BRADENTON BEACH – With city-imposed closure deadlines looming, time is running out at Shawn Kaleta’s four paid parking lots.
City commissioners put multiple conditions in place before granting temporary use permits for the paid parking lots; 101 Bridge St. was approved with stipulations on Feb. 15 and 206 Bay Drive N., 207 Church Ave. and 102 Third St. N. gained approval, also with stipulations, on March 21.
Most of the agreed-upon conditions remain unfulfilled, according to City Building Official Darin Cushing. In an Aug. 1 letter to Kaleta, Cushing said he intends to barricade the lots on Aug. 9 with a permanent closure deadline of Sept. 6 if all the stipulations have not been met.
Cushing’s letter reads in part: “To date, very few, if any of these stipulations have been met, first and foremost, the presentation of Professionally Designed Site Plans in order to demonstrate that all of the other stipulations are being adhered to.”
Cushing noted in his letter that the commission approved the applications for temporary use permits contingent on administrative site plan approval by the building official.
“The actual permits have never been approved and are currently sitting in an ‘under review’ status,” he wrote. “Furthermore, the parking lots have all been in operation since February of this year, technically illegally, as they have never been approved by the Planning and Zoning Department.”
Cushing wrote that the applications for these temporary use permits were submitted “after the fact,” as the paid parking lots were all created and put into operation prior to any application being made to the department.
Cushing closed the letter with: “We have no choice but to close the parking lots for use, until such time that we receive the required documentation, and all of the above-mentioned stipulations have been met. We will be barricading the entries and covering the pay kiosks and signs on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. If by Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, we have not received 100% compliance with the stipulations for approval, we will revoke the applications, and all of the modifications that have been made on these parcels will have to be removed.”
Sam Negrin, manager of Kaleta’s Beach to Bay Investments Inc., responded on Aug. 2 to The Sun’s request for comment by text: “Our new parking management company, Island Parking, has taken over as of July 12th and has been working diligently to get the city’s requests completed. We look forward to meeting all of their requirements to remain operating.”
STIPULATIONS FOR APPROVAL
All the temporary use permits for the four lots were granted for one year. Stipulations included a review of a professionally-prepared site plan by the building official, active insurance to be carried by the property owner and production of a business tax receipt to the city clerk. The plans to be submitted to the building department are required to include requested parking spaces, golf cart parking dimensions, ADA compliance and adequate ingress and egress.
The parking lot stipulations for approval at 101 Bridge St. included no entrance or exit from Bridge Street, directional arrows, landscaping less than 3 feet high, sidewalk installation north of Third Street South to hook into the corner sidewalk on Gulf Drive, trolley benches and slab, black and white signage and review of site plan by building official. The one-year temporary use permit runs through Feb. 15, 2025.
There currently remains a driveway leading onto Bridge Street from the parking lot, the sidewalk and slab have not been installed and there are no directional arrows. A leaking artesian well is in the process of being capped.
Some of the stipulations for 206 Bay Drive N., 102 Third St. N. and 207 Church Ave. include the building owner submitting a building permit application or land development approval request within eight months of the temporary use permit approval, permits that will expire on March 21, 2025, and a limit on the number of parking spaces to be approved by the building official on a site plan.
A sidewalk is to be installed along Church Avenue with details to be approved by the building official for the Church Avenue lot, along with landscape buffering and the installation of a privacy fence along the northern and southern property lines. A sidewalk is to be installed along Third Street North along with landscape buffering for the 102 Third St. N. lot.
BRADENTON BEACH – City commissioners denied an application for a temporary use paid parking lot at 2509 Gulf Drive N. at their April 4 meeting.
The application, which stated the property was in an R-2 (residential) zone, was submitted by Rick Munroe, of Sarasota-based Palm Parking, on behalf of property owner Mark Toomey for a 19-space paid parking facility.
“We feel we’re providing a service for short-term accommodations,” Munroe said. “We’re asking for a 24-hour operation.”
“We have nothing that has been presented by FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation), FDEP (Florida Department of Environmental Protection), SWFWMD (South Florida Water Management District)” – the state agencies that conduct review processes on such proposals, Mayor John Chappie said.
According to building official Darin Cushing, a site plan was not presented with the application.
“We need more documentation, a parking plan,” Cushing said. “We need a better idea of what the full plan is.”
Toomey said the site plan had been submitted with the application.
“I delivered the site plan myself. I don’t know how that piece of paper didn’t arrive. There’s two site plans on there,” Toomey said.
Toomey said he attempted to have a home built on that property four years ago and it was denied by the commission.
“The option is to have an additional 19 spaces here,” Toomey said. “Coquina Beach is full every day. We’re giving people an additional option. If I could have a permanent permit, I would do so. If that doesn’t work, I’ll have to sell it to one of the developers on the island.”
A copy of the site plan was then presented to commissioners at the meeting.
“I’m not sure how it wasn’t included in the package,” Cushing said. “I don’t know if we can consider it (the application) without the other agencies.”
“There’s a procedural component to offer the applicant the opportunity to continue this to the next commission meeting so the commission can review the site plan,” City Attorney Ricinda Perry said. “The site plan for whatever reason didn’t make it into the packet, they’re entitled to have that reviewed by the commission. The proper step is to ask if they would like to continue this to the next meeting so the commission can receive and review the site plan or are they prepared to move forward and allow the commission to make their decision tonight?”
At that point, Toomey stated the property was in C-2 (commercial) zone, despite the application indicating it was in an R-2 (residential) zone.
“On your application, it clearly says R-2,” Chappie said. “What is your decision? Do you want us to proceed with the process here? Or have the opportunity to come back so we have a full packet?”
“You have the full packet,” Toomey said. “The site plan magically disappeared out of the application so I don’t think in two or four weeks you’re going to change your mind.”
“We’re not here to argue, we want to be sure it’s a clean presentation and have a key component of your application,” Chappie said.
“I don’t think we’ll be submitting any further paperwork with regard to the parking,” Toomey said.
Cushing characterized the site plan as a diagram showing spaces as they fit into the lot, without showing dimensions. He said the document did not show emergency vehicular access, ingress and egress, or a drainage plan. There was one handicapped-accessible parking spot shown.
Several people spoke during the public comment session of the meeting.
“We need a moratorium on paid parking because you’re going to set a precedent and wind up in litigation. If you give it to George you have to give it to John, and so on and so forth,” Bradenton Beach property owner Bob Bolus said, also asking the city to govern parking fees.
“I think it’s clear the applicant doesn’t have his ducks in a row until those other agencies are approached,” John Lutz said.
“There was a public comment stating the city is inviting litigation by issuing temporary use permits,” Perry said. “This does not invite litigation. Every single application is considered on an individual basis on the characteristics of the surrounding properties, the testimony from the public, the location. Everything is a specific decision. There is no precedent set approving one location and denying another.”
