Downtown Salisbury parking update: What to know as Maryland Folk Festival arrives
As the Maryland Folk Festival arrives in Salisbury, here's an update on the latest developments in the parking situation in downtown Salisbury.
Open Meetings ruling goes against Salisbury City Council
In a ruling issued recently by the Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board, the Salisbury City Council was found guilty of holding a closed session discussion concerning the sale of three downtown lots.
According to the filing, the complaint alleged that the Salisbury City Council violated the law on June 20, 2023, by improperly discussing a contract in closed session. The council responded that it properly closed the meeting to consult with counsel to obtain legal advice.
While the legislative body was entitled to enter closed session to ask questions of its attorney, the board concluded the "discussions went beyond the receipt of legal advice. We conclude that the council violated the act when it closed a meeting to the public under the legal advice exception, but then engaged in closed-session discussions that exceeded the bounds of that exception," the ruling noted.
"There is no impact to the Land Disposition Agreement and the sale proceeds as scheduled. The ruling made it clear that the language which the council uses when entering a closed session is important. The wording has been tightened so that moving forward it will more effectively communicate to the public both the subject that will be discussed and the people who will be discussing it during a closed session," a spokesperson for the city said following the decision.
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Where are the downtown Salisbury lots in question?
The controversy revolves around the sale of city parking lots "behind closed doors shortly before approving a deal" with a firm from Joppa, Maryland, to purchase the lots for development with apartments and commercial space. The contract also requires the city to build a parking garage for $10 million on one of the lots to accommodate parking for the development.
Legal counsel was asked to confer on a proposed Amended and Restated Land Disposition Agreement, a copy of which was included as part of the agenda with the property to be sold for development including most of the public parking areas between the downtown plaza and the river, specifically, Lots 1, 11, and 15.
In 2015, the city agreed to sell lots 1 and 11 to the same firm to which the city sold the former “headquarters” fire station, where the city has recently leased space for the mayor’s and other offices. That deal was not completed.
Holly Worthington of Worthington Realty Group, LLC, one of the 18 signees of the complaint, stipulated in the statement the council violated the letter of the law, which requires that public bodies allow the public to observe their discussions and decision-making process when conducting public business.
"There was confirmation that the city's legal representation received the complaint. I strongly urge the council to look at how this impacts everything. I know while they want to develop downtown Salisbury, they're not thinking about how that impacts the existing people of the city," Worthington said at the time of the original complaint filing in June.
The council later approved the deal by a 4-1 vote.
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Worthington also contended she and other downtown business owners have become landlocked and seen a monthly parking pass go from $50 to $70. Meanwhile developers pay a mere $30 and take a growing chunk of available spaces.
Salisbury offers free parking during Maryland Folk Festival
As the folklife festival approaches, the city has announced free locations to park. They include:
Lot 1 (Lower), W. Market St.
Lot 4, Church St.
Lot 7, Lemmon Hill Ln
Lot 10, E. Church St & Poplar Hill Ave
Lot 11, W. Market St & Circle Ave
Lot 12, W. Market St
Lot 13, W. Chestnut St
Lot 30, Lake St & W. Main St
Lot 33, W. Main St
Lot 35, Fitzwater St & W. Main St
Downtown Parking Garage, E. Market St
TidalHealth Paved Lots, behind TidalHealth, Waverly Dr
Designated handicap parking spaces are available in all city lots and the Downtown parking garage.
MARYLAND FOLK FESTIVAL ARRIVES: Salisbury's inaugural Maryland Folk Festival: Everything to know about the big event
Previous efforts to alleviate downtown parking headaches
In August, the city announced a series of steps to minimize downtown parking headaches that ran until Sep. 1.
They included one free hour of on-street parking during ticketing hours starting Monday, July 31. Visitors still needed to register with the parking app Flowbird or at a pay station but did not have to pay for the first hour. Hours two, three and four were billed as $2 per hour, and there was a maximum of four hours which can be processed on the app or at the pay station.
During this time of transition, ticketing was lenient in an effort to ease visitors into any new policies.
In addition, there was still free on-street and permit parking every day after 4 p.m. and on weekends and holidays, plus free two-hour parking in the garage during the week. Free Friday parking holidays are still in effect, which allow visitors to downtown Salisbury to park free on Fridays.
As this project moves forward, communication and constant signage updates on parking policies will be a priority so that anyone who is affected by parking downtown can remain informed of any changes. The city urged the public to follow the city of Salisbury on Facebook and Instagram for up-to-date information.
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This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Latest on Salisbury downtown parking, open meetings violation and more
