The Danville Town Council is set Tuesday to vote on the return of the town's downtown employee parking program and associated fees starting in 2024, nearly four years after the program was paused in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program was first instituted in 2010, with the goal of ensuring downtown merchants and employees have access to nearby parking in the town's busy central business district. Fees were suspended in 2020 in an effort to give a boost to struggling small businesses.

"With positive signs of economic vitality returning to the downtown core, the Town can now return to a parking management plan that can recuperate some operating costs while still promoting accessible parking for merchants and customers," transportation program specialist Adam Cleary said in a staff report prepared for the upcoming meeting.

The program encompasses three zones, with the $25 permit fee for Zone 1 -- the area on the outskirts of downtown -- having been suspended starting in 2017 with the goal of supporting businesses and encouraging participation in the program. Fees for zones 2 and 3 -- set at $50 per permit -- in busier parts of downtown, remained in place until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Town staff are recommending that the council approve a resolution that would reinstate the fees for all three zones starting in January, which is set for a vote at their upcoming regular meeting.

The Danville Town Council is set to meet at 5 p.m. on Tuesday (Sept. 19). The agenda is available here.

In other business, the council will discuss recruitment for volunteer positions on the town's Heritage Resource Commission and the County Connection Citizens' Advisory Committee.