She also noted there is a Florida statute that preempts the ability of cities to regulate what anyone can charge for parking.
“You will have to make the decision based on testimony you received today,” Perry advised the commission.
“We don’t have information from FDEP, FDOT or SWFWMD,” Chappie said. “The site plan doesn’t provide adequate information to make a clear judgment.”
The applicant left the chambers prior to the commission vote in which commissioners Jan Vosburgh, Marilyn Maro and Deborah Scaccianoce along with Mayor Chappie unanimously voted to deny the application.
Reading about the idea of having 90 parking spaces (for 12 months at least) instead of building a hotel might sound weird – but if you can charge $15 per hour for each space – it multiplies!
It raises the question: why not start building? The landowner is normally pretty fast in going forward.
But – this is obviously pure theory – but owning the trailer park on a much better location for a hotel and the fact that the rents were doubled almost immediately after the purchase, could it hypothetically be possible that the plan for the location of the hotel has changed? Could it be possible that the renters of the trailer park will be “friendly forced out?” And that a hotel or another hotel will grow there?
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – As America makes its 247th successful trip around the sun, many people are expected to celebrate the nation’s birthday on the Island’s white sand beaches.
With July Fourth coming next Tuesday, be prepared for several days of festivities, as many will arrive early for the weekend and crowds are anticipated to be some of the largest AMI has ever seen.
While there has been a slight leveling off after the tourism boom that occurred in 2021 as Florida became one of the few states that opened for business after the COVID-19 lockdown, recent holiday weekends have been busy and there is no reason to expect anything less for this one.
Law enforcement officials have gone on the record saying Memorial Day weekend last month was the busiest weekend ever seen on the Island.
“In my opinion, the Sunday before Memorial Day was the busiest day I’ve ever seen on the Island,” Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said. “We issued more than 100 parking-related tickets, but I drove around our city’s public parking spots and there was never a time there weren’t spots open, people just need to keep a lookout for them.”
A map of available public parking spaces in Holmes Beach can be found on the city’s website.
Beachgoers enjoyed nearly perfect weather on Memorial Day weekend at a very busy Manatee Beach. The July Fourth weekend could see even larger crowds. – Jason Schaffer | Sun
In Bradenton Beach, the parking situation is amplified with the addition of more than 50 new no parking signs on Gulf Drive South, though some motorists don’t seem to care about the new signs.
“Over Memorial Day weekend, our officers wrote more than 400 tickets for illegal parking at Coquina Beach and Cortez Beach, and there were still plenty that probably got away with it,” Bradenton Beach Police Lt. Lenard Diaz said.
Both Tokajer and Diaz believe that some people feel like it’s worth the price of a ticket to just park and get on with their beach day, a sentiment echoed by many people The Sun has spoken to regarding beach parking.
“It costs about the same to park at Disney as it does to get a ticket for illegally parking here,” Britany Hillibold of Bradenton said. “I live less than 10 miles from the Island and it can take two or more hours just to get onto AMI. Then the process of finding a parking spot begins. I get why some people just park and head to the beach knowing they’ll have a ticket on their windshield when they get back to their car. For the price of a couple of grouper sandwiches, you’re good to go.”
While parking will be difficult, restaurant wait times will be excessive and travel to and from the Island will be slow, there will still be plenty of sand, sea and sun to make the Island a great place to wish America a happy birthday. Just keep a few things in mind to have a safe and enjoyable fourth. The following are not permitted on any Island beach:
Motor vehicles,
Fires,
Grills (except where public grills are provided),
Pets,
Alcohol,
Harassment of wildlife (shorebirds and sea turtles are nesting, admire from a distance), and
Fireworks.
“I have three important reminders for the upcoming July Fourth holiday weekend,” Tokajer said. “First, you are vacationing in a residential area, so please keep noise to a minimum. Second, be respectful of your surroundings and leave it cleaner than you found it. Third, always park with all tires off the road. Parallel parking is parking with the flow of traffic. Saying you didn’t see the sign or were not aware will not get a ticket voided.”
Holmes Beach police, along with Bradenton Beach and Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, which patrols the city of Anna Maria, remind the public that local ordinances are strictly enforced, and all three departments plan to increase the number of officers on patrol for the busy holiday weekend.
“Remember to not put yourself in a position to be a victim of a crime of opportunity,” Diaz said. “Lock your car and don’t leave valuables in plain sight on car seats or places that entice criminals. Also, don’t bring valuables to the beach. Just bring what you need so you can relax and enjoy yourself.”
While violent crime is uncommon on AMI, a heavy influx of visitors may bring out a few people with bad intentions. Taking common sense precautions can help assure a fun and safe day at the beach.
HOLMES BEACH – Just like the traffic headed to Anna Maria Island on holidays, an effort by Florida legislators to build a parking garage at Manatee Beach is inching forward.
House Bill 947 was filed on Monday by Rep. Will Robinson Jr., who represents Manatee County, including Anna Maria Island. If the bill passes, it will allow Manatee County commissioners to erect a three-story parking garage at the county-owned beach with no approvals from city leaders needed.
Previous plans mentioned by legislators were for a four-story garage, which would exceed the height restrictions in the city.
Though parking garages were never an allowable land use in Holmes Beach, city commissioners voted in 2022 to formally disallow multi-level parking facilities. At a meeting where that ordinance was discussed, Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge warned commissioners against the action, stating that he had planned to present an application to the city to build a parking garage on the property.
Mayor Judy Titsworth said that she’s disappointed by Robinson’s decision to file the bill and feels that it’s a blatant infringement of home rule. She said county leaders never submitted a formal application to the city for consideration of a parking garage and never put anything before city commissioners to consider allowing one through a special exception.
During a Feb. 14 commission meeting, Titsworth said that Robinson was scheduled to come to Holmes Beach later in the week to speak with city staff and tour the available public parking with her. On Monday, she said he decided to move the meeting to the end of the month.
In addition to the parking spaces already available in the city for beachgoers, Titsworth said she’d been speaking with two area churches about using their parking areas for the public outside of church service times. If the parking garage bill goes through at the state level, she said she’s unsure if those organizations will go through with providing extra parking since part of the reason for that potential solution was to avoid having a parking garage built at Manatee Beach.
She encouraged everyone to continue writing letters to state legislators and to write to each of the committees that HB 947 goes to for consideration.
While a parking garage is becoming more of a possibility, a state-funded study to look at the consolidation or elimination of the three Anna Maria Island cities is off the table – for now.
The state legislative delegation recently backed off its January proposal to pursue consolidating the cities at the state level if Island city leaders agreed to work together to consolidate some services at the city level.
Titsworth said she’s begun regular meetings with Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie and Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy to begin a discussion on how they can consolidate some services across the three cities.
