Balancing a vibrant nighttime economy with a livable urban core

Isabelle (Rodriguez) Renault, President / CEO informed Historic City News local reporters that Compass Bank will sponsor the Chamber of Commerce Historic St. Augustine Area Council meeting on April 12, 2019, when the scheduled speakers will be City of St. Augustine Commissioner Nancy Sikes-Kline and Chief of Police Barry Fox.

Sikes-Kline and Fox have spearheaded an initiative to address increased resident complaints in the downtown business district with a focus on protecting the city’s quality of life and friendly reputation.

“In balancing the concerns of residents, while ensuring a safe and healthy area with a vibrant downtown economy, input from Council members is vital and will help drive the focus and outcomes of this initiative.”

Council Chairman Karen Zander

Both Commissioner Sikes-Kline and Chief Fox recently attended the Sociable Cities Summit where they learned how other cities addressed challenges like those we’re seeing.

“This is a very timely and extremely relevant topic,” the Council told members this week.  They fear resident complaints might trigger overly restrictive regulation.  They want to be certain that any response by the City also protects the night-time economy, particularly during late night events.

If you are planning to attend, the meeting will convene at the St. Augustine Art Association, located at 22 Marine Street with free parking graciously provided by OC White’s at their lot on Marine Street.  The meeting will be held between 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Friday, April 12th.

The Historic St. Augustine Area Council of the St Johns County Chamber of Commerce is the cohesive voice of the Historic Downtown and Entry Corridor for the business community; focusing on providing a place for businesspeople to network, address common concerns, learn from each other, and create workable solutions to achieve positive changes for this business community.