Hopewell Borough Mayor Ryan Kennedy’s tie breaking vote adopted an ordinance removing a 200-foot “no parking” restriction on a north side portion of West Broad Street and reducing the restriction to 100 feet.
The “no parking” restriction had been from Mercer Street and in front of Hopewell Old School Baptist Meetinghouse on 46-48 West Broad St.
The vote on July 1 came after discussion between council members, Old School Baptist Meetinghouse Board of Trustees and local businesses on West Broad Street.
Councilman David Mackie and Councilwoman Sheri Hook voted to adopt the ordinance removing the 200-foot no parking restriction.
Council President Krista Weaver and Councilwoman Debra Stuhler were the dissenting “no” votes on the ordinance.
Councilwoman Heidi Wilenius had to recuse herself from the vote as she owns Dandelion Wishes at 45 West Broad St., a local business in the area the ordinance addresses. Councilwoman Samara McAuliffe was absent for the meeting.
Prior to his vote, Kennedy said he appreciated comments from Weaver and Stuhler on the process; however, said it was important to “move forward in a forward-thinking way to look at how we can accommodate everyone in this area.”
He said they are committed to exploring potential changes to determine whether handicapped spaces, time-limited parking spaces or regulating overnight parking are options to move forward at that portion of West Broad Street from east of Mercer Street.
Weaver, who voted no on the ordinance, said prior to the vote, there had been no parking study and only anecdotal evidence before the council regarding whether to change the 1991 ordinance (containing the 200-feet “no parking” restriction east from Mercer Street) to the ordinance of 100 feet of no parking (from east of Mercer Street) established over 50 years ago.
“I find the actions that led us to this hearing to be very concerning and relevant to the decision-making process,” she said, noting Wilenius owns a retail store directly across the street of the no parking area in question.
Weaver claimed that Wilenius lobbied other council members to enact the policy change and privately lobbied residents to advocate on her behalf with a set of alternative facts that included a public letter with her name attached. This risked creating the appearance of council giving a handout as one of their own, she said.
“What would have been a reasonable policy proposal has now been tainted by a scent of self-interest and subterfuge,” Weaver said.
Wilenius in a statement to the Hopewell Valley News said that she consulted with the borough attorney before publicly advocating within the community for this issue as a private citizen.
“[The borough attorney] assured me that I was free to do so,” she said. “My business is one of five local merchants directly impacted by this specific parking issue, and together we advocated with honesty and integrity to support our needs as small business owners. Just as before, this statement is coming from me as an individual, not as a council member.”
Mark Bovenizer, an Old School Baptist Meetinghouse Board of Trustee, said they had asked to be involved in the conversation and suggested handicapped parking and three 30-minute parking spaces.
“We think it is reasonable,” he said. “The other side of the street has two-hour parking, and we did not come and complain. We are just asking for reasonable changes.”
Bovenizer and fellow Trustee Rae Grasso said the Old School Baptist Meetinghouse needs to have some movement with cars in the area noting issues with overnight parking.
“There is no way to move someone who is handicapped in through the back of the building unless you are going to roll them over bricks,” Grasso said. “We do need support and we would like that from our council members.”
Bobbie Fishman, owner of The Bear and the Books on 45 West Broad St., has spoken previously about the value of parking for the businesses on West Broad Street. If the ordinance change fails it starts a precedent allowing the claiming of public street spaces as one’s territory, she said.
“A vote against this ordinance is a vote against support to local businesses who need your support,” Fishman said.
Carol Kehoe, owner of Hopewell Antiques at 47 West Broad St., shared that her business was horribly affected by the 200-foot no parking restriction.
“I’m the one business wise that has been horribly affected by this,” she said, noting all of her parking moved to the other side of the street. “There was parking there for 13 years. [It was] gone one overnight, no warning.”
Kehoe noted how 30-minute timed parking spaces suggested for future consideration would be difficult for small businesses.
“We need one-hour or two-hour parking like on the business side of the street,” she said, adding residents, who want to park longer don’t have a voice.
The vote also removed a designated mid-block crosswalk location 135-feet east from Mercer Street curbline on West Broad Street, which does not exist, from the borough code.
