Germantown’s temporary parking signage ordinance has passed two of three required readings, but some worry about the unintended consequences on businesses.

The proposed ordinance limits the number of temporary parking spaces at a business based on the amount of retail space. It also doesn’t allow them for specific businesses unless it’s a big box store or if the Design Review Commission deems it “essential.”

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Temporary parking spaces and curbside pickup options became abundant during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ordinance aims to create uniformity and set standards for the number in a shopping center.

Germantown city ordinances have never addressed curbside pickup or temporary parking signs. According to Cameron Ross, economic and community development director, such parking signs are not regulated and therefore not permitted as permanent signs.

Alderwoman Sherrie Hicks, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen’s liaison to the Design Review Commission, said the proposed ordinance is designed to help businesses and provide guidelines to request more than allowed.

“It’s not a taking, it’s a giving,” she said of temporary parking spaces.

City leaders want to get a handle on the issue post-pandemic. However, some shopping centers had such spaces long before COVID-19 swept the globe.

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Signs at Stonecreek Centre — southwest of Poplar Avenue and Forest Hill-Irene Road — are not a result of the pandemic. Some have been there for 15 years. For instance, Kathy’s Nails does not have parking near its entrance due to landscaping. However, it’s located between Orangetheory Fitness and Ageless Men’s Health. Both have high traffic and use many spots near the nail salon. Spaces dedicated to Kathy’s are outlined in the lease.

Similarly, FedEx Office has its own spaces, convenient for customers who are lugging large packages.

Jason Polley is the managing leasing director and principal broker at StoneCrest Investments, which owns Stonecreek Centre. He notes his shopping center is successful when tenants have the highest sales, and he can charge the highest rent.

“Time-limited and exclusive spaces are tools the tenants and landlords utilize in order to achieve those goals,” he said. 

He has four time-limited and 17 exclusive spaces at Stonecreek. With the city’s proposed guidelines that number would drop to three time-limited spaces unless the Design Review Commission deems another “essential.”

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“What is the criteria for deeming something essential?” he questioned. “Nobody knows.”

It leaves the discretion in the hands of the appointed board.

Most of those spots are included in leases meaning if Germantown changes the rules, Polley must renegotiate leases with several businesses, and potentially drop rent considerably to attract tenants in the future. That reduces the sales tax, the property value and thus property tax.

Germantown has long boasted its growing sales tax revenue. This year has slightly exceeded budget projections so far. 

Polley notes with the time-limited spots specific to a business, he’s able to bring more customers into the shopping center, especially with restaurant pickup orders.

“The nature of retail is continually evolving to meet the needs and wants of a consumer,” he said. “Those do not stay static. They are always changing.”

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Property managers worry guidelines look at retail without allowing them to meet customers' needs as they emerge.

Mark Steinbrueck with Dallas-based Epic Real Estate Partners is the property manager for Shops of Forest Hill. He noted Germantown has well-maintained quality shopping centers and wished the city would instill trust in managers to determine where such signs are needed.

“When you see (the proposed) limit for a shopping center, that could be 10 businesses sharing one spot,” he said. “... It could make businesses and users go somewhere else.”

If a dry cleaner, for instance, is sharing a time-limited spot with another business, the dry cleaner could struggle.

“No one wants to walk across a parking lot with their dirty laundry,” he said.

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Business-specific parking spaces are usually heavily negotiated between tenants and landlords, Steinbrueck said. Landlords want to provide convenient parking options for customers.

“Landlords don’t give those out for fun,” he said. “We really do try to protect the parking. We don’t want people frustrated by it. We want to make it easy to do brick-and-mortar shopping.”

He noted mixed-use developments office and retail would benefit from two-hour time-limited spaces, for example, so shoppers can make purchases without fighting retail.

The Design Review Commission wrestled with the impact on businesses, according to Hicks. Ross said he looked at benchmark cities to draft the ordinance, but Germantown is among the first to set standards. He had one meeting with shopping center management and is working to schedule another ahead of the third reading tentatively scheduled for March 25. 

After the third reading, businesses will have four months to comply.

Collierville leaders plan to consider a similar ordinance this spring. However, staff said it’s more about the appearance of such signs and not focused on the number of spaces.