While she said she’s unsure right now of where they can consolidate, she said she’s hopeful that by working together, the three can find solutions that will take away the threat of consolidation or elimination by state legislators.
She was also quick to reassure city staff that no positions were being eliminated, saying, “No one’s losing a job in the city.”
Titsworth said she’s having a bit of a difficult time trying to decide what could be consolidated.
“This is going to take quite a bit of time between the three cities to determine what can be consolidated,” she said. “We are committed to look and see what could be consolidated, listen to each other and work together.”
The mayoral meetings are a result of a recent meeting between state legislative representatives and the Island mayors concerning the consolidation of all three Island cities into one municipality or into unincorporated Manatee County.
Robinson began the year with a quest to launch a state-funded study to determine if the three cities should be eliminated or consolidated. The study, which was supported by the other members of the Manatee County state legislative delegation, has since been abandoned, at least temporarily, in favor of allowing the three Island governments to work some issues out among themselves.
“I can’t thank the citizens, visitors, residents, everyone enough,” Titsworth said of the outpouring of support from the public to fight against the consolidation study. “I couldn’t be more proud. You did an amazing job.”
My family and I have visited Anna Maria Island for more than 30 years and we have witnessed firsthand how the place is strangling itself with its popularity. Our three-month stay ends at the end of the month and we have never before seen such slow-moving traffic so early in the season.
A multi-story car park anywhere on the island is not the solution.
Our full-time home is in the Roman city of Chester in the United Kingdom, one of very few ancient walled cities in the world. It too gets swamped with tourists from around the globe, but it has a solution to gridlock – so-called Park and Ride car parks serviced throughout the day, throughout the year, by an excellent hop-on, hop-off bus service. For a small fee, users can leave their cars and ride into the city to be dropped off at numerous points on a set route, while the return is just as simple.
Chester is not unique. Several other UK tourist hotspots have adopted the idea, enabling traffic-free city streets, pedestrianization, cycle routes and a reduction in air pollution and traffic-related accidents.
The irony is that you already have the excellent shuttle bus solution in place, and, unlike the UK, acres of land off the island on which to locate car parks, multi-level or otherwise.
I urge the powers that be to give the idea some thought. Sadly, I don’t have a solution to the suggestion that AMI’s three cities should be amalgamated, but I suspect that might go away if the car parking was resolved.
Rep. Will Robinson Jr.
Rep. Mike Beltran
Rep. Tommy Gregory
Sen. Jim Boyd
Sen. Joe Gruter
Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge
It has taken me several days to compose my anger at you and ALL of the other members of the local state legislative delegation. Who do you think you are and how dare you make an attempt to subvert our three local governments? I can’t tell you how disgusted and terrified I am with every one of you. I have always been under the impression that Republicans believed in as little government intervention as possible. It seems as though that has changed with you. Our democracy is now being taken over by a dictatorship!
I discovered early on that Commissioner Van Ostenbridge, who supposedly represents Anna Maria Island, does not support his constituents, apparently, unless they are investors, realtors or wealthy folks who can line his political pockets. He does not think or care about the residents of our three cities. He certainly appears to be another self-centered politician who is only interested in his own well-being. Now, unfortunately, it has become apparent that ALL of you legislative delegates are only interested in your own political futures. Why don’t you come out to the beach two to three times a month, especially during the summer months, and observe that there is no room for one chair, let alone for a group. The overcrowded beaches are becoming unsafe for all of us. But NO!! We have to continue to advertise all over the world and bring more and more tourists here. And then you complain that there is inadequate parking for the thousands of off-island beachgoers and then threaten us with a four-story parking garage.
I have lived here for 30 years and my parents for 20 years before that, so 50 years of being high taxpaying residents while watching AMI lose its quiet charm, especially in the last 10 years. Do you see what is happening to local residents who are leaving in droves? Do you even really care? No, because you receive more money and support from investors, etc.
Now I wonder if we need to warn residents from Sarasota, Pinellas, Hillsborough and other counties with small coastal communities that they may be next? Why don’t you take over Mar-a-Lago???
Please contact the delegates and voice your dissent before it is too late.
First of all, I am a believer of home rule. However, when a government creates an atmosphere of dictatorial leadership, it has failed and must be changed. It is time for a change and I think that State Rep. Will Robinson Jr. is on the right track to being the catalyst to do it.
Holmes Beach has long been ruled by Mayor Judy Titsworth who has ruled with an iron hand. The one thing that she and Police Chief Bill Tokajer have created is a system of traffic-related fines that have punished both residents and visitors for a myriad of fines for anything involving traffic. Among the worst action on their part is the elimination of 645 parking spots in Holmes Beach alone. The reason given by the police chief was to help prevent crime in Holmes Beach. Has anyone read the police reports in the local Island newspapers? If you do, you will typically find a domestic dispute, a bicycle stolen, someone urinating in public. Not exactly a Chicago crime wave. Now she so generously allowed homeowners to purchase parking permits on their own property after paying a for- tune in property taxes. It is not right.
Millions of dollars every year are spent every year to attract more visitors to “old Florida.” I think not; the slogan should be, Welcome to our Sunny Island, but leave your car at home.
When invited by the county to attend a meeting in 2022, both Ms. Titsworth and Chief Tokajer refused to meet to discuss the parking situation created by them. How is that a sign of open government? You cannot govern properly by shutting the door to discussion. Somehow in the fourth quarter they were convinced to meet, but it was to no avail and nothing positive came out of that meeting. One of the things Ms. Titsworth brought up was that the parking situation was a county problem, not hers, and get this, she said they should build a parking garage at the county beach. Now in the latest news she states that she is against such a plan. Talk about flip-flopping.
Ms. Titsworth has said if the county took over, the residents would leave. That is exactly what has been happening under her watch for the past five years because of the construction of six- and eight-bedroom rental properties. This is a fact that family houses built in the 50s or 60s are being bought by developers, torn down and replaced with massive rental houses.
This is not a private island; if you want tourists, treat them like you really appreciate them. Be reminded that the Florida law states that everyone in this state is allowed to walk the beaches. There is also a federal law that backs that up.
My suggestion is to have the Manatee government withdraw the Holmes Beach parking ordinance and have the parking restriction eliminated. They should also dissolve the municipal governments, as an island with three governments in a seven- mile long strip of land is ridiculous.
I suggest that as a first step, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Department take over the police force for the entire Island. They are a professional organization that already has roots on the island and has experience across the entire county.
Have the state create a single entity to govern the entire Island, either as Rep. Robinson suggested as an unincorporated part of Manatee County or establish a municipal government for the entire island.
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – As state representatives discuss bypassing Holmes Beach codes to build a parking garage and dissolving the three Island cities, locals aren’t taking it lying down.
