Rift over beach parking in Empire
From staff reports
Empire’s annual Asparagus Festival—held the weekend before Memorial weekend—is a unique and intimate celebration of community. But this spring in Empire, a heated debate has ignited over whether visitors from outside the Township ought to begin paying $1 per hour to park their automobile at one of 87 spots at the popular Lake Michigan public beach. The payment would be made at one, centrally located machine that accepts credit cards. Nearly empty during the cold months, the beach fills up fast in July and August.
Caption: The 11th annual Asparagus Festival was all asparagus risotto, asparagus brats and asparagus beer, but Empire will show a serious side when the Village Council meets on May 27 to discuss the controversial issue of whether to charge for beach parking.
The Village Council passed the measure in April, by a 4-3 vote, to initiate a 90-day-trial period (essentially one summer season), and reaction has been explosive. Regional media coverage has been critical. Business owners, elected officials and citizens have cast the issue in emotional language. Village officials have faced an onslaught of opinions, reportedly both in favor and in opposition. Approximately 350 citizens have signed a petition to overturn the initiative to charge for parking.
Much of this will come to a head at a Village Council meeting on Tuesday, May 27, at 7 p.m. at the Empire Township Hall, at which both sides are expected to make a stand. Possible outcomes include a public referendum on the parking initiative or a one-year delay before parking meters are installed.
Those in favor of charging visitors to park at Empire beach say the Village is saddled with costs in the tens of thousands of dollars to maintain the beach and employ a parking officer who ensures that roads remain open to emergency vehicles. Those in the Village of Empire pay taxes to maintain the beach. Anyone outside the Village does not, yet the Empire beach is a considered a favorite summer destination throughout Northern Michigan.
Those opposed say they fear the message that Empire would allegedly send to visitors. They worry that people would overburden parking spaces in the village’s business district or stay away altogether. Some business owners worry that an unwelcome message would negatively impact their bottom line. Businesses in Empire make nearly all their money during the summer tourism season.
Instituting a pay-to-park policy would be relatively unprecedented in Leelanau County. The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore charges $10 per week (or $20 per annual pass), per vehicle, to access such beaches as North Bar or Esch Road. But no other village in the county charges for parking. The Empire Village Council had originally considered $10 per day for parking, but worried that could violate the terms of Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund grants given to Empire in 1990 and 2005 to enhance the beach.
Follow GlenArborSun.com as we cover this fast developing story—as fairly and analytically as we can—on May 27 and throughout 2014.
