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Tag: Holmes Beach parking garage

City leaders continue garage fight

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – The Florida House of Representatives and Senate may have passed House Bill 947 on to Gov. Ron DeSantis’s desk, but that doesn’t mean that city leaders are done fighting against the construction of a parking garage at Manatee Beach.

During a May 9 commission meeting, Mayor Judy Titsworth and City Attorney Erica Augello said they’re exploring every available legal strategy to combat the parking garage bill which would see a three-story garage built over the current parking, concession stand, retail space and restroom facilities at the Manatee County-owned beach property. Estimated to cost $45 million to build over a minimum of two years, the garage is planned to hold 1,500-1,700 paid parking spaces, a new concession stand, retail space, restrooms and a bar. While the garage is under construction, parking at the beach, located at 4000 Gulf Drive in Holmes Beach, would be unavailable.

Currently, city leaders are asking residents and other Anna Maria Island stakeholders to write to DeSantis to encourage him to veto the bill. DeSantis can veto the bill, sign it into law, or take no action and allow it to become law. As of press time for The Sun, DeSantis had taken no action on the bill.

If the bill becomes law, Augello said she thinks there are a few ways for the city to fight it in court, however, she didn’t want to give away any available strategies during a public meeting.

Plans for a parking garage were first discussed between county and city elected officials as far back as 2021. Multi-level parking structures were never an approved land use in the city but are allowed by special exception, granted by city commissioners at a public hearing. When commissioners moved to pass an ordinance clarifying the land use restriction, Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge took the matter to county state legislative representatives, where the plan to construct the garage received unanimous support. The bill to bypass city regulations and allow the county to issue its own permits for the construction of a parking garage at the Manatee Beach property is sponsored by Rep. Will Robinson Jr., a Manatee County native.

Letter to the Editor: Timeline for destruction

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Letter to the Editor, Opinion.

How did we come to the point where some want to further destroy what used to be one of the most beautiful locations in Florida? Here is my view: Officials on Anna Maria Island responding to complaints by residents, taxpayers and voters complaining about not being able to park in front of their homes, dealing with trash, feces, urine, loud voices and general interference with what they thought was their right to peaceful existence where some have lived for 25 or 50 years. Some of these issues are driven by youthful exuberance and the use of alcohol by adults, and, in many cases, minors. When was the last time a beachgoer was cited for having alcohol on the beach? If one wanted evidence of alcohol use on the beach, simply stand outside Publix, Walgreens, and other establishments on the island selling alcoholic beverages. I get it… it is nice to have a drink on the beach, but this is not Fort Lauderdale; this is not Miami Beach. This is Anna Maria Island where one can relax and enjoy the natural surroundings of an island paradise in peace.

So after the town initiated some parking rules, some of the county’s children, sorry commissioners, demanded that parking restrictions be rescinded, and, if not, there would be consequences/repercussions. These commissioners should recognize vacationers do not vote – taxpayers/residents do. There is such a well of disappointment, anger and resolve towards these commissioners with bruised egos that there will be organized efforts to change the composition of the county commission, which I expect will be well-funded. It is also possible that because the $11 million boondoggle at the Kingfish Boat Ramp expansion was defeated, some commissioners did not get their way and they could not spend the $11 million of taxpayer’s money. So, let us spend $42 million to build the three-story monstrosity, close the café for two years, and force beachgoers to pay for parking with the end result of increasing traffic and further degrading the atmosphere of the entire island.

It was pointed out to state representatives and others that there is plenty of parking on the island, there could be accommodation offered by various organizations and the town could offer parking to county residents. It seems some commissioners want to show Anna Maria Island who is the boss.

Remember to vote in 2024.

Paul Reed Steberger

Holmes Beach

Garage bill rolling through House

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

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.

Parking garage bill speeds through committees

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

TALLAHASSEE – A bill proposing to build a three-story, 1,500-plus-space parking garage in Holmes Beach is speeding toward approval.

House Bill 947, proposed by Manatee County Rep. Will Robinson Jr., passed the Regulatory Reform and Economic Development Subcommittee on March 22 with the unanimous approval of all members present at the Florida House of Representatives with a change to line 15, submitted by Robinson, addressing the enforcement of the bill. The line states that the parking garage can be constructed within the “territorial boundaries of the city of Holmes Beach, without obtaining any permit, approval, consent, or letter of no objection from the city of Holmes Beach.”