Residents, property owners, business owners, visitors and others who love the Island just the way it is have banded together to get the word out and reach out to Manatee County’s state legislative delegation members in an effort to have their voices heard in Tallahassee.
Led by Holmes Beach resident Laurel Nevans, 950 people had joined Save AMI Cities as of Jan. 23. The Facebook group is dedicated to making the people’s voices heard at the local and state level on both issues.
The battle is focused on a parking garage. Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge wants to build one at Manatee Beach, a property owned by the county but located in Holmes Beach. Before those plans got off the ground, city commissioners voted to not allow multi-level parking structures in their city, a stance echoed by city leaders in Bradenton Beach and Anna Maria. Van Ostenbridge warned city leaders at a public meeting that there would be consequences to their actions.
Now the fight has escalated to the state level with Rep. Will Robinson Jr. initiating a bill to not only override the city’s decision to disallow parking garages but also to break the city’s three-story building height restriction, which is in the city charter. Robinson said he wants to see a four-story parking garage built at Manatee Beach. A four-story garage also would violate the three-story height limitation for unincorporated Manatee County, which is what the Island would likely be merged into if all three Island cities were dissolved by the Legislature.
A cool morning leaves the beach in Holmes Beach nearly vacant, even at the height of snowbird season. – Submitted | Beverly Battle
That possibility arose from state legislative delegation discussions earlier this month to consider hiring the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability to study the feasibility of dissolving the Island’s three cities.
Protestors speak out
Members of Save AMI Cities are writing letters to state representatives and looking at other ways to make sure their opinions on the proposed measures are heard.
The Sun reached out to those members to see what they have to say about the two proposals.
“This ‘taking’ of our local cities diminishes our votes and our ability to get those little things done in our communities,” Binky Rogers said. “We have owned in Bradenton Beach for 35 years and lived here permanently for 14 years. I feel that our mayor and city commission have our best interests at heart, and they are very approachable. The ‘bully’ county commissioners will not worry too much about our small Island except, of course, bringing in more tax dollars from all the high rises that’ll appear. All I can say at this point is think hard about who you vote for. We can’t just ‘pave over paradise and put up a parking lot.’ ”
“I recognize the value of tourism to our little island, but it’s the vibrant, quaint, simple life that we fell in love with and that is slowly being destroyed by developers,” Holmes Beach resident and local Realtor Kelly Gitt said. “I am strongly against the proposal of a parking garage and an advocate of slower speed limits, safe sidewalks/bike lanes and paying a toll to come out to the island. I don’t believe the parking garage has anything to do with protecting our beaches or the slower pace of life we love and appreciate here.”
Anna Maria Island residents and business owner Bob Casey, pictured here with his wife, Connie, questions the motives behind two proposals by state representatives. – Submitted | Bob Casey
“I’m a homeowner and small business owner here on AMI,” Bob Casey said. “A parking garage is not the solution and I think the county commissioners know this. How about finishing the parking lot at Coquina? I could be wrong, but I think they have ulterior motives. If they can overrule our three-story building limit it will be like ringing the dinner bell to all the developers. Then AMI will lose its old-school charm that locals and visitors alike enjoy. Our local governments are not perfect (who is?) but they live among us and have our best interests at heart.”
“The tourist board advertises Anna Maria as ‘a taste of Old Florida,’ then does everything it can to destroy that,” resident Janis Ian said.
“It begs the question of what the motivation is for the county commissioners and legislators to try and control AMI,” part-time Island resident Barbara Trinklein Rinckey said.
Chris Arendt referenced an Urban Land Institute study that notes that additional parking on the Island will not solve issues related to reaching maximum capacity for people and vehicles on the seven-mile Island. Arendt called both proposals by the legislative delegation “sham proposals.”
“It’s intimidation, plain and simple,” Arendt said. “Fact is every single Island conservative I know, and that’s many, are vehemently opposed to both the proposals. That should tell you all you need to know.”
“This is outright intimidation to control our Island towns,” Barbara Quinn said. “A garage won’t help the massive traffic caused by overdevelopment.”
“The Manatee County commission wants to keep their thumb on the cash cow that is AMI,” Laura Siemon Seubert said. “And a certain county commission member didn’t get his way, he essentially ran to ‘daddy’ to step in and make the other kids play with him. The county doesn’t care if we turn into another Panama City Beach or Fort Lauderdale. They only see the dollar signs with each bed tax. The ironic thing is a parking garage won’t help the bottom line. The day trippers that will use the parking garage aren’t spending the night. There is no financial gain from a parking garage. And as far as the three cities becoming one? All the charm and uniqueness of the Island will disappear.”
“I thought we lived in the United States?” Bradenton Beach resident Chris Johnson questioned. “Have any of the commissioners talked to the Islanders to see how we feel on the Island? This Island has been in my family’s blood for four generations, and we have protected the Island for years. The beaches are beautiful but there is more to this Island than beaches.”
MANATEE COUNTY – Members of the local state legislative delegation are making plans to permanently change the face of Anna Maria Island, beginning with a parking garage and potentially ending with the dissolution of the three Island cities.
A citizens’ action group, Save AMI Cities, has already sprung up on Facebook with the intent of making voter and stakeholder voices heard by state legislators.
During a Jan. 12 legislative delegation meeting, Rep. Will Robinson Jr. brought up beach access and parking issues in Holmes Beach. Robinson, a Republican, proposed introducing a bill during the upcoming state legislative session to pre-empt Holmes Beach city leaders’ decision to ban parking garages. His plan would allow a four-story parking garage on the Manatee County-owned parcel at Manatee Beach, one story higher than the city’s limit. His fellow Republican members of the delegation, Rep. Tommy Gregory, Rep. Mike Beltran, Sen. Jim Boyd and Sen. Joe Gruters, voted unanimously in favor of the proposal and putting the bill forth for consideration at the state level.
Rep. Will Robinson Jr.
If the proposed bill makes it through all of the levels of state government, including committees and the Senate, and gains the approval of Gov. Ron DeSantis, it would allow Manatee County commissioners to subvert local government regulations and issue their own building permits for construction on county-owned property, regardless of the city the property is located in.
“I thought it was incumbent for the Legislature to step in and pre-empt that authority to allow a four-story parking garage if the county commission so votes and funds that parking garage to be built,” Robinson said. “It is fundamental for anyone to be able to visit our public beach and, in my view, parking spaces have been strategically taken away over the last few years under the guise of COVID to not allow folks to access the beach. Folks are getting frustrated – they can’t park, they can’t access the beach, they’re turning around and they’re going back home. And, to me, there’s nothing more important than to allow a person, a taxpayer, who pays for that beach, by the way, to visit that beach.”
