ANNA MARIA – Sandbar restaurant owner Ed Chiles is one step closer to having his paid public parking lot formally approved by city officials.
The Anna Maria Planning and Zoning Board unanimously recommended on June 2 that city commission approval of an amended site plan would bring the existing paid parking operations into compliance with city code.
The Chiles Group/Weld Inc.-owned parking lot at 9902 Gulf Drive has long served as an overflow parking lot for the Sandbar restaurant. The paid parking lot is located between Spring Lane and Magnolia Avenue. In February, the city’s code enforcement department became aware of paid parking occurring there without the city’s approval.
“This is before you today as a result of a code enforcement case that was brought forward to the property owner,” City Planner Chad Minor told the planning board.
Minor said the automated payment kiosk and paid parking signs were installed in February and paid parking began without the knowledge of city staff. The kiosk also references a cell phone app. Minor said the Chiles Group was informed that the city would not pursue further code enforcement action if the ownership group submitted an amended site plan to be reviewed by the planning board and approved by the city commission.
The property has been used for parking since the mid-1960s and will continue to provide overflow parking for the Sandbar restaurant, while also providing paid public parking for beachgoers and those visiting other restaurants, businesses and destinations, he said.
Minor said city staff was initially concerned that using that lot for paid public parking might eliminate some of the parking required for the restaurant operations. He said the site plan amendment process gave city staff the opportunity to review the potential impacts of the paid parking lot and staff determined the restaurant parking requirements would still be met. Minor recommends approval of the site plan application that conforms with the city’s ordinances and comprehensive plan.
Board member Barbara Zdravecky asked Minor if the approval of the Sandbar site plan would set a precedent for other paid parking lots. Minor said any property proposing to offer paid parking would have to go through the same site plan approval process. He said he’s not aware of any other property owners currently pursuing paid parking, but they are afforded that ability through the city code.
Brooks O’Hara, the director of real estate for the Chiles Group and the applicant for the amended site plan approval, attended the planning board meeting and answered questions posed by the board members.
When asked how the automated paid parking is enforced, O’Hara said the Chiles Group uses the same vendor (Joshua LaRose’s Easy Parking Group) that provides the city of Sarasota’s paid parking kiosks on Main Street. O’Hara said enforcement is mainly voluntary, but if a violation occurs, a notice can be placed on the offending vehicle. If the violation continues, a wheel lock or windshield bar can be placed on the vehicle.
“We haven’t had to do that,” O’Hara said.
When asked about the overnight parking and RV parking, O’Hara said the parked vehicles are usually gone by 10 p.m. and he’s not aware of any overnight parking or RV parking taking place in that lot. He said the parking spaces are not large enough to accommodate RV parking and the lot could be closed off after hours if needed.
Minor said the city code includes provisions that address overnight parking and RV parking.
When asked why the Sandbar ownership group wasn’t issued a code enforcement violation citation, Minor said, “Our goal is to work for compliance.”
O’Hara said the parking lot in question has historically been used for paid parking, but with a parking lot attendant collecting cash payments.
“For years, this was out of compliance then?” board member Bob Carter asked.
Mayor Dan Murphy attended the meeting and provided some historical context on the past use of the parking lot. Murphy said Sandbar patrons used to pay $25 when parking there, but in exchange received a $25 voucher to use at the restaurant. Murphy said the city did not consider that to be paid parking, but the installation of an automated payment kiosk signified a switch from restaurant customer parking to paid public parking.
Murphy said O’Hara’s assertion that paid parking was previously allowed in that parking lot was not accurate.
“The reason we let you do what do is because you had a voucher system for eating at your restaurant. That made it customer parking,” Murphy said.
The amended site plan will now be presented to the city commission for final approval.
