CARRBORO – The Carrboro Board of Aldermen continued to discuss the future of downtown parking Tuesday night, with the Board focusing on overnight parking and unbundling near the center of town.

“Ultimately, I think we have to base this on the reality of our parking situation and be guided by the vision we have for the ideal,” says Alderman Sammy Slade,” while also balancing the economic development reality of the fact that most businesses do depend on cars.

The meeting was an extension of a meeting last month where the Aldermen mostly focused on town-owned lots.

Although the second and fourth meetings of each month are typically designated as workshops without public comment, the Board allowed Chip Hoppin to speak as a representative of Southern Rail, a restaurant located right at the entrance to the Carr Mill Mall parking lot.

He reiterated talking points from a letter written to the Board, including that shop owners are displeased with how the management of Carr Mill Mall handles their lot.

“They feel that management at Carr Mill Mall specifically has been failing all the store owners in the area,” says Hoppin. “The bar owners specifically—the people who create an atmosphere, bring people into Carrboro and make Carrboro fun.”

Alderman Damon Seils says he thought the joint letter from members of the business community was a wise gesture.

“I just want to thank you and your colleagues for writing the letter,” says Seils. “In particular, in relation to the values that were expressed in the letter around the idea of a collaborative approach to parking in downtown. A really smart and thoughtful letter and I really appreciated it.”

Alderman Slade says he also isn’t happy with the actions of Carr Mill Mall’s management.

“I’ve been shocked at how the manager of Carr Mill Mall misrepresents himself when he says he’d rather not tow, but that he has to in order to guarantee that there is parking, knowing full well that they’re towing in the middle of the night when there are no Carr Mill shops open,” says Slade. “It’s really a disservice to Carrboro, and I know that’s his right to do it, but I think this is wrong.”

Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton adds that it’s possible that people who illegally park their cars overnight are actually making a responsible decision.

“If you think about the people who leave business establishments downtown at 2 a.m., when they choose to walk home instead of driving home, that is a good thing. They give you a parking ticket for leaving your car in downtown Chapel Hill overnight. What are the incentivizing there? It isn’t necessarily the best policy.”

The Board began to discuss scenarios regarding the unbundling of parking, but after several minutes of discussion, members of town staff were unable to say for sure if the town’s land use ordinance would have to be changed for unbundling to occur.

Unbundling occurs when residences do not require each dwelling to be assigned a parking space. That way, those who choose to drive are paying for the right to do so instead of the cost being passed onto all occupants and encouraging alternative transportation.

The Board instructed town staff to relay their findings on the matter at a later meeting.