Elizabeth: Fire department considers charging for parking lot
By CHRISTINE HAINES
chaines@yourmvi.com
As many as 50 cars a day park in the unpaved lots owned by the Elizabeth Borough Volunteer Fire Company each day, and the fire department sees the situation as a way to bring in some revenue.
Fire department director Jason Berman addressed borough council Tuesday to see what it would need to do to comply with borough ordinances if it were to convert the lots on First Avenue to paid parking. Berman said the paid lots would add parking options to the downtown area while providing the fire department with funds for upkeep on the lots.
“Right now the borough has about 100 spaces on the street and on Strawberry Way. This would almost double the number of spaces in the borough,” Berman said.
Borough solicitor Krisha DiMascio said that the lots are private property, so the fire company could use them for paid parking as long as there is enough parking available for the intended purpose, which is to accommodate people attending bingos and other functions at the social hall.
“Under zoning, you have to have enough parking for the capacity of the building, so when you have events, at the hall, you could not have parking for the outside public,” DiMascio said.
To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Wednesday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.
