VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — After months of protesting and pleading with city leaders for help, residents of Venetian Bay no longer have to pay to park in their town center.
A meeting between the city and developer was scheduled for Wednesday but it was canceled after all the paid parking signs were removed in the community.
Eyewitness News has reported on the issue since August 2024. A few months later, the city eventually sided with the residents saying the community’s developer, Geosam, was not allowed to implement income producing properties under its agreement with New Smyrna Beach.
Business said in the six months the signs were up, they suffered great financial losses. A group is now suing the developer. One business, the Happy Deli, said it had to close because of the added costs that came with validating customer’s parking.
Carl Scharwath lives in the community and over the past several months has become the unofficial spokesperson for his neighbors.
“You have to step up. That is the lesson and I will continue doing this now because it charges me up that one person can make a difference and I know it’s cliché but in this case, it worked out,” said Scharwath.
The only way the parking program could be reinstated is if the city and developer redo their original agreement that has been in place since Venetian Bay was built in 2004
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2025 Cox Media Group
