Beach Parking Permits In Stamford Headed For Price Increase

Stamford's Parks and Recreation Committee may have to approve a city application to increase beach parking permit fees, pending the outcome of a Jan. 17 public hearing on the matter.

"It's presently $20, they want to raise it to $30," Parks and Recreation Committee chair and Board of Representatives member Patrick White (D-1) told Patch. At a recent Board of Representatives regular meeting, White was one of individuals who opposed the application when it was brought to a vote.

According to the official application for the price increase, filed by the Office of Operations, the city wishes to increase the price of beach and park permits so that it may realize up to $130,000 in non-tax revenue.

"I opposed it, in terms of having a public hearing on it, for several reasons. The first reason is that the increase is not justified because we're a shorline community; it's an appropriate fee that we actually charge. The money that we pay actually goes into paying for the parking garage and so on, it doesn't go back into our beaches or our parks. I don't think it's a justifiable increase," White said.

The motion to go forward with a public hearing for the beach permit fee application was favorable, with 19 for it and 15 against it. Meanwhile, Stamford residents such as long-time mariner Bernie Weiss might be willing to sacrifice a few more dollars for better beaches.

"I guess it's it's inevitable. Fees are going up everywhere, it's the price of progress," Weiss said. "The city is short on money, everyone knows it, they have budget constraints, and the city is looking to generate new revenue wherever they can find. You can look at any one of the parks and find that the parks have been neglected for reasons relating to budget constraints. Beautiful means money, and it's got to come from somewhere."

"We'll have a public hearing where the residents can speak on it, and then at the end of that hearing, we'll have our regular Parks and Recreation Committee meeting, and we'll decide whether to approve it or reject it," White said.

"Although there's plenty of parking at Cove Island and Cummings Beach and elsewhere, I think the fee is just for the parking. If you live in the neighborhood and can walk to the park, there's no additional fee at all. Those people are lucky," Weiss said.

White could not comment on the chances of the permit price being approved or disapproved at the public hearing, which is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 16 at the .

"I'm a resident of Stamford, I go to the park, my wife and family go to the park. It's a small price to pay to for the reward of going to a pleasant place by the water," Weiss said.