By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

NAPLES — Finding a parking space on the Causeway during the height of the summer might be similar to spotting a four-leaf clover on a lawn. It’s difficult to do, and a person feels lucky.

A request by one Causeway business owner to use the Begin Estate field for public parking during large events turned into an acknowledgement that the property by the Naples fire station is an ideal overflow parking lot for everyone in town. The discussion also cleared up some misconceptions about reserved parking spots and grandfather rights to parking.

Additionally, the elected officials discussed how the Begin lot might be improved with a little earthwork as well as signage along Route 302 to direct drivers to the parking area. If a grant comes through, improved sidewalks could be constructed in a few years.

On Jan. 27, Marie Kushner, the owner of Marie’s Kitchen in the Heart of Naples, appeared before the Naples Board of Selectmen. She had asked about overflow parking on the Causeway because she had hoped to expand the uses on her property to include weddings, a use that would draw a larger crowd. When she appeared before the selectmen, Marie’s Kitchen was on the Naples Planning Board agenda for the Feb. 4 meeting. Last week, Kushner withdrew her application because she felt she could not afford the $1,000 expense for the town-contracted planner’s work. 

Kushner’s request to use the Begin lot drove home the need for more public parking on the Causeway — something with which the town has been struggling. Part of the parking problem is attitudes: Most people prefer to park close to where they are going and walking a distance can discourage people from spending time on the Causeway.

During the Jan. 27 selectmen’s meeting, Kushner addressed several parking issues. She asked to use the Begin field for events at her business. She asked if other businesses could be encouraged to do the same. She asked about grandfathered rights to street-side parking on the Causeway. Also, she asked if it was possible to get employees of all business to park farther away and to save the street-side parking for customers. 

The answer that covers most of her inquiries is that the Town of Naples does not have a parking ordinance. Parking spaces cannot be reserved.

“It is first come/first serve,” Chairman Jim Grattelo said, adding that the lot cannot be designated for use by any one business.

At first Grattelo made “a motion to allow everybody in the Town of Naples to park on the Begin lot, to give all businesses the right to park on the Begin Lot.”

Naples Town Manager John Hawley pointed out that a vote was unnecessary.

The board discussed how to make certain the lot was safe for the public. Last year, the town hauled in some gravel before the Naples Farmers Market began setting up there, Hawley said. This spring, the maintenance department will do a little more work, filling in soft spots and roping off dangerous areas such as the old well and foundation, he said. There are no plans to pave the area.

Selectman Bob Caron II said that the Naples Land Use Committee had recommended using the Begin Estate for public parking and called it an ideal spot. He mentioned that the town applied for a grant to put in sidewalks that would connect that side of town to the Causeway. If the grant is awarded, those sidewalks would not be constructed until 2023.

Another topic brought up by Kushner was grandfathered rights to parking next to the business building on the Causeway.

“I have heard that they are grandfathered in…but I don’t understand how they could be grandfathered when the street is actually owned by the state,” she said.

Grattelo said that what she had been told was incorrect.

“I am not sure what you are talking about that some businesses are grandfathered. There are no assigned spots for any business. So, your business for instance — we don’t have the right to assign parking spots on Route 302 for your business,” Grattelo said, adding there are no grandfathered-in parking spots on the Causeway.

Kushner said, “That is contrary to what I was told.”

“I really would like to see employees use the parking lot by the fire station. I have quite a few employees parked by my business. I do encourage them to park on my property. I would like to see other businesses follow suit,” Kushner asked earlier in the discussion.

Grattelo responded to this question, too.

“I agree with you in principal. Businesses should all request that the employees do not park on the main drag so there is more parking for customers. If you work at Hannaford Brothers [Supermarket] and park within 50 parking spaces of the front door, you are fired because they recognize those are for the customers,” he said. “But, again, we don’t have a parking ordinance so we cannot require any business to tell their employees” where they should or should not park.

Caron talked about reserving spaces.

“Same goes for businesses on the Causeway that put cones in parking spots to save them for the business. That is illegal to do. When we get law enforcement in this town monitoring that, that is not going to be allowed. You cannot put cones out for your business,” Caron said. “It is first come-first serve.”