Currently, the majority of beach renourishment funding comes from state-funded renourishment programs and the county resort tax, paid by visitors, not local tax dollars.
Parking problems
Public beach parking in Holmes Beach has been a point of contention between city and county leaders for more than two years. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, access to local beaches was restricted by the state to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.
In Holmes Beach, city leaders closed public beach parking during the lockdown. When the beaches were allowed to be reopened, city leaders took the opportunity to create a long-planned permit parking area on some residential streets near the beach. The plan was to not only give city residents who don’t live near the beach a place to park but to also reduce traffic, trash and beachgoers relieving themselves on residential streets. Permits are available to city residents only and permit parking takes up approximately 642 spaces located solely on the sides of city streets. Other streets were labeled as no parking zones at the request of residents or due to the narrowness of the roads, eliminating about 300 parking spots. The city still has more than 1,200 public parking spots, including the parking available at Manatee Beach, within a quarter mile of the beach and more along other residential streets further away from beach access points.
During city commission meetings, Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer has reported counting more than 40,000 vehicles coming and going on Manatee Avenue, just one of three Island access points, on an average busy beach day. That number can jump higher over holiday weekends.
City leaders have met with state and county representatives to discuss parking problems in Holmes Beach with few resolutions found. The city’s website features a parking map to show where vehicle and low-speed vehicle/golf cart parking is located near the beach. Plans to create an interactive parking app also are underway.
When Holmes Beach commissioners met to discuss banning parking garages last year, Manatee County Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge stepped up during public comment to issue a warning if they moved forward with the ban. Van Ostenbridge said he had plans to present a proposal to build a multi-level parking garage at the county-owned Manatee Beach. Commissioners chose to move forward with the ban. The city of Bradenton Beach, where the county owns property including Cortez Beach and Coquina Beach along with two boat ramps, also has a ban on multi-level parking garages.
Holmes Beach’s three-story height limitation on structures is written into the city’s charter, meaning it would take a charter amendment being approved by a majority of voters or the dissolution of the city to remove the restriction. Abolishing it would pave the way for high-rise development.
Robinson said that he feels “very confident” in the proposed parking legislation and that he feels it will pass during the state legislative session beginning Monday, April 10.
Dissolving Island cities?
The state legislative group decided last week to look into the possibility of engaging The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability to study how feasible it would be to dissolve the three city governments on the Island. If that were to happen, Robinson said it would remove the city governments in Anna Maria, Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach, replacing them with Manatee County commissioners and administration.
He said it could be a good tax break for residents who would no longer have to pay city taxes.
In Florida, the Legislature can dissolve a municipality if either the residents of the municipality vote for dissolution or by special act. In the event of a special act by the state, a bill would have to be introduced during a legislative session, pass votes by state representatives and senators and be signed by the governor before it’s effective. The requirements for a special act involving the dissolution of a municipality state that the city in question must not be substantially surrounded by other municipalities; the county or an adjacent municipality must be willing to take on the governing of the area and arrangements have to be made to provide compensation for employees of the city.
The closest adjacent municipality to any of the three Island cities is Longboat Key, where leaders are working diligently to have the entire town under Sarasota County jurisdiction, leaving only Manatee County leaders to take over Anna Maria Island if its three cities were dissolved. If that happened, all infrastructure, building and zoning regulations and governing would fall under the same leadership as unincorporated Manatee County – the board of county commissioners currently led by Van Ostenbridge as its chair. Instead of being represented by their fellow Island residents, Islanders would be represented by commissioners elected by residents from all over the county.
Local elected officials’ reactions
Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth issued a statement in reply to the legislative delegation discussions.
Mayor Judy Titsworth
“I am disappointed at the position that Will has taken regarding pre-empting city ordinances to construct a parking garage in a coastal community when the city currently and historically has always exceeded the number of parking spaces required for state-funded beach renourishment and interlocal agreements with the county,” Titsworth said. “As a mayor in his district, I would have appreciated Mr. Robinson to have, in the very least, given notice prior to getting out of his lane in making such a bold move. At this point in time, I shouldn’t be surprised about anything that comes from this district. I do not feel Mr. Robinson needed the support of the local delegation to move on this bill but next time he moves on a bill that will affect the lives of our city residents, I hope that he would first reach out to the representatives of the city so he can become better informed. A four-story parking garage at the entrance to our city is not in keeping with the historical character of our quaint city. For this to happen, the potential gutting of our height restrictions would also be in play. These restrictions are in our city charter. This undoubtedly is what led to the next proposal by the representative which is the consideration of the consolidation and/or dissolution of the three Island cities.”
“I believe that is probably the biggest overstep and attack on home rule yet,” she continued. “Holmes Beach has been incorporated for over 70 years. We are a vibrant and prosperous city. Our population continues to grow. Our city is responsible for the majority of the contributions to the tourist development tax in the county and has contributed over $30 million since its inception. We continue to improve roads, sidewalks and storm infrastructure and continue to make public safety a number one goal. We have a very strong commission and numerous appointed boards. All board positions are readily filled by residents who desire to give their time to civic duty. The city of Holmes Beach is proud of not only retaining its residents but providing a tourism experience that is a top vacation destination. Property values continue to soar and our city has investors from all over the world. For a representative to single out Anna Maria Island to study dissolving our city chartered governments is a wake-up for all cities of this state. Because of this, I do not believe this will receive the legislative act that this representative is seeking.”
In a Jan. 13 discussion with The Sun, she said she feels that any action to dissolve the cities would be the equivalent of a “hostile takeover” by the county commission. “What happened to the will of the people?” she asked, noting that it was supposed to be a politician’s job to work in the best interests of the voters.
Addressing Robinson’s comment concerning taxes, she said there is currently a difference of $17 million between taxes paid by homesteaded residents and those without a homestead exemption in Holmes Beach. If the Island cities were dissolved and development were allowed to go unchecked, Titsworth said she feels that residents would leave, potentially allowing more properties to be acquired by short-term rental investors.
“This is a much bigger issue,” she said. “This is about more than parking.”
Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie echoed Titsworth’s statement, telling The Sun that while he doesn’t agree with how leaders in the neighboring city amended their parking restrictions, he too feels that the attempts by the state to subvert local government ordinances and dissolve the three cities have to do with more than just the loss of a few hundred parking spaces.
When contacted by The Sun, Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy said he does not support the state legislative delegation’s actions and does not think dissolution is a good idea. He added that he does, however, feel that there are opportunities for the three cities to share resources and work together better that are currently being missed.
The recent bombshell by the state delegation to undermine Island height restrictions, and potentially to dissolve the Island cities, reminds me of when I was younger. Two headstrong, spoiled children would get into an argument over something on the playground for which neither was willing to compromise. Then one would go to their big brother and, without all the facts and, being one not to consider other outcomes, the brother jumps in and tries to settle the argument. All should have been taught better about sitting down and discussing things to produce a better outcome.
