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After several months of discussion between residents, staff and council members, the Farmville parking fines ordinance has been settled. By a unanimous vote, the Farmville council passed Ordinance 228 during their Wednesday, July 10 meeting.

First, let’s get this out of the way. What changed Wednesday were the fines, that is if you park in an area more than the time you’ve paid for or exceed the maximum of two hours, you will get a fine in response. You will also get a fine if you park in the wrong place, say if you block a fire hydrant or if you park in a handicapped space without a tag. This has nothing to do with the fees you pay when you park. Those were settled in the council’s June meeting and we’ll go over them again a bit later in the story.

But for now, let’s break down what parking fines will be handed out for now in Farmville and how much they’ll be. You’ll get a fine of $25 if you commit one of several “general” violations. By this we’re talking about things like blocking a person’s driveway when you park, double parking, parking in a loading zone, parking on the sidewalk, parking in a prohibited zone, parking in a space labeled for residents only, parking in a ‘no parking’ space, parking within 20 feet of an intersection, parking with your vehicle’s left side to the curb or if your vehicle has an expired registration or state inspection sticker.

You’ll also be fined $25 if your vehicle remains in the parking space after the time you paid for has expired or if you keep the car in the space more than a maximum of two hours. That two hour maximum is set pretty clearly, as the ordinance states that it “shall be unlawful for any person to cause, allow, permit or suffer any vehicle to be parked overtime or longer than two hours for any parking meter zone.”

For any of those situations mentioned above, you’ll get a $25 fine and have 30 days to pay it. If you haven’t paid or, if you put it in the mail, postmarked a payment within the 30 day period, then the fine goes up to $50.

More changes with Farmville parking fines

The next one involves the town’s new electric vehicle charging stations. Virginia state law says you can’t just sit in the parking spot and not charge the vehicle. If you’re parked in one of those charging stations, your car has to be actually charging. If not, you’ll get hit with a $25 fine.

You also have to avoid parking near fire hydrants or in a fire zone. Specifically, you can’t park within 15 feet of a hydrant. If you do either of those, you’ll get hit with a $75 fine, which goes up to $150 if not paid or postmarked within 30 days.

The council also agreed to raise the fine for parking in a handicapped space without a tag. It starts off as a $150 fine, then goes up to $200 if left unpaid after 30 days.

What happens if fines add up?

So what happens if people just refuse to pay? If they get fine after parking fine and ignore them? That’s covered in the ordinance as well. Anyone who is parked on a public street or public grounds and has three or more unpaid parking fines may have a boot placed on the vehicle, preventing it from moving until the debt is settled. If the owner refuses to pay the fines or if police can’t locate the owner of the vehicle, then the ordinance allows “for the sale of the motor vehicle, vehicle or trailer.”

With the council voting unanimously on the issue during their July 10 meeting, the ordinance went into effect immediately. That means these rules and all others mentioned in this article are in effect now. They all apply to metered parking on the streets between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. That includes holidays.

What about fees?

As a reminder, the fees involving parking meters in Farmville were also changed recently. You now have two options. You can pay 50 cents for 30 minutes or $1 for an hour. And if you use a debit or credit card or the app on your phone to pay for either, expect some additional costs. Any credit card transaction fees will be paid by the consumer and for those using phones, there is a technology fee, charging the person for using the app.