Paid parking penalties decrease in Avon after two years of back-and-forth
Penalties for parking for more than 3 hours without registering reduced from $87 to $30; free summer parking returns
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily
Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate will be lowering the penalties for parking errors in its Avon lots, as well as bringing back free parking in the summer, after widespread public outcry.
The Florida-based real estate company, which has owned a significant portion of commercial property in downtown Avon since 2013, began charging hourly rates for parking, 24 hours a day, in fall 2023.
Those who failed to register their vehicles and parked for more than three hours received a mailed ticket for $87.
Under the company’s new guidelines, the penalty for failing to register to park or parking longer than registered will be lowered to $30. There will also be free summer parking from April through November. Vehicle registration will still be required year-round.
Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate sent a letter to its Avon tenants on Friday, March 6 detailing the changes.
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In the letter, Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate said it implemented its paid parking program in response to the town’s decision to begin charging for parking in most town-owned lots and bays to prevent skiers heading to Beaver Creek from taking spots from shorter-term patrons visiting the town’s businesses and residents.
The letter blamed a change in the town’s managed parking implementation parking timeline, which it said “created unintended mismatch and contributed to community frustration.”
The town’s managed parking program went into effect in December 2023.
Avon offers three hours of free parking, then charges $1 per hour for parking from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Those in violation of Avon’s parking regulations receive a $35 ticket placed on their vehicle by the town’s police department.
Following the implementation of paid parking at Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate’s lots in fall 2023, the Avon Town Council heard comments from Avon residents and business owners expressing frustration over the high cost of the company’s parking policies.
In response to the high level of concern, the town organized a meeting with representatives from the company’s chosen parking subcontractor, Five Star Valet, and fee enforcement agency, Parking Revenue Recovery Services, in January 2024.
Last winter, Avon organized a survey that asked residents and visitors about their opinions on parking in town. The majority of respondents highlighted Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate’s $87 fee as excessive.
This winter, the Town Council was on the verge of approving a newly designed special business license designed to regulate paid parking vendors in town. But during its Feb. 10 meeting, the Town Council reversed course after recognizing that the town only needed to regulate one paid parking vendor: Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate.
The Town Council then directed town staff to initiate another conversation with the company.
“We did have recent conversations with Hoffman and requested they consider [discontinuing] paid parking during the off-ski season and that they consider reducing the parking fine to something less than $87,” wrote Town Manager Eric Heil in an email to the Vail Daily Tuesday.
The letter stated that the changes came in response to “feedback from tenants, residents, visitors, and local businesses.”
Hoffmann representatives provided no further comments when asked for an interview by the Vail Daily.
Avon town staff plan to address the change in Hoffmann’s policies during the March 24 Town Council meeting. During the meeting, town staff, will also propose the town discontinue paid parking in town-owned bays and lots during the off season.
The changes to Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate’s parking policies became effective “immediately” as of March 6.