The implementation of the parking plan most certainly could have been handled in a much better way; this was mentioned by many at the time. Plus, we have very limited, finite land. Simple math can tell you that this Island cannot accommodate all the taxpayers, all the people out of the county, out of the state and out of the country who desire to use the beach.
Now that it has come to a head with Big Brother weighing in and wanting to take over everything, the problem has become worse for all three cities.
The city now needs the residents in this fight. I know from attending almost every commission meeting for eight years that there is irony in that Holmes Beach rarely listens to residents’ positive viable suggestions towards problem resolution. The city has sometimes even made the residents out to be the aggressors, offenders or violators, and would even target, taunt or treat them with less than civility. Now the city wants residents to come to their defense.
No matter how this turns out, no one is going to feel like a winner, and there will be many losers. Hopefully, we will keep our cities, and some will finally realize we only have so much space.
To the county and state, please apply the math to your parking expectations and curb your advertising. To the city, county and state, please have greater respect for neighborhoods, communities and residents. Residents are getting caught in the crossfire.
They make it sound like beach access and parking is the issue, but is it?
A four-story parking garage at the county-owned Manatee Beach would exceed the three-story height limit that the city of Holmes Beach has wisely imposed, echoed by the cities of Anna Maria and Bradenton Beach.
State Rep. Will Robinson and his colleagues are trying to break that precedent by eliminating the Island’s three cities and their pesky regulations and putting them under Manatee County control.
Third Place
Editorial
2024
But that would not only allow for the parking garage. It would open the door of Anna Maria Island to high-rise development, east coast-style.
And that is far more likely to be behind the move by Republican legislators than “fixing” the parking problem in Holmes Beach with a single garage.
The trouble with their argument is that once high-rises or even mid-rises are allowed, the garage will be obsolete, a drop in the bucket to providing beach access, which belies their true motive – the D-word. Development.
And what would happen to beach access then, with so many parking places required by multi-story vacation rentals (let’s not even bother to pretend they will be residences)?
There’s a lesson to be learned from the Martinique condo mid-rises built five decades ago. Local elected officials put the kibosh on those extra floors almost immediately after seeing the visual impact the two buildings had on what was then truly “Old Florida.”
Now that what little of Old Florida is left on the Island has been nearly completely redeveloped (also known as destroyed), it’s apparently time to redevelop it again, this time, vertically.
We’re only number two on the state’s highest-priced real estate list, according to the Wall Street Journal. We have to be number one, at all costs.
Elderly folks were the first to be priced off this Island. Then families. Now, it’s the workforce.
Soon, unless someone clears the smoke and cleans the mirrors, it may be all of us.
BRADENTON BEACH – The city commission has rejected a paid parking proposal that city staff negotiated with Easy Parking Group owner Josh LaRose.
After two and a half hours of discussion on Sept. 15, commissioners unanimously supported Commissioner Ralph Cole’s suggestion to schedule a future work meeting to continue the discussion and decision-making process that may include soliciting bids from additional operators.
Public input from Bridge Street business owners and employees helped convince the city commission and staff to slow their efforts to implement a paid parking program. All parties involved agreed that it’s crucial to address employee parking as part of any paid parking plan.
Paid parking is being considered for the unpaved parking lot near the Bradenton Beach cell tower. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Thursday’s well-attended discussion began with City Attorney Ricinda Perry providing an overview of paid parking discussions to date. She said the goal is to provide more revenues for the city without placing that financial burden on taxpayers and permanent residents who already pay the highest millage rate on the Island.
Perry said paid parking revenues would be used for three primary reasons – to increase funding for the police department; to replace, maintain or upgrade the aging city buildings, including city hall; and to improve the city’s existing parking areas.
Parking proposal
On Aug. 30, the commission discussed soliciting additional paid parking proposals but then authorized Perry and a team of city staff members to engage in direct negotiations with LaRose, whose Easy Parking Group already operates the Community Redevelopment Agency-funded Old Town Tram program.
The publicly noticed negotiations occurred at city hall on Sept. 6 and produced the proposal that Perry and LaRose presented on Sept. 15.
Perry said paid parking in 56 city-owned spaces at $3.50 per hour would generate an estimated $744,902 in revenue with the city would receiving 63%, or $469,288, and the Easy Parking Group receiving 37%, or $275,614.
The 56 parking spaces are located in the public parking lot along First Street North, behind the BridgeWalk resort, and near the police station, public works building and cell tower at the end of Highland and Church avenues.
This diagram was included in the paid parking proposal. – City of Bradenton Beach | Submitted
Public parking spaces along Bridge Street were not included in LaRose’s proposal and it was noted that not including them would result in those free parking spots being used by employees and beachgoers.
LaRose said the city would incur no upfront or ongoing costs and his company would provide all the equipment and personnel needed to implement, support and enforce a paid parking operation that would require users to enter their license plate number and pay with a credit or debit card.
Public input
During public input, Bradenton Beach Marina owner Mike Bazzy said he had some reservations about paid parking and the unintended consequences that could include more visitors and employees parking in residential areas.
“If you’re going to do paid parking, do it everywhere, not just in a few locations,” he suggested.
Bridge Street Jewelers employee Brandt Clark opposes paid parking. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Bridge Street Jewelers employee Brandt Clark presented a petition containing the signatures of 360 people who oppose paid parking. Clark asked where the employees would park and he noted those who begin working earlier in the day can’t park at Cortez Beach or Coquina Beach and ride the Old Town Tram because they don’t start running until 11 a.m. Clark said paid parking would take money out of the pockets of the employees the Bridge Street businesses depend on.
Paradise Boat Tours General Manager Sherman Baldwin said the business owners he spoke with oppose Bradenton Beach becoming the first city on the Island to implement paid parking. He said paid parking would create additional revenues for the city but wouldn’t address the lack of parking.
Mermaid Haven owner Deb Myers said the proposed plan wouldn’t resolve the issue of employees parking in spaces that could be used by customers.
Commissioner Jake Spooner said paid parking would create turnover of the existing parking spaces and allow more people to visit Bridge Street. He agreed that employee parking must be addressed, but if done right, paid parking could be a win for everybody.
BridgeWalk resort owner Angela Rodocker provides parking for her guests and employees, but she said she supports paid parking if it addresses employee parking.
Rodocker has been critical of LaRose’s operation of the Old Town Trams. She suggested the city implement paid parking on its own and not give up a significant percentage of the revenue.
Perry said a competitive bidding process might be a better route and Mayor John Chappie noted that wouldn’t prevent LaRose from submitting another proposal.
