BRADENTON BEACH – The city commission granted a one-year extension of a temporary use permit that allows a paid parking lot to operate at the west end of Bridge Street.
The commission approval granted by a 4-1 vote on Aug. 20 is contingent on a landscape buffer being installed around the perimeter of the parking lot within 45 days.
The 93-space parking lot operated by Island Parking LLC covers four parcels at 101 and 105 Bridge Street, 219 Gulf Drive South and 106 Third Street South. All four properties are part of a proposed Bridge Street Pier District Project.
The proposed retail space and new parking lot to be built along Bridge Street, Gulf Drive South and Third Street South would be located on four adjacent properties currently owned by four different limited liability companies that each list Shawn Kaleta as the manager and authorized person.
The Najmy Thompson law firm is listed as the registered agent for the four LLCs – 205 Sycamore LLC, Bridge Street Resort LLC, Bridge Street Retail LLC and Tampa Bayshore Trust LLC.
FUTURE PLANS
The recently presented Bridge Street Pier District project plans include a 23-room hotel, a 177-room hotel, a restaurant, a beach club, retail space and a 200-car parking garage near the waterfront where the Pines Trailer Park currently stands. Across the street would be 13 condo units. At the west end of Bridge Street, in the space currently used as a paid parking lot, the redevelopment plans propose a multistory retail building and a 74-space parking area.
CURRENT USE
On Dec. 7, 2023, the city commission approved a 106-room resort hotel, a 60-seat restaurant, 5,396 square feet of retail space and 154 on-site parking spaces to be built on what is currently the paid parking lot site.
On Dec. 11, just days after the hotel approval, city-permitted demolition began at 129 Gulf Drive South, the former location of Joe’s Eats & Sweets.
On Jan. 13, the former Freckled Fin building at 101 Bridge Street was demolished. On Jan. 26, demolition began on the former Magnolia Inn building at 105 Bridge Street.
The vacant parcels on the corner of Bridge Street, Gulf Drive South and Third Street South have since been used as a public paid parking lot.
Kaleta is listed as the temporary use permit extension applicant. His business associate, Sam Negrin, represented him during the Aug. 20 commission meeting. Negrin told the commission the extension was needed while the property owners move through the city’s development process toward the proposed permanent use for that site.
“I’m here today requesting you allow us to extend our temporary use permit one more year, while we move through the city’s development entitlement process and move these parcels toward their future permanent use,” Negrin said.
He said the request was meant to be “as temporary as possible.”
“After years of ambiguity due to unfortunate external circumstances, a highly comprehensive plan has been established for these parcels and will be in front of you, the commission, in a very short amount of time,” Negrin said in regard to the recently presented redevelopment proposal.
Negrin noted the property owners plan on moving forward with the proposed redevelopment plans as soon as they are “hopefully approved.”
“There is a shortage of public parking currently in Bradenton Beach and in our opinion removing these 93 spaces will not help that problem,” Negrin said. “We hope you will allow us one final extension and hopefully it will not even be a full year.”
Mayor John Chappie agreed that the parking lot has been helpful to the merchants on Bridge Street.
PUBLIC SUPPORT
Several Bridge Street merchants spoke in favor of extending the permit, citing a shortage of public parking in the city.
Cove owner Kelly Headley said the parking lot benefits her business. Drift-In owner Derek Williams said he spoke with numerous merchants who support the extension of the temporary use permit for the parking lot while the property’s future use is worked out.
“The parking lot is helpful to us,” Williams said.
A letter from resident and BridgeWalk Resort owner Angela Rodacker was also read into the record in support of the extension. Her letter said the conveniently located parking lot drives foot traffic to the Bridge Street restaurants and retail shops.
Chappie said the parking lot operators have not followed through on the landscaping and site improvements they promised when the temporary use was first approved three years ago.
“The only negative thing that I’m going to say is I am still disappointed that you never did the landscaping. This is the entrance to the city,” Chappie said, adding that the parking lot looks bad.
“The issue has been there’s been very little direction on what exactly is being looked for,” Negrin said.
Commissioner Robert Talham called the parking lot a “mud pit.”
“Sand is going on to the road,” Talham said. “There’s no stone in that parking lot and we’ve been talking about the burden it puts on our public service people to clean the sand out of the road.”
Negrin said parking lot ownership would be happy to accommodate requests by the city.
“In Sam’s defense, we’ve had a lot of transition with building officials and in our building department,” Commissioner Debbie Scaccianoce said. “So, their ability to get consistent information might have been difficult.”
Ben Carr, the city’s newly hired in-house building official, will begin in mid-September. Chappie suggested the parking lot ownership meet with Carr to get definitive answers on what is required of the parking lot.
City Attorney Erica Augello said, “The motion would be to approve the temporary use permit as submitted with the conditions previously imposed as amended. And then with the additional conditions that in 45 days the applicant will have complied with the landscape buffering as well as the other conditions of the permit.”
The commission said failure to meet the 45-day deadline could result in the temporary use permit being revoked.
The motion passed 4-1, with Talham casting the dissenting vote.
Related coverage: Pines Trailer Park, Bridge Street redevelopment plans presented
