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Residents vent over parking scarcity

They say developments don't keep pace with needs. The city will restrict daytime parking and residential permits.

The Ybor City Development Corp. held a community meeting earlier this week to discuss ways to increase parking availability in the neighborhood. More than 22 homeowners attended to voice their complaints.

Some residents decried the lack of parking. Others sought inclusion in the neighborhood's special parking district. Two elderly women asked the department to put handicap-only spaces in front of their homes.

The culprit is development, particularly projects that do not keep pace with the neighborhood's parking needs, residents said.

Consider Las Palmas de Ybor, a 16-unit townhouse development with only 13 parking spaces. Residents who can't find a space must take their chances on the street.

Throw in a clutch of Ybor City workers scouting for free parking during the day, and homeowners usually lose out.

"All of the parking spaces on 17th Street are filled by employees on Seventh Avenue," resident Joe Howden said. "I don't blame them. I would do the same. But it makes it difficult if you live in the neighborhood. If you leave, you can't get back in until the end of the day."

About five years ago, the city took steps to ensure that Ybor's residents had overnight parking. They created a residential parking district that limited parking to permit holders between 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. The area is roughly bounded by Sixth Avenue, Fourth Avenue, 21st Street and 15th Street. During the day, parking is open to anyone.

Under that program, the city has issued 250 parking permits for the area's 225 on-street parking spaces.

To address the shortfall, Tampa's assistant parking manager Jose Fernandez told homeowners at Monday's meeting that the city will restrict free daytime parking for nonresidents to two hours. Offenders risk being ticketed.

The department also plans to scale back the number of parking permits it issues to Ybor City residents. As of January, each household will get only two permits. Currently, some households have as many as six.

Residents' reactions to the city's plan were mixed. But Fernandez pledged to keep working.

"We will try to come up with something that works best for the majority of the people," Fernandez said. "We may not be able to accommodate 100 percent, but our goal is to accommodate as many as we can."

- Sherri Day can be reached at sday@sptimes.com or 226-3405.