OCEAN CITY, Md.- Ireland Spottswood says parking is an issue in Ocean City, "If there's not enough space in my area, I can't park on the streets because everyone's taken up the street parking."
The Ocean City Development Corporation has proposed a fee in lieu parking solution to the town council.
Glenn Irwin, the Executive Director of the Ocean City Development Corporation said, "It allows developers to pay into a fee program that is used for centralized parking to allow them to build and expand their existing structures. Using that money that town of Ocean City could then purchase and build centralized parking facilities."
The fee in lieu would bring parking garages instead of surface level parking, but Ireland doesn't think that will be an issue, "It would definitely provide more parking for locals more parking for tourists. If they charge for it. it's more revenue."
But other locals like Kevin McGuigan think the way parking is now is how it should stay, "People want the openness of the breezes and everything a lot of trash may gather in this multi level parking garage."
But Irwin says the fee in lieu is for one bigger purpose, "They need parking. It just makes it, here's an option to pay into the centralized parking facility instead of having to run out by parking facilities, knocking down buildings just for parking."
The town council has agreed to form a fee in lieu committee, a committee in which the town council will handpick. The committee will do more research and get specifics for the possibility of fee in lieu in Ocean City.