Charleston city council approves changes to street sweeping, private outdoor designated areas

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Council members approved a resolution Monday to change the time when parking will be prohibited for street sweeping.

Beginning on April 1, 2026, anytime there is a street sweeping prohibition for parking, it will now be from noon until 2 p.m., as opposed to 9 a.m. until noon.

Council members also approved changes to city code for Private Outdoor Designated Areas (PODA) regarding alcoholic beverages. PODA is public property that allows adults to purchase beer, wine and other specified alcoholic drinks from certain businesses with permits and drink them while walking outside in designated areas.

The bill cleans up city code to conform with a bill that state lawmakers recently passed. That bill creates a new special permit for non-profit entities.

In addition, the bill gives the city manager authority to temporarily modify the hours of PODA for special circumstances, and it also changes the hours of PODA such that state and federal holidays are treated the same as Saturdays and Sundays.