HOLMES BEACH – Beach parking has been the subject of much discussion among not only Holmes Beach residents, but also Manatee County residents, visitors, property owners and business owners. It’s not just any beach parking that’s under discussion, but that which takes place in residential neighborhoods.
The plan
Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer presented a plan to commissioners in April proposing to ban right of way and streetside parking in neighborhoods west of Gulf Drive in the south part of the city, Marina Drive in the middle and Palm Drive in the north once COVID-19 precautions were lifted. Those precautions prohibit all right of way, streetside and beach access parking.
The plan was agreed to and about 200 signs were ordered.
The banners announcing the parking ban were scheduled for removal on June 6, with beach access parking opening the same day. New signs banning streetside parking were placed along most of the streets close to the beach and the plan was officially launched, unfortunately on a rainy weekend.
Tokajer said he expects to have to tweak the new parking plan as issues are identified and find some exception for residents whose homes don’t have enough parking on their lots.
Mayor Judy Titsworth said she is working with residents who live on one of the affected streets who need an exception, whether that’s for their own vehicles or the vehicles of visitors to their homes. Some residents, Titsworth said, have asked not to have the signs placed on their side of the street, a request which is considered on an individual basis and has been honored by the city.
Tokajer said having some sort of permit for residents also is being considered as a potential next step, however, he added that this first step, keeping parking off of the westside city streets, needs to be implemented and evaluated.
Under the new plan, the city of Holmes Beach has 1,303 parking spaces available including 334 at Manatee Beach, 22 for beach access after hours at Hancock Bank and the remaining spaces located at beach access points and along city streets. The 1,303 spaces mark a reduction of 1,102 spaces from the previously available 2,405. According to a parking study completed and shared by Titsworth and Tokajer, the city has 479 spaces to qualify for beach renourishment funding, more than the required amount.
Holmes Beach isn’t the only Anna Maria Island city with parking restrictions. Bradenton Beach doesn’t allow parking on any rights of way within the city. The city of Anna Maria allows parking only on certain sides of the street, requires that all four vehicle tires be off the pavement and recently instituted a fine of $100 to $225 every two hours for parking violators. Contrary to some reports, the city of Holmes Beach has not raised its parking violation amount, which remains at $50.
The complaints
While Tokajer said during the May 26 commission meeting that he’d received primarily positive response to the new parking plan, during the week of June 1, some residents took to social media and email to express their dislike of the plan.
Chief among the detractors is former Holmes Beach commissioner Rick Hurst. Hurst, who owns the Freckled Fin in Holmes Beach and also is a Key Royale resident, said the parking restrictions would prevent people in his neighborhood, on the east side of the city, from being able to easily drive to and park at the beach. He also said he’s concerned that a reduction in parking will hurt businesses, like his restaurant, that he said are patronized by people going to the beach.
Fellow Key Royale resident Don Purvis also had concerns about being easily able to access the beach. Purvis said he feels a reduction in parking could cause businesses like his real estate company who have their own parking lots to have to police the lots to keep beachgoers from taking up the spaces needed for customers.
Holmes Beach resident Dave Welch said he’s concerned not only about being able to easily access the beach, but also about residents who live near the beach not being able to use the streetside parking in front of their homes for guests or general overflow parking from their homes. While many homes in Holmes Beach have driveways or other onsite parking large enough to accommodate one car per bedroom, some older homes have smaller driveways that were grandfathered in and the residents rely on the street parking.
New Holmes Beach resident Nicole Kaleta said she and her husband recently purchased and renovated a home in the city after starting a vacation rental company there several years ago. Now, she said it saddens here to see the no parking signs, no parking banners and construction signs throughout the city.
“This is not at all what I had in mind for living on the friendly welcoming island we fought so hard to move to nor is it the one we continually work so hard to welcome visitors to,” Kaleta said in an email to The Sun. “I am so saddened to see locals unable to enjoy their own beaches, businesses unable to host patrons and the attitude of the Island be one of negativity and unwelcomeness. We should be living in an era of embracing and supporting each other, not making life more difficult.”
Island property and business owner Mike Thrasher said his concern is how the decision was made. He said he felt the decision was made without public input and is an abuse of power, a sentiment echoed by some Island residents and many Manatee County residents despite both Tokajer and Titsworth stating that the decision was made in a public meeting, held by teleconference, and has been discussed regularly in subsequent meetings. Some comments on social media indicated that people would like to have a town hall meeting, where the options for parking are discussed and community members can have their say before a plan is implemented.
Manatee County Commissioner and Holmes Beach resident Carol Whitmore spoke out against the new parking strategy, both via email and on social media, saying the city has removed a practice that has been in place for many years – parking for the beach along residential streets – and that the decision was made while the city is under a state of emergency due to COVID-19.
In response to Titsworth’s concern that not only would Holmes Beach continue to bear the brunt of parking for the Island’s beaches but that there are not public facilities outside of Manatee Beach for beachgoers to utilize, Whitmore suggested placing portable toilets at beach access points that she said could potentially be placed and maintained by Manatee County.
Petition and protest
On social media, many Manatee County residents expressed concern about the new parking restrictions, with many saying it’s unfair of the city to block off parking that county residents may need for beach parking.
A petition was created on www.change.org to ask city commissioners to repeal the parking decision and keep all streetside parking in the city open in Holmes Beach. As of June 7, the petition had more than 9,400 signatures. The city of Holmes Beach has an estimated population of just over 4,000 residents. A group also is planning to gather at Holmes Beach City Hall during the June 9 commission meeting, even though city hall remains closed to the public due to COVID-19 precautions and the meeting will be held via teleconference. Many of the attendees have stated their intention to speak on the matter of streetside beach parking during public comment.
