TALLAHASSEE – Proponents of a parking garage facility at Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach had another good week in the state capital with a bill to allow the garage to be built passing its final committee meeting in the Florida House of Representatives.
The bill, sponsored by Manatee County Rep. Will Robinson Jr. and supported by Manatee County commissioners, passed the Local Administration, Federal Affairs and Special Districts Subcommittee, Regulatory Reform and Economic Development Subcommittee and State Affairs Committee, all with a unanimous favorable vote despite some Holmes Beach residents and city officials speaking out against the proposal.
Now the bill goes for a second reading and vote on the House floor before moving to the Senate, if approved, where it will undergo a similar committee approval process before making its way to the floor for a vote. If the parking garage bill passes votes in both the House and Senate, it will make its way to Gov. Ron DeSantis to either be rejected or signed into law on July 1.
Holmes Beach residents and local officials haven’t been silent when it comes to the parking garage bill. Mayor Judy Titsworth, along with members of city staff, made the journey to Tallahassee for the first of three committee hearings on March 15 to speak out against the bill. Members of the group Save AMI Cities sent letters to members of each committee in lieu of appearing in person. Police Chief Bill Tokajer sent letters opposing the parking garage to each committee. Commissioner Greg Kerchner appeared in person in the capitol on March 31 to speak at the final committee hearing.
While Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge is a vocal supporter of building the three-story parking garage, estimated to have 1,500-1,700 spaces – as opposed to the approximately 430 parking spaces currently available in the Manatee Beach parking lot – County Commissioner George Kruse said he’s approaching the proposition cautiously. Kruse said he wants to see numbers and how spending around $45 million to build the garage would benefit the county’s residents at large.
If approved, the garage construction is anticipated to begin in 2024 and take about two years to complete. The provisions of the bill would allow Manatee County to issue its own building permits for the project, bypassing approvals by Holmes Beach, where parking garages are only allowed by special exception.