The bill is now in the State Affairs Committee for consideration before moving to the House floor for a vote. If the bill passes those two votes, it moves on to the Florida Senate for consideration. If approved there, it would go to Gov. Ron DeSantis’s desk on July 1 to be vetoed or signed into law.

Though not in Tallahassee this week, Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse appeared before the Local Administration, Federal Affairs and Special Districts Subcommittee on March 15 to voice his support for the bill.

In a talk with The Sun, Kruse said he was in the state capitol for another matter, but the trip coincided with the first committee hearing on the parking garage bill and he wanted to lend support to Robinson.

The hearing was also attended by Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth along with several members of city staff. Titsworth, along with many Island residents and property owners, opposes the construction of a parking garage at Manatee Beach, which is owned by Manatee County but located in Holmes Beach. City leaders passed an ordinance in 2022 banning the construction of multi-level parking garages in the city except by special exception. Though parking garages were previously not an allowable land use in the city without a special exception, the passage of the ordinance bolstered the prohibition after county commissioners began discussing the possibility of building a parking garage in the city as an answer to beachgoer parking constraints.

Kruse said that while he understands that a special exception hearing before city commissioners could have been undertaken by the county, he thinks it would have been a waste of time, effort and taxpayer money due to city commissioners’ passage of the parking garage ban, resulting in county commissioners pushing the matter to the state level.

As of press time for The Sun, Kruse is the only Manatee County commissioner to have taken Titsworth up on her offer to tour the city’s available beach parking. Kruse said he embarked on the parking tour following a town hall meeting he held at the Island Branch Library, and said he spent more than two hours touring city streets and talking with the mayor about parking.

“We looked at probably 100% of the parking spaces,” Kruse said. “I said it when I was up in Tallahassee, I 100% gave Holmes Beach credit. What they’re working on right now is great. What they’re working on is going to be much more hospitable, much more welcoming to residents of Manatee County, staycationers and tourists.”

Holmes Beach city leaders are working to remove sign pollution, placing green numbered parking spot indicators near beach access points and working on an interactive app, with the installation of parking sensors, that can alert visitors to where available parking is located in real-time. The city also provides a map on its website that identifies public parking areas.

“I think everything that Holmes Beach is doing is amazing. It’s great. It’s going to make a world of difference,” Kruse said, adding that he feels that the bill at the state level may be pushing city leaders to work to resolve parking issues.

And though he said the city is addressing parking in as much as they have the capacity to do so, he doesn’t feel the solutions or even the proposed parking garage will fix all of the parking and traffic issues on Anna Maria Island. Even with the loss of the 400-plus parking spaces currently available at Manatee Beach, the parking garage would net 1,000 or more parking spaces, which Kruse said could potentially help provide more spaces for Manatee County residents and visitors.

“I do not think putting a parking garage there is going to fix our parking problem,” he said. “I support the concept of the parking garage. I support Rep. Robinson’s bill.”

“At the end of the day this is a large project in a large CIP within the county that has hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars of projects,” Kruse said. “So, I need numbers first. I need financials first. I’m a realist and I’m somebody who assesses everything with facts. So, I, at the end of the day, need to see where is $30-45 million coming from? What is the timeline for completion? What are we going to do with 400-plus parking spots in the interim during construction? That’s information I don’t have yet because the bill hasn’t passed yet, so we haven’t gone through it. We get to our CIP discussions in the summer when we go through budget, so this hasn’t come up specifically. I support the concept of allowing the county a very reasonable height and reasonable footprint to build additional parking for citizens of the county. Is it 100% guaranteed it’s going to get built? Probably. I know my board. ButamI100%soldonit?Ineedtosee where those numbers are coming from. Is that the best use of $45 million? And maybe it is. I support the concept. I support the idea of giving us the option. And I think that’s the heart and soul of it.”

Kruse added that he feels there could be better answers to the parking and traffic congestion issues on the Island, primarily the installation of a third lane on the Anna Maria Island Bridge along Manatee Avenue to allow for a dedicated first responder and transit lane. With a dedicated transit lane, he said he feels people would be more likely to ride a shuttle service to the beach with their gear if it allowed them to bypass traffic. The reconstruction of the Anna Maria Island Bridge is on the Florida Department of Transportation’s project priorities list but is unfunded.

Parking garage bill in high gear

Parking garage bill in high gear

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Holmes Beach.

