Georgetown South has a unique set of rules that govern who can park in the Manassas neighborhood.
For the past 20 years, visitors and guests of neighborhood residents have been required to obtain a special parking pass from the Manassas treasurer’s office.
The temporary permit costs $10 each, and it’s good for a one-night stay. Each resident is allowed 50 per year.
Some residents want to do away with the parking rules, called a “parking district” by city officials, calling them restrictive and noting they’re the only ones of its kind in the city.
City officials say the parking district is effecting in curbing illegal parking in the city, and that many residents who’ve spoken at various public hearings on the matter want the parking rules enforced.
“I have not seen any advantages of getting rid of the parking district,” said Manassas City Manager Patrick Pate.
A spokeswoman for the Georgetown South did not return a request for comment for this story.
City leaders say the parking district has also been effective in curbing the number of cars and work trucks that are parked in the neighborhood but registered in another jurisdiction, like Fairfax County.
Manassas issues special parking permits to work trucks registered elsewhere to operators who have proven to the city treasurer the personal property tax on the vehicle has been paid to its respective jurisdiction.
City police also support keeping the parking district in place.
“I was troubled to read emails that say the only reason we have this parking district is for revenue generation by the police], and that is not true,” said Councilwoman Sheryl Bass.
The City Council on June 15 had the ability to vote to keep the special parking district in place or to remove it. Instead, the council took the lead of Councilman Ken Elston who suggested city leaders table the issue hold more meetings with Georgetown South community members to hear their concerns on the matter. The first of those meetings was held Monday night, said Pate.
While this is the only special parking district of its kind in the city, leaders have imposed other parking regulations in other neighborhoods. The catch is, the city may only impose such restrictions on publically maintained streets.
“If Georgetown South were built today instead of in the 1960s, it would have privatized streets,” said Pate.
Of the 1,700 parking spaces in Georgetown South, the city issued 2,400 temporary parking permits in the past year, Pate added.
The city is looking at adding a similar parking district on public streets near the Point of Woods neighborhood.
