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Commissioners support latest Key Royale parking proposal

Commissioners support latest Key Royale parking proposal

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Parking along Key Royale Drive from Marina Drive to the bridge will not be limited to the north side of the street as previously discussed by city commissioners on Feb. 25.

When discussing the issue again on March 11, four of the five Holmes Beach commissioners expressed support for an alternative approach proposed by Public Works Director/City Engineer Sage Kamiya and supported by Mayor Judy Titsworth and Police Chief Bill Tokajer.

“It looks like the best way maybe to handle some of our parking issues is to move the sidewalk on the south side of the road so folks can park on either side,” Kamiya said when initiating the follow-up parking discussion on March 11.

To create enough space for legal parking along the south side of Key Royale Drive, the existing sidewalk will eventually be removed and a new sidewalk will be installed 3 feet further to the south. The new sidewalk will still be located in the city-owned right of way and not on privately-owned property.

Commissioners support latest Key Royale parking proposal
The sidewalk on the south side of Key Royale Drive will be replaced with a new sidewalk located 3 feet further to the right. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

The city’s code of ordinances already requires vehicles to be parked with all tires off the roadway and moving the sidewalk will create more space to park in accordance with that city law. City code also prohibits parking on a sidewalk and currently there’s barely enough space, or not enough space, to park with all tires off the sidewalk and the road along the south side of the street.

During the March 11 meeting, Titsworth said the latest proposal would provide the space needed for landscaping and construction vehicles to legally park alongside Key Royale Drive with all tires off the pavement.

To create more space for parking along both sides of the street those who own property between 506/507 and 532/533 Key Royale Drive will receive letters from the city asking them to remove any landscaping or other obstacles placed in the city right of way. Mailboxes and driveways do not have to be removed from the right of way but other items left in the right of way can be removed by the city.

Commissioners support latest Key Royale parking proposal
Existing landscaping elements may be impacted by the right of way clearing and the sidewalk relocation. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Commissioner Dan Diggins said the proposed solution would impact 28-29 properties and Kamiya agreed with that estimate.

Titsworth said city commission approval isn’t needed to maintain and enforce the current parking allow­ances and regulations but the sidewalk installation contract will be brought to the commission for future approval of the proposed expenditure.

Kamiya estimated the new sidewalk would cost approximately $107,000. He said funds previ­ously budgeted but not spent on a proposed Sixth Avenue sidewalk project could be used to pay for a new Key Royale Drive sidewalk.

The parking proposals stem from complaints received from Key Royale residents concerned about the safety hazards posed by land­scaping and construction vehicles parking in the road or partially in the road. Those commercial parking activities narrow the travel lanes and force drivers into the other lane and into oncoming traffic. Titsworth said Key Royale Drive serves as a main thorough­fare for hundreds of homeowners and can no longer be viewed as a side street in terms of how it’s used and regulated.

Commissioners support latest Key Royale parking proposal
Drivers are forced into the oncoming travel lane to avoid commercial vehicles parked in the street. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Commissioner Carol Soustek said, “I like the fact that they’re doing it on both sides. I heard from at least one member from Key Royale that likes it very much. I had nobody come to me and say ‘I don’t like it.’ ”

As she did during the Feb. 25 discussion, Commissioner Carol Whitmore opposed the proposed parking solution.

“It could be a potential safety issue but that could be anywhere so why wouldn’t you do it citywide?” Whitmore said. “And now we’re paying for a sidewalk, to move it, which makes no sense fiscally because it’s perfectly fine, so I won’t support this.”

Related coverage:
Alternative Key Royale parking solution proposed
Key Royale Drive parking restriction proposed

 

AM Fence Barren

Request to amend fence ordinance falls short

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – Anna Maria commissioner Amy Tripp is concerned about the increasing number of solid vinyl fences and the lack of landscaping along the city’s residential streets.

Tripp’s fellow commissioners do not share her concerns.

On Thursday, Jan. 10, Tripp made an impassioned but unsuccessful plea for the commission to consider amending the city’s fence ordinance to better address non-transparent front yard fencing and additional landscaping requirements.

When making her PowerPoint presentation, Tripp expressed her belief that the city’s governing body has a responsibility to protect and preserve the city’s natural beauty and habitat and she believes an amended fence ordinance would help accomplish that.

AM Fence Tripp
Commissioner Amy Tripp recently made an impassioned plea to amend the city’s fence ordinance. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

She did not seek to impose new restrictions on existing front yard fences or existing and future back and side yard fences.

Before making her presentation, Tripp looked at how some other Florida cities and counties address front yard fencing and landscaping.

“In Sarasota, they speak of this visual vista and that is one of the things I feel like we are starting to lose by these barrier fences that are going up in the neighborhoods,” Tripp told the commission.

She noted that Anna Maria’s existing sign ordinance prohibits masonry, stone, brick, block or concrete walls.

“This is a shared environment and I think it’s up to us to protect it.”
– Amy Tripp, Anna Maria Commissioner

Front yard fences are limited to four feet in height and side and back yards fences are limited to six feet. Tripp believes the existing fence material prohibitions reflect previous city commissions’ intent to prevent fences that create a barrier effect.

“Where did you get that that was their intent? That’s not in the ordinance,” Commissioner Doug Copeland said, noting that he never understood why those fence materials were prohibited.

Tripp’s presentation included a photo of a house at the corner of Gladiolus Street and Jacaranda Street that has vinyl front yard fencing running parallel to both streets, with landscaping behind the fence, but only shells and gravel in front of it.

“It’s not so much the material, it’s the application of it being solid. They run the fence right up to the lot line, therefore no landscaping can go on the outside of it. But notice, on the inside it’s really lush. This is a shared environment and I think it’s up to us to protect it,” Tripp said.

She showed a photo of another property with solid vinyl front yard fencing that features landscaping between it and the street.

“They moved the fence up, so they could landscape on the outside,” Tripp said when expressing her view that this creates a more desirable appearance.

AM Fence Landscaped
Commissioner Amy Tripp wishes more of Anna Maria’s front yards looked like this. – Amy Tripp | Submitted

Tripp said Collier County requires see-through front yard fencing and landscaping in the three-foot setback between the fence and the street-side right of way.

“I think we should promote this type of fencing with this type of landscaping. I want an island with green space. What I’m seeing is a sterile look,” she said.

“A person has a right to privacy on their own property,” Commissioner Brian Seymour said of those who opt for solid front yard fences.

Commissioner Carol Carter said she agrees with Tripp from an aesthetic perspective, but the residents she spoke with don’t feel they should be forced to adhere to the commission’s aesthetic preferences for fencing.

“We have so much solid, non-landscaped fencing out there now that I don’t think a change in the ordinance will make that much difference to the visual vista of the city,” Carter said.

“I think the damage is done,” Seymour said.

Repeating something he’s stated before, Commissioner Dale Woodland said he doesn’t want the city of Anna Maria to feel like one big homeowners’ association. He likes the idea of promoting fence and landscaping elements that address Tripp’s concerns, but he doesn’t want them to be mandatory.

“It’s not a safety issue, it’s a perspective issue,” Woodland said.