TALLAHASSEE – A bill in the Florida House of Representatives to circumvent Holmes Beach ordinances and build a three-story, 1,500-plus space parking garage has passed its first roadblock on the way to becoming a reality.

HB 947, proposed by Manatee County Rep. Will Robinson Jr., passed the Federal Affairs and Special Districts subcommittee with a unanimous vote on March 15 despite Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth, City Attorney Erica Augello and other city staff members making a trip to the Florida Capitol to speak in person during the meeting.

After the subcommittee meeting, Titsworth said she was disappointed but not surprised at the outcome.

“We knew ahead of time that they had the vote,” Titsworth said in a statement to The Sun. “We still went so we could at least and on record state our position. The staff did great. This is Florida government at its finest, unfortunately, and an exercise on what to expect when a city takes a stance on quality of life issues. We will continue to fight for home rule and to save our public beach.”

During a March 14 city commission meeting, Augello and Titsworth both spoke about the hearing. The required economic impact statement filed with the bill and signed by Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Elliott Falcione states that the proposed garage with a minimum of 1,500 parking spaces is forecast to bring in $4,698,900 in the first fiscal year after its completion and $4,823,300 in the second fiscal year. The garage is expected to cost $45 million to build with $400,000 in annual maintenance afterwards. Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge said the garage’s parking spaces would have to be paid parking, around $2 per hour, to help pay for the construction and maintenance. The reasons for building the garage include providing additional public parking spaces for beachgoers and giving visitors more places to park to visit local businesses.

During the March 14 meeting, Titsworth said that she doesn’t think the ultimate goal of Manatee County commissioners, who first proposed the garage, is to provide beach parking for locals but to provide parking for businesses in Bradenton Beach and Anna Maria.

“It could turn into a bus depot to get other people to other parts of the Island,” Titsworth said of the garage. While Holmes Beach city leaders require businesses to absorb their own parking onsite or at an adjacent site, that isn’t the case in Anna Maria and Bradenton Beach, where businesses often have limited dedicated parking.

The bill becomes effective if it passes three committees in the House along with a floor vote and passes the same process in the Senate and is signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis. If that happens, Manatee County commissioners can skip all city approvals and permits to issue their own permits for the construction of the parking garage on the county-owned property at Manatee Beach, located in the city at 4000 Gulf Drive. Van Ostenbridge previously said the new garage would include new bathroom, concession and retail facilities at the public beach. The garage is planned to cover the majority of the county-owned parcel, from the setback on the south next to West Coast Surf Shop to Gulf Drive. According to the bill, the garage is anticipated to not break the city’s three-story height restriction except for the elevator shaft going to the top floor of parking.

City leaders passed an ordinance in 2022 specifying that parking garages are not an allowable land use in the city. The ordinance was a clarification as parking garages historically have not been a use in Holmes Beach except by special exception.

Van Ostenbridge, who said he’d planned to propose a parking garage on the county-owned parcel before city commissioners passed the ordinance, said he felt like city leaders “kept moving the goalpost” so he broached the issue with the Manatee County legislative delegation, who voiced their support of the project during a January meeting. The proposed bill was born from there.

Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said that he patrolled the city over a busy spring break weekend March 10-12 and found that parking wasn’t completely gone despite more than 35,000 cars coming into Holmes Beach each day.

On Saturday, Tokajer said the public beach parking lot was filled by 11 a.m. with 79 public parking spaces empty citywide at noon and 52 available at 3 p.m. On Sunday, he said the beach lot filled at 10:30 a.m. but there were still 88 spaces near the beach open at 11:50 a.m. He said those numbers didn’t include any of the available spaces in city lots or open church lots that welcome visitor parking.

Titsworth said that Robinson and Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse both took her up on an invitation to view the city’s available parking first-hand and that both were impressed with the amount of available parking. By the time Robinson toured the city, the bill had already been submitted for consideration. Kruse was noted during the March 15 hearing as lending his support to the proposed parking garage bill despite not appearing in person in Tallahassee.

Since the first approval, the parking garage bill has moved to the Regulatory Reform and Economic Development subcommittee. If it passes there, it goes to the State Affairs Committee before a House floor vote.

Letter to the Editor: Parking garage won’t solve problems

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Letter to the Editor, Opinion.

