HOLMES BEACH – Commissioners are considering a change to the current prohibition against street-side parking on the west side of the city. That change may come in the form of permit parking for residents.
City staff and the mayor’s office have resurrected an ordinance allowing for permit-only parking on certain streets near the beach, put together in 2016 after the Island Congestion Committee’s members met and conducted research for several months. When the ordinance was originally considered, it passed a three-to-two commission vote but was vetoed by then-Mayor Bob Johnson.
Now, staff is working on updates to the ordinance to help address the city’s current parking concerns, primarily introducing permit-only parking and golf cart parking on some streets that are currently closed to all street side and right-of-way parking.
Out of the 1,100 spaces removed on city streets for parking by the city’s last decision, the plan would return 619 spaces for permit parking.
During the June 23 commission work session, a map was presented to commissioners marking some streets on the west side of the city as possible sites for permit-only and golf cart parking.
If the permit system is introduced, Police Chief Bill Tokajer said that the permits would be given to city residents, one for each vehicle registered to a Holmes Beach address within the permit parking area. For residents who live outside of the permit area, such as Key Royale, there would be a maximum of two permits for each property for use by the owners.
He noted that if residents have children whose vehicles are not registered to the address, those cars would not be eligible for the permit. Holmes Beach property owners who live elsewhere could be eligible for up to two permits that would be reserved for the owners’ vehicles only, not to be shared with renters.
Under the parking permit plan presented, a full-time resident would be defined as any property owner in Holmes Beach who does not rent out their property. Low-speed vehicles, including golf carts that are required to have license plates and be registered with the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles, would be required to have a permit to be parked on the street in the permit parking area. Golf carts that are not street legal (with no license plate or registration) will be allowed to park in the permit area without a permit.
Tokajer said the plan currently is to charge a nominal fee for the permits to cover the cost of printing and paperwork, with permits to be renewed annually. To prevent old permits from being used, Tokajer said he plans to change the color of the permits each year so that it’s easier for officers to know which ones are valid.
Permits also would not be transferrable between vehicles. When applying for a permit, the property owner will be required to show that the vehicle is registered to a Holmes Beach address and provide the license plate number and description of the vehicle, which will be attached to the permit for identification and enforcement purposes.
Any resident with a permit would be able to park in the permit-only area, giving residents on the east side of the city easy access to the beach, allowing residents to use street-side parking and not confining residents to parking in front of their properties.
The proposed permit parking area would encompass a large part of the area where parking is not allowed on the west side of the city. The area would stretch from the city’s southern border with Bradenton Beach to its northern border with Anna Maria with the bulk of the permit parking located north of Manatee Avenue and west of Gulf and Marina drives. The plan also leaves some street-side parking open on a first-come, first-served basis.
Mayor Judy Titsworth said that what commissioners have is a good starting point and that more discussion and tweaking to the plan will need to happen before anything is finalized. She expressed concern about allowing open parking in the area around St. Bernard Catholic Church, which could cause issues with beachgoers crossing busy Gulf Drive and churchgoers left with few parking options during Christmas and Easter seasons and during the winter when the city’s part-time residents return.
The discussion on permit parking is planned to continue at a future commission meeting.
