Parking issue passed on to planning and zoning

CLOVIS — After a spirited discussion May 20 about city-owned parking downtown and what rights downtown business owners had to them, the Clovis city commission sent the matter to the city’s Public Works Committee.

After another spirited discussion Wednesday morning, Public Works gave the issue a new destination — the June 9 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.

The issue first began when Robert Vilandry, owner of Bullet Bob Has It on Main Street, lacked nearby parking spaces because people were using those spots for Bandolero Brewery next door.

At the suggestion of Bandolero owner Andrew Logan, Vilandry created signs reserving a handful of spaces for Bullet Bob customers. City officials told Vilandry to remove the signs, because the parking spots are city-owned and no business has designated spots.

City Attorney Jared Morris told committee members Wednesday that parking ordinances and sign code could be modified to apportion a certain number of spots for each Main Street business. But until and unless those changes are made, Morris said, the city needs to enforce what’s on the books.

“The next person that we cite or ask to remove their sign from public right-of-way,” Morris said, “they’re going to say ‘Well, Mr. Vilandry didn’t have to do it; the city looked the other way,’ and then we open ourselves up to a lawsuit at the expense of everybody else in the city.”

District 2 Commissioner Gary Elliott said there were benefits and drawbacks to assigning parking spots to business.

“(It’s) good (we have) lots of businesses downtown,” Elliott said, “but some of the businesses are going to suffer.”

Mayor Pro Tem Chris Bryant said the city has public parking options, but they aren’t always right outside of the respective businesses. Vilandry has said his customer base skews older, and has a difficult time walking more than a block to visit his store.

District 1 Commissioner Leo Lovett suggested giving each business no more than one or two reserved parking spots, but wondered how that would be enforced if a person decided to go to multiple businesses.

The planning and zoning meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. June 9 at the North Annex of the Clovis-Carver Public Library.