On March 1, I attended a Town Hall Meeting in Holmes Beach conducted by County Commissioner George Kruse. The main topic of the meeting was the traffic issues on Anna Maria Island and the proposed parking garage. Kruse listened politely, but he had obviously made up his mind that a parking garage should be built in Holmes Beach.

His decision was made with no input from any residents of Anna Maria Island, the people who will be most affected by the building of the parking garage. It’s disappointing that all the county commissioners, Rep. Robinson and Rep. Boyd did not take the time to meet with their Anna Maria Island constituents to gather additional input on a decision of this magnitude. What Kruse did not tell the audience is that the day before the Town Hall Meeting he had voted, along with the other County Commissioners, to endorse the parking garage. He has subsequently stated he is in favor of House Bill 947, legislation that would authorize a parking garage in county-managed public parks such as at Manatee Beach.

Kruse did admit that Anna Maria Island does not have a “visitor” problem, but rather has a traffic problem. His solution to reducing traffic on Anna Maria Island is to build a parking garage that Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge has stated could add 1,500 additional parking spaces.  How does the building of a 1,500-stall parking garage reduce traffic coming onto Anna Maria Island? Won’t providing 1,500 additional parking spaces only add to the traffic problem? Why aren’t the county commissioners, Rep. Robinson and Rep. Boyd pursuing other options that would allow visitors to Anna Maria Island while reducing traffic as actively as they are pursuing a parking garage? Why aren’t they moving more quickly to find other solutions such as off-island parking facilities, shuttle services or other mass transit options to reduce the number of cars coming onto Anna Maria Island?

Jeff Dentz

Holmes Beach

One proposed bill would pave way for parking garage at Manatee Beach

One proposed bill would pave way for parking garage at Manatee Beach

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – There’s a bill in the Florida House of Representatives that would allow a three-story parking garage to cover the entire parking lot at the Manatee County-owned Manatee Beach.

If HB 947 passes both houses and is signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Island visitors and residents could be facing at least two years of construction, according to Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge.

The possibility of a parking garage first came up during a 2022 meeting between county and city leaders to discuss issues related to beachgoer parking in Anna Maria Island’s largest city. Later in the year, city leaders passed an ordinance banning parking garages in Holmes Beach, though a special exception for the use could still be sought with approval of the city commission. In a talk with The Sun last week, Van Ostenbridge said he’d planned to move forward with a proposal for a parking garage on the county-owned beach property but felt that city leaders “kept moving the goalpost.” So, he posed the issue to state legislators.

If the parking garage is approved at the state level, the proposed structure would be three stories tall, remaining within the city’s height restrictions – unlike previous garage plans of four stories – but still two stories higher than the existing concession stand. The exception to the height restriction would be the elevator shaft, which would extend above the top level of the garage to allow beachgoers to access rooftop parking.

The structure would only require building permits from the county, not from the city where it would be located, according to the bill.

Van Ostenbridge said the proposed structure would stretch across the entirety of the parcel –  from the 10-foot required setback on the south side at West Coast Surf Shop to the northern boundary of Gulf Drive – and house between 1,500-1,700 parking spaces along with new restroom, concession and retail facilities. The cost of the project is estimated at $45 million.

Van Ostenbridge said construction would take about two years. During those two years, the currently existing 427 parking spaces at the public beach would be unavailable, so he said all of the residential streets on the Island would have to be opened to public parking to accommodate beachgoers. Currently, all three Island cities have limited public parking available on residential streets, requiring all four tires of a vehicle parked street-side to be off the pavement.

Once the garage is completed, Van Ostenbridge said that parkers would have to pay a nominal fee to use the garage spaces, such as $2 per hour, to help the county recoup the money spent to build the structure.

Holmes Beach mayor’s response

In a letter last week to county commissioners, Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth reiterated her opposition to the proposed parking garage and urged state and county leaders to come to the Island to see the currently available parking and how it’s used by beachgoers.

“As mayor of one of the many cities in Manatee County, I once again welcome each of you on a tour,” Titsworth said in the letter. “I understand decisions have and will continue to be made by your board, many of which will have a profound effect on the quality of life for our citizens, guests and business owners. I hope that you will each be able to gain valuable knowledge as to why Holmes Beach is not only one of the most special places on earth to live but also an extremely popular tourist destination to which people come from all over the world each year to visit.

