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Parking lot proposal riles neighborhood
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About 20 concerned Sunbury residents attended the October Liberty County Commission meeting on Tuesday night to speak out against a new parking lot proposed by Sunbury Crab Company owner Barney Maley.
At the beginning of the meeting, Maley withdrew his petition for the parking lot that he wanted to build on property he owns in a residential area on the corner of Brigantine Dunmore and Mariners Road.Maley said he realized it’s not a viable location. But, he maintained that between the boat ramp and the restaurant, someone still needs to address overcrowding issues.
“This piece of property was only one small part of a parking problem we have in Sunbury,” Maley said.
Other residents, however, expressed different opinions. Many of them said they don’t think parking poses problems in the Sunbury area. Ray Schubert stood up on behalf of the group to talk about some other issues concerning the restaurant.
Schubert said he and his neighbors don’t like the loud music the eatery plays on weekend nights and during special events.
“The average age of the residents is 67 and a half,” Schubert said as he explained why silence is important to Sunbury residents. “This is not a restaurant or a place for special events. It’s a bar, a night club.”
Schubert also said they’ve had issues with bands playing past the 11 p.m. noise ordinance.
Commissioner Eddie Walden said the parking lot proposed by Maley was not a good solution to the parking problem.
“We’re definitely not looking at changing residential property into a parking lot,” Walden said, after which the group of residents started to clap. Chairman John McIver asked them to refrain from applauding.
Because the petition was revoked, no action was necessary by the board.
County Administrator Joey Brown told Schubert that they would look into the details of the noise ordinance and do their best to make sure it’s upheld.

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