By Brian Myers

THE main order of business of last week's City Council meeting was an amendment to Stopping, Standing, and Parking Prohibited ordinance. In a meeting earlier this Spring, the City Council voted to approve an amendment to the long-standing ordinance nested within the community’s code book.

But after response from some of the residents that were directly impacted by the changes, an additional amendment was proposed by Alderwoman Alicia Miller-Blakely. 

Mayor Johnson asked City Manager Jay Melder to give a summation of why the changes to the parking code were proposed in the first place.

In reference to one of the streets in question (Maupas Ave from Bull Street to Drayton), Melder stated that numerous residents had complained that parking on both sides of this narrow roadway was a danger, leading to multiple accidents.

Melder also pointed out that a business that operates on Maupas routinely used the street parking for vehicles, interfering with the public right-of-ways.

Alderwoman Miller-Blakely spoke on why she wanted this block removed from the recent list of changes. She told the Council that the business in question, Autoworks (14 Maupas Avenue) was not given any notice of the changes and was blindsided by City of Savannah employees who immediately restricted where it could park cars and trucks that were awaiting customer pickup.

“That business has been there for 38 years,” she said. “And they have not been utilizing the actual street, but really just utilizing parking spaces for customers.”

The Alderwoman charged that it was not unlike the way a separate, more “upscale” auto businesses operated “just around the corner on Habersham Street.”

“This is a historic Black-owned business in Savannah. The one around the corner on Habersham is operated by a Caucasian individual. The way it happened makes it look like this business is being targeted.”

Miller-Blakely charged that the white-owned establishment had been trying to purchase Autoworks  because some people feel that it makes the area look "unacceptable."

When asked by Mayor Johnson who was making that assertion, Miller-Blakely pointed to a local housing office and the nearby shelter. 

“He was offered $700,000 for the business and the property and has refused it,” she added. “The African American community knows him very well. He is a staple in our community, and by putting NO PARKING signs in that area it prohibits him from doing business, but makes it look like he’s being targeted.”

Mayor Johnson took the Alderwoman’s comments to Melder, asking that the City Manager clarify whether or not this was a “targeted” attempt on a locally owned business.

Melder asserted that this particular business has a long history of code violations that include multiple instances of illegally parking in public right-of-ways.

“These go all the way back to 2009,” he pointed out.

But to Miller-Blakely’s point, Melder affirmed that there are other auto businesses that are in violation of local law, citing the same offenses that Autoworks has been previously cited for. This included the business on Habersham.

“But whether the NO PARKING signs are there or not, the code compliance issues to store cars on the streets still exists.”

Melder persisted that the signs were meant as not only a deterrent, but also attempts to solve a safety issue for drivers and pedestrians.

“And if this business and others are improperly storing cars,” Melder says the safety concerns on this narrow portion of Maupas is worsened.

The Mayor stated that perhaps it’s time for the City of Savannah to enact “more punitive” legislation on businesses that are repeat offenders, to which Melder agreed.

Additionally, the City Manager called for an exploration of metered parking on this stretch of roadway as a further deterrent. 

Whether or not either of those actions will be taken remains to be seen. Before the vote was taken, Mayor Johnson had this final thought for Melder:

“If the code is the issue, then we need to enforce the code,” he said before adding “and we need to make sure that it hurts.” Melder agreed, and again brought up metered parking as a strong possibility in the near future.

The agenda item passed 9-0, taking Maupas Ave off the list that was passed in March. 

In other Council business, they were presented with four alcohol license hearings to discuss and render decisions for. Mayor Johnson invoked his right to move several agenda items around, however, opting to quickly read into the record and vote on nine of the 10 requests from the Savannah Airport Commission.

These included parking structure maintenance for $620,000, Taxiline GA-5 reconstruction and widening for $28,445, and the approval to participate in the 2026 Visit Savannah co-opted digital advertising campaign for $300,000.

The final item regarding the Savannah-Hilton Head Airport was voted on separately. Alderwoman Shabazz recused herself from the voting on the item, which was a purchase request in the amount of $128,120 for the Terminal Improvements Landside Project. All items passed with a unanimous vote.

The hearings for the alcohol licenses came next. As these hearings are public, the Council is legally obligated to allow for public comment on each of the requests. As no one appeared to speak for/against any of the four license requests, the Council moved to vote on each one without any discussion.

The Council approved all four unanimously. Those who were granted an alcohol license Thursday were:

  • ZIAMI Distillery, a Class B (Liquor/Wine) Manufacturing License, located at 224 Bourne Boulevard, Ste 100.
  • Unique Food and Pharmacy, a Class E (Beer, Wine) by the Package License at 634 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.
  • Avni Farms, a Class E (Beer,Wine) by the Package License at 802 Montgomery Street.
  • Lester’s, a Class C (Liquor, Beer, Wine) by the Drink Alcohol License with Sunday Sales at 18 East Oglethorpe Avenue.