poynter said.
He argued the burden of paying for downtown improvements should extend beyond the city’s 8,000 residents:
“Where are we going to come up with the dollars? This is a plan to ask other people to help contribute so it's not on the backs of the 8,000 people who are paying for everything.”
Though he could not vote Tuesday, Poynter concluded: “Although I can’t vote tonight, I will be … I'll be voting on the second reading.”
Commissioner Joyce Tuten said she was conflicted about the measure, but framed paid parking as an overdue corrective for decades of unfunded mandates.
“Decades of policy that we should fix downtown … build a seawall … maintain Brett’s — those are unfunded policies,” she said. “This city didn’t always get a million tourists … They are using and abusing [infrastructure] … Asking a million tourists to kick in a few dollars to use our downtown is fair.”
Tuten also argued that the city charter already guarantees a referendum — the August 2026 vote triggered by anti-paid parking citizens' petition — ensuring the public will have the final say:
“We need to let the citizens speak, and they have … This will go to a vote in August … regardless of what this commission does.” Tuten said.
Despite acknowledging public anxiety over the rollout, Tuten said doing nothing would be worse.
“I recognize it is scary … it is a scary vote for me … But I stand with what Commissioner Poynter said — that it's very important … that we address these infrastructure projects.”
Tuten pointed to the deteriorated state of Brett’s Waterway Cafe as an example of deferred maintenance compounding over generations:
“These projects … were decades in the making by literally tens of thousands of residents who lived here, died here, moved away … Why do we now bear the burden?” she asked.
Ayscue, the lone dissenting vote, again urged the commission to delay implementation until after a referendum.
“I just don’t understand the thought process behind just not allowing the citizens to have the say first,” Ayscue said, warning that committing to signs, systems, and vendor costs before a public vote would undermine trust. “This commission has the opportunity to put this to a vote before you implement a single sign … We have the availability to hold a vote before that happens.”
He also questioned the framing of the paid parking period as a long-term “test,” noting that “we're talking about the first of April … we’re literally looking at four months until the vote happens.”
The 17-page ordinance outlined the following:
• Creates Division 2 – Paid parking within the city code
• Establishes the downtown paid parking area (Ash Street to Alachua Street, Front Street to just before Eighth)
• Creates a Parking Fund restricted to downtown revitalization, infrastructure, and resiliency uses
• Authorizes hourly fees, dynamic pricing limits, and permit systems
• Provides two free resident digital permits per household (each with four hours/day free)
• Provides a 20-minute free grace period for all users
• Prohibits meters; signage and mobile pay would be used instead
• Requires a 30-day education period before enforcement.
City Attorney Prince reiterated that nothing approved Tuesday puts the paid parking system into effect.
“This was the first reading … It is not enacted yet,” she said.
Four speakers addressed the commission. Several raised concerns about fairness, business impacts, and potential future changes to the resident permit system.
One resident warned that removing resident permits “two or three years down the road” could be used as a revenue tactic and urged commissioners to avoid “a bad, bad thing to do.”
Supporters emphasized downtown infrastructure needs.
“I support paid parking because it requires non-city residents to contribute to the financing of amenities they enjoy… I urge others to vote to retain paid parking to maintain equity and fairness in how we fund projects,” resident Richard Deem said.
If commissioners approve the ordinance on January 6, setup will begin immediately, with a likely “go-live” in mid-April 2026, followed by an August voter referendum that could keep or repeal paid parking.
Comments
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PegS18
Thank you for outlining the major points for paid parking.
I am a City resident, and I approve it. We won't attract tourists if our town looks rundown and in need of repair.
Wednesday, December 3, 2025 Report this
BBillings
Fernandina will still get the warn weather tourists - but what will downtown look like during cooler months?
And will the shop owners be willing to make it thru the reduced foot traffic months if locals stay away? (Just as a reminder, there are more 'locals' than just city residents)
Small business owners have navigated SO MUCH headwind since covid - will they be able to persevere through fewer customers for several months each year? And even if they can, will they want to?
This is a serious gamble, hard to believe that the commissioners dont want to run this past the voters prior to taking the risk.
Wednesday, December 3, 2025 Report this
Prof____H
I support paid parking. It will be interesting to see what happens when the referendum gets a vote. Most I talk to support paid parking.
Wednesday, December 3, 2025 Report this
GDecker
Sometime next year the city will borrow several millions to address infrastructure projects--based on projected paid-parking receipts to pay the loan premiums. Infrastructure repair is so dire that we (taxpayers) are being forced into a corner without any say. How much will be borrowed, what projects will be financed, in what order are left completely unanswered. If the parking fees are not enough--we the taxpayers will have to cover the difference--and no convincing evidence has been provided that this haste will, in fact, not just create more waste. How about a little actual planning and transparency.
Wednesday, December 3, 2025 Report this
GDecker
Yesterday my wife and I went downtown for a nice lunch....driving on Centre and Ash we noticed a lot of empty parking spaces and the cars all had Florida licenses. How much fees--not so much, I think. Also, the place does not look rundown or in need of repair--after all we are a quaint, historic village aren't we?
Thursday, December 4, 2025 Report this
DouglasM
GDecker is correct about ample open spaces from Monday-Friday afternoon. During weekends it gets a little tougher and you have to look around a bit. The times where things get swamped are usually event driven......and streets/parking spaces get blocked. Dickens next week will wipe out significant parking spaces.....so the City will actually miss substantial revenue during peak event periods.
And I had to laugh when Tuten mentioned people could just park a few blocks away if they didn't want to pay. A few blocks away is residential and those residents will get a huge awakening when people do what Tuten suggests as the answer. Anybody living 3 blocks North and South of "the zone" is already tired of their street getting choked off during big events....now, it may happen on a routine weekend!
Our commercial and residential areas are tightly entwined with each other. There will be a lot of unhappy downtown residents when this goes in.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 Report this