All City of New Smyrna Beach annual parking permits expire on Dec. 31, 2026, and the city won't issue new ones. Starting Jan. 1, 2027, the free ParkVolusia resident permit from Volusia County will cover seven city off-beach parking areas along with the county's more than 60 off-beach lots.
That leaves about nine weeks from today. The bigger story is the reason behind the change. The city chose to give up a revenue stream it controlled, mostly so that people who already had a valid county pass would stop getting city parking tickets.
Hundreds of appeals from people who thought they were covered
Until now, beach parking in New Smyrna Beach meant two passes. WESH reported that a Volusia County pass covered beach parking and county-owned lots. City-owned lots, including the one at the end of Flagler Avenue, required a separate New Smyrna Beach pass, and drivers without one could get a citation.
Those tickets added up. City officials told WESH that from Jan. 1 to July 1, 2026, the city received 286 ticket appeals from county passholders who hadn't realized they needed a city permit as well. Steven Mendygral, the city's mobility and parking director, told the station, "That doesn't even count those who just paid the ticket and went their way."
Two hundred eighty-six appeals in six months works out to more than ten a week. Each one came from someone who believed they had paid for the right to park and was then asked to prove it.
Mayor Fred Cleveland didn't play the problem down. "It was a black eye on all of us, the county and the city," he said at the meeting, as WESH reported. "'Why can't you get it together?' And within a year, (city and county staff) made it happen, so it's a very big deal."
The New Smyrna Beach City Commission approved the agreement unanimously at its July 14 meeting. The Volusia County Council followed on Aug. 4.
What the city traded for one pass
Ending its own permit means the city collects less. ClickOrlando reported that the change will cost the city about $17,000 a year in revenue, plus a somewhat larger amount in citation income, and that officials decided the convenience was worth it.
Some of that citation income came from the same mistaken tickets behind the appeals. Collecting those fines and then processing appeals from residents who already held a county pass was costing the city goodwill, and the mayor said so in public.
The city still runs the lots. The county release says New Smyrna Beach and Volusia County will each keep handling enforcement, citations, signage and day-to-day operations in their own parking areas. The two governments will share only the license plate information needed to verify registrations.
That plate check is what makes the plan work. Mendygral told WESH that his officers in the field "will be able to see through the license plate that the person has a valid county permit, so we will not erroneously give them a ticket."
The seven city lots that switch over
The county release lists every city parking area joining ParkVolusia on Jan. 1. Two of them are in the North Beach area and are easy to miss, because one is a second lot at a park many people know by its main entrance and the other is street parking.
| City parking area | Address or location |
|---|---|
| Grayce K. Barck North Beach Community Park | 1100 N. Atlantic Ave. |
| Grayce K. Barck North Beach Community Park, West Lot | 1098 N. Peninsula Ave. |
| North Beach Street Parking | Sapphire Road, N. Atlantic Avenue and Lakewood Street |
| Esther Street Beachfront Park | 551 Esther St. |
| Flagler Avenue Boardwalk | 210 Buenos Aires St. |
| Marianne Clancy Park | 901 S. Atlantic Ave. |
| 27th Avenue Beachfront Park | 3701 S. Atlantic Ave. |
The county pass will also cover the city's three public boat ramp parking areas. Individual Florida Inland Navigation District boat ramp permits stay with the city.
Two well-known parks at the inlet aren't part of the change. Smyrna Dunes Park and Lighthouse Point Park are excluded from the ParkVolusia resident permit and still use their own Inlet Park permits, which are sold through parkvolusia.org.
What changes on Jan. 1, and what stays the same
The Volusia County announcement describes the change for permit holders:
- ParkVolusia resident permits. The county says resident permits are valid for three years from the date of first registration. More than 175,000 resident accounts are already registered.
- City permits. City permits expire Dec. 31, 2026. ParkVolusia registration approval takes 24 to 48 hours.
- Annual ParkVolusia visitor permits. They will also work at the city's seven lots from Jan. 1, 2027, until they are renewed or expire. Until then, nonresidents need separate visitor permits for county lots and city lots.
- Daily parking. The city has said daily paid parking isn't changing.
The current rules still apply for the rest of 2026. The city's July 16 announcement says city permits remain valid through Dec. 31 and recommends registering ahead of time because approvals can take a day or two. WESH reported the city's warning that until the change takes effect, anyone parking without the right permit can still be ticketed.
When asked whether one pass covering more lots would mean more cars, a city spokesperson told ClickOrlando that the city doesn't expect more traffic and will keep monitoring parking and traffic conditions.
The Flagler lot is half open this weekend
The city lot WESH used as its example of the two-pass problem is under construction right now. The city closed the Flagler Avenue Boardwalk on Monday, Oct. 26, to replace the pavilion and restroom roofs and regrade the parking lot. Here is the city's schedule:
- North half of the lot reopens in time for the Oct. 30 weekend
- South half reopens Tuesday, Nov. 3
- Whole project expected to be finished by Friday, Nov. 6
This weekend, then, half the Flagler lot is available on Halloween weekend, which is also the last weekend of Flagler Avenue's Great NSB Pumpkin Hunt. The hunt runs through Oct. 31, and maps are available at the Seahorse Inn or at the first pumpkin you find. If you have questions about the Flagler work, the city lists New Smyrna Beach Public Works at 386-424-2212.
North Beach has had work this month too. The city scheduled two weeks starting Oct. 12 to replace the wood boardwalks that connect North Atlantic Avenue and the east parking lot at Grayce K. Barck North Beach Community Park to its two covered picnic pavilions. The new boardwalks use recycled composite decking, and the city said the dune walkover to the beach would stay open during the work.
These are the same two lots that will take a ParkVolusia pass in January. By then, the Flagler pavilion and restroom roofs will be new, and the North Beach pavilion boardwalks will be composite instead of wood.
This post is general information about a public parking program, not legal advice. If your situation is unusual, check the details with the City of New Smyrna Beach or ParkVolusia directly.
Wendy has called New Smyrna Beach home since 1989, so she knows small changes like this can trip up longtime locals and newcomers alike. If you have family coming for the holidays or a new neighbor asking how beach parking will work next year, Wendy Schwoerer and the team are glad to point people to the right place. Contact Us.
