St. Petersburg City Council is set to consider a proposal that could give more neighborhoods a way to ask for resident-only parking. The ordinance would create what the city calls Neighborhood Resident Only Parking Areas, or NROPA.

How it would work

Under the proposal, at least two-thirds of households in a proposed area would need to support the request through a petition. If that happens, the city would conduct a parking study. The area would need to be more than 75% full during the study period, and at least 25% of the parked vehicles would need to belong to people who do not live in the area.

Even if a neighborhood meets those requirements, City Council would still need to approve the resident-only parking area. The proposal comes as St. Petersburg continues to grow, with new apartments, businesses and development adding pressure to streets near commercial corridors.

Concerns from residents and business owners

Some residents say they worry more cars will spill into nearby neighborhoods. "If they put it in Kenwood, it already doesn’t have enough parking for the people that are there," resident John Potts said. "So, the people who are there get impacted by somebody who isn’t even here yet."

On the other hand, some business owners say restricting neighborhood parking could make it harder for customers to support local shops and restaurants. Al Green, who owns Speakeasy Kava on Central Avenue and lives nearby, said businesses need customer access as costs rise.

The ordinance would also raise the annual residential parking permit fee from $15 to $30 and change permits from calendar-year renewals to 12 months from the date they are issued.

Original reporting: Tampa Bay Florida News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.