Sea-renity Beach Spa owner Amanda Escobio agreed with Rodocker’s comments and cautioned that paid parking could result in some employees deciding not to work in Bradenton Beach, which would further exacerbate the ongoing labor shortage. Island Time restaurant co-owner Ron
Fuller said he witnessed the paid parking implementation in St. Armands Circle and the initial implementation was “an absolute disaster.”
Commissioner Jan Vosburgh said, “I don’t think it’s up to the city to supply parking for businesses. You have a business and it’s up to you.”
Police Chief John Cosby agreed that employee parking is a problem, but he noted city code allows Bridge Street establishments and businesses to be built and operated without any parking requirements. Cosby said he supports paid parking but is concerned that the city is moving too fast. He also said a lot of people don’t feel comfortable with LaRose as the project operator. Some of Cosby’s other concerns are a lack of enough officers to enforce paid parking and that the city doesn’t have the staff or the experience to implement a paid parking program on its own.
MANATEE COUNTY – Despite having 12 items on the agenda for a joint meeting, the recent discussion between Holmes Beach and Manatee County commissioners kept coming back to one contentious topic – beach parking.
It may have only been March 1, but the lengthy meeting produced as many fireworks as any Fourth of July display.
Though the parking item had a time-certain discussion planned for 11 a.m. during the two-and-a-half-hour session, the topic was the proverbial elephant in the room from the start.
The meeting kicked off with public comment, during which several east county residents stated their resentment of Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth concerning traffic and an inability for some beachgoers to find parking in Holmes Beach. The onslaught of comments prompted Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge to remind speakers to remain civil in their comments and Holmes Beach Commissioner Carol Soustek to note that while Titsworth is the face of the city’s leadership, it’s the commissioners who vote to accept or deny proposed changes, including those related to parking.
Beachgoers driving into Holmes Beach have had issues finding parking spaces for years. – Kristin Swain | Sun
Beach patrol
During a discussion on beach patrol funding, Titsworth said she’d like the county to step up their financial support of the Holmes Beach Police Department, which is tasked with policing the county-owned beach, public beaches in Holmes Beach and Kingfish Boat Ramp, along with the rest of the city. While the county currently reimburses the city $46,612 for beach patrol services, Titsworth said the city pays about $150,000-160,000 per year to adequately patrol the beaches, boat ramp and beach parking.
The mayor said she’d like to see the county increase its financial support, working up to a minimum of $90,000 per year to be more in line with the amount offered to the Bradenton Beach Police Department annually for similar services, and ideally $115,000 or more to cover the entire cost of one HBPD officer.
While Titsworth acknowledged that the city of Bradenton Beach has a longer stretch of county-owned beach, she noted that Holmes Beach is a larger city and provides more public parking for beachgoers than the Anna Maria Island city to the south.
Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse said that while he appreciates Titsworth’s request for more beach patrol funding, he wanted to know what city leaders are prepared to do for the county in exchange for additional funding, a sentiment echoed by Commissioner Vanessa Baugh.
Holmes Beach Commissioner Terry Schaefer gives his opinion on parking issues in the Anna Maria Island city while Commission Chair Carol Soustek looks on. – Kristin Swain | Sun
Holmes Beach Commissioner Terry Schaefer said Holmes Beach city leaders had come to the meeting to discuss items of concern, not to try and leverage one item for another.
County Commissioner Carol Whitmore, a Holmes Beach resident, said she thinks the stretch of beach in Holmes Beach is too small to necessitate the spending of more funds to police it. County Administrator Scott Hopes said he thinks the county’s funding to Holmes Beach is complimentary to the amount given to Bradenton Beach, $125,000, given the size of the city versus the size of the county park, Manatee Beach and Kingfish Boat Ramp, within the city.
Accusations fly
When 11 a.m. finally rolled around and leaders could get to the discussion they really wanted to have, beach parking, accusations began to fly around the room on both sides.
Van Ostenbridge accused Holmes Beach leaders of having less than 1% of the population of Manatee County and closing its beaches to 99% of Manatee County residents to save its own residents.
Titsworth called out Van Ostenbridge for “weaponizing funding” in a bid to try and force city leaders’ hands to allow beach parking to go unrestricted in the small city to the detriment of Holmes Beach residents, who she pointed out, are also Manatee County residents who pay county taxes. She accused Manatee County commissioners of being unwilling to work with the city and learn the facts about what happens in the Island city and how issues affect residents and tourists alike.
At the crux of the discussion was the status of about 480 parking spaces located solely on the sides of residential streets in neighborhoods near beach accesses. Those residential streets are maintained by the city of Holmes Beach and are funded by tax dollars paid to the city, not the county. Public parking also has long been a headache for nearby residents, who often find trash and litter in their yards, people vandalizing their property, some trespassing and using their private pools and water hoses as public facilities and others defecating in their yards.
After more than a decade of discussion, 124 of those 480 spaces were designated in 2021 as Holmes Beach resident permit parking only from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily after being closed to public access since 2020. Ever since that decision was made by Holmes Beach commissioners, it’s been a sore spot between city and county leaders.
Van Ostenbridge demanded that city leaders reopen all city streets to public parking.
“You want 400 spaces?” Soustek countered. “480 parking spaces is a spit in the ocean,” she said, noting that the number of people trying to find parking in Holmes Beach regularly exceeds that amount. She added that opening residential streets to the onslaught of beach parking wouldn’t guarantee Manatee County residents a space to park, that they would still need to get up early to drive out to the Island and avoid traffic and parking stresses.
Holmes Beach Commissioner Jayne Christenson suggested county commissioners designate some of the spaces at Manatee Beach as Manatee County resident-only parking, a suggestion dismissed by county commissioners without comment.
Manatee County Commissioners Kevin Van Ostenbridge, James Satcher and Reggie Bellamy listen as Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth addresses beach parking issues. – Kristin Swain | Sun
“You’ll never have enough spaces and the people will never all be able to get out to the beach,” Titsworth said, noting all of the housing developments currently planned for Manatee County and the increase of people expected to travel to Anna Maria Island’s beaches. At about seven miles long, with about three miles of that being Holmes Beach, she said Anna Maria Island only has so much room to fit people and vehicles on.
Commissioner Terry Schaefer said residential street parking wasn’t going to be used as a bargaining chip between the city and county.
Whitmore said that while she wants to work with city leaders, she’s opposed to the permit parking system and refuses to pay for one herself. She also said she feels that Holmes Beach has too many rules, including the newly instituted city-wide 25 mph speed limit.
Getting down to business
With tensions already flaring between the two groups, Manatee County Director of Parks and Natural Resources Charlie Hunsicker offered the results of a parking study conducted by APTIM/CPE, an independent group. The field study was completed in 2020 with the report from that study dated September 2021. The study area was limited to the city of Holmes Beach and conducted on parking spaces located within a quarter-mile of beach access points and compared to a similar report from 2013.
