- Candi's BZB Cafe is disputing the City's public parking policy, which, according to owner Candi Blake, hurt her business.
- Blake says her customers were deprived of parking space that businesses like hers are assessed for — most recently, when the City directed Henry Ford Health employees to park in Municipal Lot 9 behind her cafe during construction at One Jackson Square.
- The City says businesses are not entitled to parking spaces in municipal parking lots, and that the City has to work with everyone when challenges arise.
- Video shows Candi's BZB Cafe, Municipal Lot 9 in relation to the Cafe, Owner Candi Blake, Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Beth Kuiper.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
A Downtown Jackson business says their business was hurt this summer because of how the City handled downtown parking.
"It was eight weeks of no money."
— Candi Blake, Owner of Candi's BZB Cafe,
to Jackson City Council
The City says businesses cannot dictate how City parking space is used.
"We're all in the hole 'cause we made no money for 8 weeks," Blake told me.
She told City Council in August a decision to direct Henry Ford Health employees to park in Municipal Lot 9 behind her business led to a significant decline in sales this summer. She says the lot was filled to capacity each day.
"Customers complaining to me about walking a mile to get into the restaurant..." said Blake.
The City directed me to Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Beth Kuiper about parking specifics.
Kuiper acknowledged that "Henry Ford did use the space while they were doing construction and the City worked with Henry Ford, so they were able to park in different parking lots."
Kuiper says parking spaces are not specifically designated for one business.
"These are City-owned parking lots," she notes. "They're for the community, they're for visitors, they're for people like Candi and her workers, they're for the residents. So they can get a little jam-packed every once in a while. But it was definitely open spaces at that time, and it's for everyone to use."
The City of Jackson put it this way in its statement:
"When a large parking challenge arises, like what happened with Henry Ford Health, it is up to the City to step in and re-direct vehicles to mitigate further parking pressures. One business does not get to dictate how we operate our City-owned parking lots. Businesses are not entitled to parking spaces in our public lots."
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