“For the past three years now, Holmes Beach citizens have found to be on our heels defending against false narratives by county leaders,” she wrote. “These stem from city leaders finally putting a limit on the number of secondary beach parking that could safely be accommodated in residential neighborhoods. I hope that you will accept my offer for a visit as this will not only provide you with the needed insights in making sound decisions but will allow you to see that as citizens of Manatee County, we have always been and continue to be part of the solution. The lack of available parking for county residents is not a result of parking limitations at the beaches. It is a result of growth in our county which is evidenced by the hours spent sitting in traffic trying to get to and from work on weekdays and to get to and from the beach on weekends and holidays.”

On March 3, Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said that over the previous seven days, Holmes Beach had an average of 31,099 cars per day coming into the city. Titsworth said there are 4,783 parking spaces available in Holmes Beach for beachgoers, including those at vacation rental properties. Over 2,000 of those are public parking spaces.

Van Ostenbridge said that he doesn’t feel that Holmes Beach is at maximum capacity for beachgoers on average, with the exception being the highest points of tourist season, which is typically the most crowded in mid-March. Titsworth disagrees.

“There will never be enough,” she said in a Feb. 28 commission meeting. “There will never be enough parking spaces to accommodate everyone who wants to come to the beach.”

Letter to the Editor: Show some respect

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Letter to the Editor, Opinion.

I have to express my disappointment at the lack of respect and consideration the Holmes Beach commission gave to the two residents that got up to speak at Tuesday’s meeting.

The residents of our city have been working day and night to save our city from a potential takeover. It wasn’t as if there was a room full of people that wanted to speak. There were just two. Giving them 2 minutes to talk was an insult.

Residents have been writing letters and offering their expertise to form web pages, research documents, write letters, design yard signs and collect petitions.

If they think they can resolve the lack of communicating with legislators and initiating controversial plans such as the elimination of parking and garage bans on their own, I personally think they are not facing reality. Right now, they need the support of their residents more than ever.

I’m afraid they have just shown a lot of us that our opinions are not worth their time.

Very sad for us and for the future of our city.

Renee Ferguson

Holmes Beach

Island officials unite to preserve home rule

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Anna Maria Island’s elected officials are uniting to preserve home rule in the face of recent attempts by state legislators to circumvent local parking ordinances and fund a study to determine if the Island’s three cities should be dissolved.

Not only the central city on the Island, but also the one central to a debate at the state level, Holmes Beach has a prohibition against parking garages that state legislators have threatened to overturn. City leaders took a few moments during a Jan. 24 city commission meeting to address that issue and that of dissolving the Island cities.

It was standing room only in city hall chambers as residents, property owners and other stakeholders came out to show their support to Mayor Judy Titsworth and city commissioners. More joined the meeting online through Zoom.

Titsworth thanked everyone in attendance for their “outpouring of support” and vowed to do everything possible to fight back against the state’s encroachment into home rule of the Island, the ability of local governments to govern themselves.

While she said she and the two mayors from Bradenton Beach and Anna Maria would be meeting on Jan. 30 to discuss options and strategy, she wouldn’t be discussing those things publicly so as to not give state legislators the upper hand.

During a January legislative delegation meeting, Rep. Will Robinson Jr. proposed putting a bill forth in the upcoming state legislative session to install a four-story parking garage at Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach. Installation of a parking garage would undermine city ordinances that prohibit parking garages in the city and would break the city’s three-story building height limitation, which is written into the municipality’s charter. While parking garages were never an approved use in Holmes Beach, the ordinance officially stating that was not passed until 2022, after a meeting with Manatee County commissioners to discuss beach parking issues.

Titsworth said that Robinson, Rep. Jim Boyd and Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge were informed prior to the discussion that parking garages were not an allowable use in the city but that they could submit for a change of use. She said no one from the county, which owns the Manatee Beach property, ever did.

“There’s lots of misinformation from the county,” she said. “I’m over this. We’re not trying to privatize the Island. We’re a far cry from a private island.”

Robinson also proposed having a state-funded agency do a feasibility study to determine if the three Island city governments should be dissolved, putting the Island under the control of Manatee County commissioners. Consolidation of the three cities also has been discussed.

Florida Statutes 165.061(3)(b) requires that if a municipal government is dissolved by a special act of the state Legislature, a neighboring municipality would have to demonstrate that it is willing and able, including financially, to “provide necessary services to the municipal area proposed for dissolution.” Other statutory requirements prohibit the municipality to be dissolved from being “substantially surrounded by other municipalities.”

