"Voting against paid parking does not make our bills disappear," Commissioner Genece Minshew said at the Aug. 19 City Commission meeting, according to the News-Leader. That same night she asked the city manager to end the One Parking contract at the earliest date the law allows.
Two months later, the end date is set and the bills she meant are already in the budget. The rule that decides whether paid parking can ever come back is still being written. A contract fixed Nov. 18, and the commission's meeting calendar will decide the rule that follows it.
What still applies through Nov. 18
The city sent One Parking a formal termination notice after the Aug. 19 vote. The contract requires 90 days' notice, so Nov. 18, 2026 is the last day of paid parking downtown. Until then the program runs as it has, News4JAX reported, and fees already paid will not be refunded under city code.
Until then, drivers pay under the same terms that started on Monday, Feb. 16, as Jacksonville Today described them:
- $2 an hour after a 20-minute grace period
- Charging from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 1 to 6 p.m. on Sunday
- All public lots and the marina's public lots
- Centre Street from Ash Street to Alachua Street, and Front Street east to, but not including, 8th Street
- Payment by phone through QR-code signs, with no physical meters
Permits followed a two-tier setup. City residents got two free annual permits, extra resident permits cost $24, and nonresident passes were $124 a year or $60 a month. The city's February permit notice covers the program while it was running. It doesn't say what happens to permits once the program ends.
The city has said it will share more about the transition as the Nov. 18 date gets closer. Wind-down costs are capped. The city will pay 90 days of the parking manager's salary and 30 days of the enforcement officers' salaries, up to about $16,000, plus signage costs, all from the paid parking fund.
The ordinance that would replace the one voters passed
On Aug. 18, about 75 percent of city voters approved the citizen initiative. The early counts differ by outlet. The News-Leader projected 4,168 votes to 1,397, pending certification, and Jacksonville Today reported an unofficial 3,884 to 1,299.
The ballot language says the city "shall not implement paid parking in any designated area, defined as all areas within the City, without majority approval (50% plus one) vote from a public referendum of registered City voters." It also allows temporary parking measures for special events, with public notice, for no more than 30 days. The News-Leader noted that the measure changed the city code but not the charter, and that commissioners could override it with a 4-1 supermajority.
On Oct. 6, the commission voted 4-1 to advance Ordinance 2026-16 on first reading. It would repeal the citizen ordinance and replace it with the commission's own version. The Island Brief laid out the text before the vote.
| Citizen ordinance, approved Aug. 18 | Ordinance 2026-16, as drafted | |
|---|---|---|
| Referendum requirement | Majority of city voters needed before any paid parking | Kept, for a specific area the commission first names by resolution |
| Where it applies | All areas within the city | Citywide, including downtown and the beach accesses |
| Exemptions | Special events, up to 30 days with public notice | Special events up to 30 days, the airport long-term lot, overnight parking at the golf course |
| Downtown program ending Nov. 18 | Not addressed | Stated as not exempt |
| Changing it later | Commission could override with a 4-1 vote | Supermajority required for any future amendment |
City Attorney Teresa Prince told commissioners the new version moves the voters' rule into Chapter 78 of the city code and spells out how a future referendum would work. Vice Mayor Darron Ayscue cast the no vote. He argued the rule belongs in the charter and should go back to voters. Commissioner Joyce Tuten has said she wants paid parking back, but she voted yes and said the August margin persuaded her. Commissioner Tim Poynter said he expects paid parking to return someday. All of this was reported by the Fernandina Observer and summarized by The Island Brief.
During public comment, the resident who said he wrote the initiative told commissioners it was never meant to ban paid parking forever, only to give residents the final say. Another speaker said the rewrite negated the vote.
Four votes, two readings, and November on the calendar
Under Charter Section 141, the replacement needs four of five votes at each of two readings. The second vote hasn't been scheduled yet, so the timeline matters:
- Aug. 18: Voters approve the citizen initiative.
- Aug. 19: The commission votes 4-1 to end the One Parking contract.
- Oct. 6: Ordinance 2026-16 passes first reading, 4-1.
- Oct. 20: The second reading was left off the posted agenda, and nothing on the city's CivicClerk site explained why.
- Nov. 3 and Nov. 17: The next two regular meetings, on the first and third Tuesdays of the month. The first falls on Election Day.
- Nov. 18: Last day of paid parking downtown.
- Nov. 19: Ordinance 2026-16 takes effect as drafted, but only if four commissioners vote for it again.
As The Island Brief put it after the first reading, nothing in this sequence restarts paid parking, which still ends Nov. 18. The ballot text and the draft both carry a referendum requirement. They differ on which lots are exempt, whether beach accesses are named, and how many commissioners it takes to change the rule later.
The money was already in the budget
The commission's reasons for starting paid parking haven't gone away. Before the program began, a city report projected $1.5 million to $2.5 million a year. The money was meant to help fund a seawall estimated at $20 million to $25 million, demolish the Brett's Waterway Cafe building to expand the docks, and rebuild aging downtown infrastructure, Jacksonville Today reported.
How much the program actually raised depends on which figure you use:
- About $580,000 in net revenue from February through early August, per city officials quoted by News4JAX and Jacksonville Today.
- $622,628 net, the city's own August figure as cited in the Observer's coverage.
- About $1.2 million a year, the revenue the city's fiscal note on Ordinance 2026-16 says it is giving up.
- About $100,000 a month, mostly from visitors, according to Poynter at the Aug. 19 meeting.
The first figure covers about six months of collections, and the fiscal note is an annual number. City officials have also said much of the revenue came from out-of-town visitors from Jacksonville, St. Augustine and parts of Clay County.
The budget accounted for the gap before the program ended. In the summer, commissioners approved a tentative millage rate of 4.8530, the highest of four options staff recommended. They picked it to cover a possible $1.5 million shortfall in parking revenue earmarked for the $12.5 million marina redevelopment. At the September hearings, the News-Leader reported that the final rate stayed at 4.8530 in a $228.1 million budget. The marina redevelopment, including demolition of the former Brett's building, is still in that budget.
Minshew has suggested a downtown taxing district as another way to pay for these projects.
Dickens on Centre comes three weeks after the switch
Both the voter-approved ordinance and the draft replacement allow temporary parking measures for special events of up to 30 days. Dickens on Centre arrives a little over three weeks after paid parking ends.
The official Dickens on Centre page lists the 2026 festival for Friday, Dec. 11 through Sunday, Dec. 13. Market hours are 4 to 9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. The page says downtown parking is very limited and many lots are closed to the public that weekend. Free parking and a trolley run from 11th Street at Central Park.
The 11th Street lot at Central Park is the parking the festival itself points visitors to that weekend.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. If a parking permit, a fee, or the city's millage affects your own plans, check with the City of Fernandina Beach or the right professional.
Downtown parking affects how easy it is to run errands, eat on Centre Street, or get to the marina. If you'd like to talk through how city decisions like this one shape life near downtown Fernandina, Ernie McKinney is happy to help. Schedule a Call.