According to that report, the city of Holmes Beach has 775 public parking spots located within a quarter-mile of public beach access points, with an additional 480 spaces that are either without signs or reserved/permit only. According to the 2013 report, there were 1,255 public parking spaces with the only change being 480 spaces converted to unsigned/reserved status. Of those 480 spaces, 124 were observed to be reserved for resident permit-only parking from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the other 356 “lost” spaces being attributed to parking obstructions and a potential increase in no parking signed areas. Signed public parking spaces in the study area actually increased by 12, with the number of unsigned spaces decreasing by 492 from 2013 to 2020, reducing driver uncertainty on where parking is allowed.
To receive beach renourishment funding, Holmes Beach is required by the state of Florida to have 364 public parking spaces located within a quarter-mile of the beach. In the city’s interlocal agreement with the county regarding beach renourishment funding, Holmes Beach is committed to having about 500 spaces within a quarter-mile of the beach. Currently, there are more than 1,200 public parking spaces, not including resident permit parking spaces, located within a quarter-mile of public beach access with more available throughout the city but located outside of the quarter-mile area.
Titsworth said she’s not only concerned with the issues residents see in neighborhoods but how those issues could also affect the city’s tourism, with more than 1,500 short-term rental properties located in residential neighborhoods. She added that for people just coming to the beach for the day, there need to be adequate restroom, trash and food facilities as well as crosswalks to get safely from parking areas to the beach.
She suggested that county leaders meet with her to work on a renegotiation of the lease for the Island Branch Library land to allow for public parking at that facility when the library is closed. She also noted that public parking is allowed at Holmes Beach City Hall. In addition, if county leaders want to use Anna Maria Elementary School’s parking spaces as public parking when the school isn’t open, she said they should go through proper permitting with the city and provide portable restroom facilities, trash cans and either a crossing guard or lighted beacon for the crosswalk across Gulf Drive.
Van Ostenbridge said he expects people to know how to cross the road when coming to the Island, dismissing the idea of having either a crossing guard or flashing beacon to alert drivers at the location.
Parking garage
Another idea floated around during the meeting was the construction of a parking garage in Holmes Beach to provide more public parking.
Titsworth suggested commissioners consider the purchase of additional property in the city to build a garage on, such as the old Bank of America building on the southeast corner of East Bay Drive and Manatee Avenue. The site is located about two blocks from the entrance to Manatee Beach.
That idea was shot down by Manatee County commissioners. Whitmore said it wasn’t worth it to the county to build a parking garage limited to the city’s 36-foot building height limitations. Titsworth said that with the height limitations in the city’s charter, it would take Holmes Beach voters casting their ballots in favor of changing it to allow for a larger garage to be built. Van Ostenbridge said he opposes purchasing additional property in Holmes Beach and if commissioners decide to build a parking garage in the city, he’d want it to be at Manatee Beach.
Another meeting between Manatee County commissioners and Holmes Beach city leaders is planned to take place in the future to continue discussions.
HOLMES BEACH – Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge wants a new parking garage to be built on Manatee Beach’s sand parking lot, but the mayor of Holmes Beach so far appears unlikely to sign off on the project.
During a Manatee County Commission meeting last week and in a letter to Holmes Beach city officials, Van Ostenbridge said he would like to look at the possibility of building a parking garage on the county-owned property at the beach at the end of Manatee Avenue to provide more public parking for beachgoers. The garage would potentially be built in the primary parking area in front of the snack bar building at the entrance to the beach on Gulf Drive.
Van Ostenbridge also stated he wants Holmes Beach city leaders to dismantle their permit parking program for residents, opening up more street parking in residential areas for public use. He also has demanded that public beach parking be allowed at the Island Branch Library and Anna Maria Elementary School when those facilities are not otherwise in use. Providing public parking at the school requires permission from the School District of Manatee County and either a special permit or site plan amendment approval from the city of Holmes Beach. Public parking at the county library branch would require an amendment to the lease between the city and county for the land under the building.
If city leaders refuse, Van Ostenbridge said he’d consider refusing to provide beach renourishment funds for the Holmes Beach coastline. However, Manatee County commissioners have limited control over the disbursement of beach renourishment funds, which come primarily from federal and state resources – including the Army Corps of Engineers and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection – and a portion of Manatee County Tourist Development Tax collections.
Though Van Ostenbridge has repeatedly said he would pull beach renourishment funds from the city to try to force Holmes Beach leaders’ hands regarding parking, it could be a double-edged sword for Manatee County, opponents say. Any reduction in beach renourishment could shrink the county’s beaches on Anna Maria Island due to rising sea levels and erosion, potentially reducing tourism to the area and damaging businesses throughout the county. Anna Maria Island generates the majority of tourism funds for Manatee County.
Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth said a parking garage is not an approved land use in the city and would potentially require the approval of an ordinance to allow the use or a special exception from city commissioners. The parking garage also would have to meet city requirements concerning maximum height (three stories), setbacks, stormwater retention and drainage and other building codes.
Titsworth has said while she’s happy to have conversations with county leaders about parking, she doesn’t feel that Holmes Beach and its residents should bear the majority of the responsibility for providing beach parking for the entire county and its visitors.
While the mayor has mentioned the possibility of the county building a parking garage in past talks concerning beach parking, she suggested building that garage off of 75th Street in Bradenton and using public transportation to get beachgoers to and from Manatee Beach.
Parking program scrutinized
Van Ostenbridge is among those who led the charge against the city of Holmes Beach regarding the public parking available for beachgoers in the Anna Maria Island city. The disagreement between county commissioners and Holmes Beach city leaders has gone on for months, stemming from a decision on the part of city leaders to enact a residential permit-only parking program on some residential streets located next to beach access points following a COVID-19-related shutdown of beach accesses in early 2020.
The permit parking program was planned for several years before becoming a reality and was designed to help lessen the negative impacts of large numbers of beachgoers in residential areas. Some issues that residents reported include people trespassing on their property, damaging property and landscaping, using exterior water hoses and pools without permission and leaving trash and other debris on lawns.
Despite Van Ostenbridge’s claims that city leaders have reduced the number of public parking spots by about 2,000 spaces, Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer, who helped implement the parking permit program, said that claim is false.
Tokajer has stated that before the COVID-19 parking closures, which have been lifted, the city had about 2,400 parking spaces, including those at beach access points, public parking areas and along the side of streets within a quarter of a mile of the beach. Now there are 1,261 parking spots that do not require a parking permit and 642 on-street parking spots that require a permit but become available to the public daily after 5 p.m. About 497 on-street parking spots were removed by city leaders in residential areas as a part of the parking changes.
Under an agreement with the county, the city provides many more spaces than the 500 or so that are required to receive beach renourishment funding, according to city officials.