Data from the Florida League of Cities shows that only 11 municipalities have been dissolved since 1977 and only two of those were by special act of the state Legislature.

Commissioner Terry Schaefer, who attended the legislative delegation meeting, said that no one in the three Island city governments received prior notification about the parking garage proposal or the state-funded study.

“I think it showed a great deal of disrespect to everyone who lives on and loves this Island,” he said, noting that the dissolution study is “a stark warning to every community in Florida.”

“It’ll be really sad if there comes a time when all of our little coastal cities are gone,” Titsworth said.

“We’re not going to get into a fight,” Commissioner Carol Soustek said. “We want to move forward carefully and legally.”

Though the city’s elected officials committed to doing everything they can to halt both the parking garage and the attempt to dissolve the Island cities, they also encouraged all residents, property owners, visitors and stakeholders to lend their voices to the fight by reaching out to local and state representatives with their opinions on the two issues.

Schaefer also appeared on Jan. 26 at a ManaSota League of Cities meeting in Longboat Key on behalf of Holmes Beach. He was joined by Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie and representatives from several other local municipalities. The group agreed to draft and send a letter to the state Legislature and local delegation in support of the three Anna Maria Island cities remaining as-is and decrying the state’s potential intrusion into home rule.

Letter to the Editor: Try ‘park and ride’

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Letter to the Editor, Opinion.

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.

Christopher Proudlove

Bradenton Beach

AMI fights back against state representatives

AMI fights back against state representatives

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News, Featured.

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.

AMI fights back against state representatives
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.”

AMI fights back against state representatives
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.”

Parking garages on chopping block

Parking garages on chopping block

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Parking garages are one step closer to being officially banned in Anna Maria Island’s largest city.

Commissioners have voted unanimously to pass the first reading of an ordinance banning multi-level parking structures in the city. The ordinance will have a final public hearing and vote in August.

Though parking garages are not currently an allowable use in Holmes Beach, they aren’t exactly prohibited either. Under the proposed ordinance, multi-level buildings with parking would be allowed with parking on the bottom floor. However, any parking above the bottom floor would be prohibited.

City Planner Bill Brisson said that anyone wishing to build a multi-level building with parking on the bottom and a business on an upper floor would likely have to build that structure in the city’s mixed-use commercial district, noting that the ordinance does not prohibit any other type of parking lot from the city.

Commissioner Carol Soustek said she doesn’t feel that the addition of a parking garage to the city would help solve any of the parking or traffic concerns of residents or visitors.

Mayor Judy Titsworth presented updated visitor parking numbers to commissioners. She said there are 775 parking spaces available at beach accesses and other public parking areas, another 81 parking spaces at the public beach, 3,702 parking spaces at vacation rental properties and 225 spaces at motels in the city, for a total of 4,783 visitor parking spaces.

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Parking garage poses problems for commissioners

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Parking is still creating problems for city commissioners.

Commissioners relaunched a conversation concerning banning parking garages in the city during a June 28 work session. Unfortunately for them, that conversation became a bit murky as they started examining regulations concerning off-site parking and parking for businesses that requires drivers to back out onto busy roads.

At the urging of Mayor Judy Titsworth, commissioners agreed to move the ordinance to a first reading for further discussion and revision due to a shortened meeting schedule for the summer.

The discussion began with a talk about disallowing multi-level parking structures, or garages, within the city. Multi-level parking garages currently are not an approved use in any zoning district in Holmes Beach, but could be approved through a special exception. If the proposed regulations pass, the special exception approval avenue would be lost. While commissioners are not opposed to covered parking, the proposed ordinance states that parking can only take place on the ground floor. It does not prohibit a dwelling unit or business on the second floor.

If it passes two public hearings and votes by commissioners, the proposed ban on parking garages would derail plans by Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge to pursue a parking garage.

When the topic was broached previously during a Holmes Beach commission work session, Van Ostenbridge stepped up to the podium during public comment to warn city commissioners away from the proposed ban, stating that he was planning to present a proposal for a parking garage at the county-owned public beach. He left before the discussion began but told Titsworth that he was listening to the meeting on Zoom.

Though commissioners could agree on the parking garage issue, the discussion derailed a bit when they ventured into other items, including how and where to allow off-site parking for businesses. City Attorney Erica Augello warned commissioners that any change they made to current off-site parking regulations would affect existing businesses and commercial properties if those properties ever were to undergo major renovations or need to be rebuilt.

