MANATEE COUNTY – Parking garage plans for Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach are moving forward despite pushback from Anna Maria Island residents and one commissioner.
During an Aug. 14 work session, county commissioners discussed four potential parking garages, one of which is the proposed parking garage at the county-owned Manatee Beach that was approved by Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year. When initially discussed, Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge proposed a three-story 1,500 parking space garage costing an estimated $45 million. The garage proposal presented to county commissioners during the work session is expected to cost $30-35 million to build and have about 900 parking spaces. While the actual look of the garage is not yet decided upon, the garage is planned to cover the entirety of the existing beach parking area, including the concession, retail and restroom areas. The new parking garage would include concession, retail, restroom and other facilities.
Commissioner George Kruse said he’s concerned about the cost of the four proposed parking facilities. He said that three of the garages are “niceties,” but the proposed downtown Bradenton replacement garage is the only one that is actually needed. The current garage has structural issues and must be replaced for safety reasons. Out of the four proposed garages, the downtown garage is estimated to cost the most at around $100 million.
Kruse said that rather than serving the public interest, he feels the Manatee Beach parking garage is being considered strictly to support a narrative constructed around a lack of beach parking. Having toured the city’s available parking, he said he feels that the 600 additional spaces the garage would provide over and above the current 300 in the parking lot are unnecessary and that the construction of the garage, planned to take anywhere from 18-24 months, could cause significantly more damage to the area than it helps, reducing facilities and beach access over two high tourism seasons. He also noted that the garage is currently an unfunded expense for the county.
Kruse’s comments received a round of applause from members of the public in the commission chambers. However, Van Ostenbridge said he feels that the rest of the board doesn’t share Kruse’s concerns.
Commissioner James Satcher said that if he could just choose one parking garage on the list of proposals, he’d pick the Manatee Beach parking garage. “People are clamoring to get to the beach. This is the right thing to do,” he said. “This should definitely be number one on our list.”
PUBLIC OPINION
During public comment, several people spoke against the parking garage, including Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer, former Holmes Beach mayor and former county commissioner Carol Whitmore, city attorney Erica Augello and Titsworth.
“We do have adequate parking and I want to show you so bad,” Titsworth said to the county commission. “Please, before you act, take me up on my offer. Come take the tour and see our available parking.” She did note that Bearden agreed to come visit the city in the next week.
Some of the issues with parking in residential neighborhoods that Titsworth noted include lack of bathrooms, resulting in people defecating in sea oats, and lack of lifeguards down the entire length of the beach.
Resident Bruce Meyer also spoke and said he feels that he’s being “punished” and is not represented by the county commission. He said that 600 spaces wouldn’t make a difference with the amount of people who want to come the county beaches.
Augello noted that the proposed revenue stream for parking garage, paid parking, is not an allowable use in Holmes Beach and would not be allowed. If pursued, she said it could potentially end in litigation.
Owner of the Bamboo Beach Apartments, Alice Sutton, invited the county commissioners to come for a free weekend stay on a day of their choice and help her pick up used diapers, condoms and other debris from the sea oats and beach, help direct parking and explain to naked people why they can’t change in the complex’s laundry room.
Holmes Beach Commissioner Carol Soustek said that the issue isn’t availability of parking, it’s not addressing the issues with traffic and not addressing multi-modal transportation. She noted that the city commission is responding to the concerns raised by the residents they’re elected to represent to reduce on-street beach parking in residential neighborhoods. She said the city is not limiting access to the beach.
“We want to accommodate everyone we can,” she said. “We just can’t accommodate all of the cars.” Soustek encouraged county commissioners to look at some of the studies that have been done concerning traffic and congestion for additional solutions to issues with beach access, such as multi-modal transportation.
Holmes Beach Commissioner Greg Kerchner addressed Bearden’s comments about planning for the future of the county with the potential for residential growth of 100,000 people over the coming years. He said that if the county wants to plan for the future, leaders need to look at more sustainable options than 600 beach parking spaces.
Closing out the meeting, both Kruse and Bearden spoke again with Kruse reiterating his earlier concerns that there are more pressing infrastructure issues in the county, such as the $60 million Fort Hamer Bridge project and the downtown Bradenton parking garage, that need to be addressed before a mere 600 parking spaces at Manatee Beach that will tie up facilities and parking for years is considered. Bearden said that he believes the 600 spaces will make a huge difference to people who live on the east side of the county who are waiting in traffic to get to the beach.
