In the vibrant city of Las Vegas the art, lights, and locals make it what it is. In 18b The Las Vegas Arts District the City of Las Vegas recently raised the cost of parking at public meters south of Charleston and are planning to implement new parking fees north of Charleston, effectively removing all free parking in the District. This has put an financial burden on residents who rely on street parking, on businesses who rely on customers visiting and  on employees who now have to pay to go to work.

We are asking The City of Las Vegas to consult with the community to find a better solution to our parking needs than just penalizing the residents and businesses who have made this community so wonderful. We have ideas. We are asking The City to listen to us.

1. Remove City of Las Vegas paid parking initiatives from north of Charleston Blvd. That community is not developed enough to burden with the hardship of no free parking.
2. Immediately instate a moratorium on parking meter fees in the Arts District until the end of January to allow the businesses to get through the end of the year. Now is not the time to be financially burdening struggling businesses when so many are counting on holiday shoppers to help them stay in business. And then reinstate the fees back to their pre-July 2025 rate.
3. Remove meters from side streets and less built out areas of the Arts District South of Charleston. Give the community a break for those who are willing to walk a bit while still providing the benefit of meters in the more congested areas.
4. Finalize the incentives to the property owners who are considering offering their unused parking, especially for a low cost employee lot. We know there are property owners who are working with various City agencies to figure out an effective means of allowing locals to access their currently unused parking. While we do not know the details, we know there are offers out there. It is imperative to not drag out these deals and lose the offers. Make them happen now.
5. Implement a parking validation program for businesses willing to sponsor this initiative in the effort to bring customers to their business. The entire community will benefit from the effect of more customers staying in the area longer because they had a business sponsor some or all of their parking fees. There are already some businesses who are reimbursing clients for parking as part of their business offerings. Make it legitimate so they can benefit from any tax write-offs and so others can see if it works for them.

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To the signers of this petition: Thank you for being a community supporter 

Thank you for supporting 18b The Las Vegas Arts District and being concerned in regards to our parking issues. 

We are an extremely varied community. That’s the good news. And it’s the bad news. Because we are awesomely, spectacularly, a unique community. This makes it hard to come together under one umbrella. 

We are people who have put our hearts and souls into growing our art galleries and family businesses, residents who put down roots and call the Arts District home, pop-up artists and vendors who appreciate the opportunity to offer their goods and we are visitors who love to find that little bit of something special the rest of Las Vegas doesn’t offer. 

We have no over arching voice. No corporate owner. As much as some people would love to pigeonhole us into the model of Wynwood or Denver or other corporate driven communities, we are not that. We are you. 

You are the voice of this community. Whether you live here, own a business here, are a pop-up artist, or visit to enjoy our community, you are a voice. 

18b The Arts District Neighborhood Association is a 23 year 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(3) organization that works to advocate for everybody in our community. But it can’t represent you if you stay in the background. 

Thank you for joining this effort to have your voice heard. 

We have no hard and fast requirements in our community. You can advocate for yourself as a resident. You can advocate for your employees and business. What the neighborhood association, residents and businesses are working towards with this effort of addressing the parking fee increase does not preclude you from also adding your personal voice to an effort you wish to effect. What we wish to achieve is the idea that we should be honestly consulted when the City makes changes that directly affect us. 

We understand that parking is a critical issue to solve if our community is going to continue growing. We understand the City does not have unlimited funds. We understand that the City needs to make decisions that benefit the entirety of the city. What we ask the City to consider is consulting with the majority of the population who are being affected by their decisions before they put these decisions in place. Thank you for stepping up and offering to be part of that majority.