Augello noted that paid parking is already disallowed in all districts in the city.

In an additional parking discussion, Police Chief Bill Tokajer said that city leaders had spoken with representatives from Hancock Whitney Bank. During that conversation, he said that while the bank’s representatives were willing to continue the beach parking agreement with the city, they weren’t happy with the arrangement, which was causing issues for bank customers.

He added that the tow-away zone signs placed in the lot by the bank caused confusion for beachgoers and that the parking wasn’t well used by visitors. Tokajer recommended not attempting to re-enter into a beach parking agreement with the bank.

“I can’t find a compelling reason to reopen it,” Commissioner Terry Schaefer said of the lot. He added that the city doesn’t get a benefit from Manatee County by having the lot open to beachgoers after hours and the insurance for the parking costs the city money.

“I think the bank did a really nice public service for our Island and our visitors,” Commissioner Jayne Christenson said. “I commend them.”

Commissioners opted to not move forward with attempting to renew the parking contract.

 

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Gloves come off in parking garage discussion

Gloves come off in parking garage discussion

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – The gloves are off in the fight between city leaders and Manatee County Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge after the county commissioner made an appearance during a city commission work session.

With the possibility of a parking garage ban in Holmes Beach on the agenda, commissioners weren’t surprised when Van Ostenbridge wanted to share his opinion on the issue. After being welcomed by city commissioners, he stepped up to the podium during public comment to issue a warning against the potential prohibition of parking garages in the city.

“Think long and hard before you make this decision,” he said, stating that prior city commission decisions have resulted in county commissioners rejecting funding requests.

“How do I say this politely? It’s not an accident that the governor vetoed $2 million in funding for the city,” Van Ostenbridge said, insinuating that the recent cut made by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the state’s budget removing appropriation funds for water quality in the city was related to parking discussions.

“There will be good or bad consequences to what is decided here today,” he said, adding a warning to commissioners to be thoughtful in their deliberations.

After speaking to commissioners, Van Ostenbridge left the June 14 meeting but told Mayor Judy Titsworth later that he listened to the ensuing discussion on Zoom.

“I’m sorry he couldn’t stay,” Titsworth said when the parking garage discussion began on the dais. She noted that with taxable property values in the city increasing over 200% in the current fiscal year and Holmes Beach accounting for 37% of all bed tax funds collected by the county, it’s not in county leaders’ best interests to threaten withholding funding to the city.

“You want to protect the golden goose,” she said.

After the meeting, Titsworth posted a video response to Van Ostenbridge’s comments on the city’s YouTube channel restating her position.

“I too am sorry the commissioner chose to not listen to our response to his threats,” Commissioner Terry Schaefer said. “It’s sad how this county commission is run, putting a gun to our heads.” He went on to say that he feels that with all the tax dollars going to the county from Holmes Beach, the city is getting “a very poor return on our investment.”

In the past 10 years, more than $30 million has been funneled to the county through tourist tax dollars, Schaefer said, adding he believes the city has only received about $141,000 of those funds back for parks projects. He said he’s not in favor of parking garages in the city and felt that allowing them would only serve to help the county solve its issues created by overmarketing of Anna Maria Island and its beaches.

Commissioner Carol Soustek said she wants to see long-term traffic and mobility solutions to address issues and help residents and beachgoers coming from county commissioners rather than threats. She said that she doesn’t think adding more places to park would solve the problems facing city and county residents, primarily traffic congestion, public safety and failing infrastructure.

During his comments, Van Ostenbridge said that he was planning to put together a plan to present to city commissioners over the summer for a parking garage to be constructed at the county-owned Manatee Beach.

While the prohibition of parking garages was on the city work session agenda, parking garages are currently not an allowable use in the city, nor is paid parking. To allow a parking garage to be constructed at the beach would require an ordinance change, site plan approval and potentially an in- crease of the current height limit in Holmes Beach. The height limit now would only allow for a three-story structure.

Despite Van Ostenbridge’s comments, Titsworth noted that the discussion had been placed on the agenda not because of the potential for a parking garage at the public beach but because the property owner of the former Wells Fargo Bank location at the corner of Marina and Gulf drives was seeking city staff guidance to determine what uses could be al- lowed on the property. She said no formal proposal for the site had been given to city staff, which committed to looking at potential ideas for the site and other nearby vacant commercial properties for future commission discussion.

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