BRADENTON BEACH – The city is moving forward with its plan to implement a paid parking program as the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) plans to issue an RFP seeking bids from interested paid parking program equipment providers and operators.
On May 3, CRA members directed City Attorney Ricinda Perry to draft the paid parking RFP based in part on input previously provided by Mayor John Chappie, Public Works Director Tom Woodard, Police Chief John Cosby and the city commission.
The city-owned portion of the parking lot behind the BridgeWalk resort will be included in the paid parking RFP. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Paid parking is expected to include the city-owned portion of the public parking lot off First Street North (behind the BridgeWalk resort), the public parking spaces near the cell tower, the police department headquarters and Lou Barolo park and the city hall parking lot after regular city business hours.
Paid parking is not expected to include the city-owned parking spaces alongside Bridge Street, the privately owned parking spaces along Bridge Street or the city-owned parking spaces near the Bradenton Beach Historic Pier.
The city-owned parking spaces along Bridge Street are not expected to be included in the RFP. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
CRA member Jake Spooner expressed his concern that not including the Bridge Street parking spaces in the initial paid parking program would result in Bridge Street-area employees monopolizing the remaining free parking spaces. As he’s done during past discussions, Spooner said paid parking in the city-owned Bridge Street parking would result in more of those parking spaces being available for customers who visit the Bridge Street businesses.
In response, Cosby expressed support for not including the Bridge Street spaces in the initial RFP. He encouraged the CRA members to pursue the other parking locations first and then evaluate the success of those locations before potentially including Bridge Street in the paid parking program.
During past discussions, Cosby expressed support for paid parking in part because it would create a new and additional revenue source for the city, with those revenues generated primarily by tourists and visitors rather than the city’s remaining permanent residents and taxpayers.
The Chiles Hospitality group has a privately owned paid parking lot in Bradenton Beach, near the BeachHouse restaurant.- Joe Hendricks | SunEasy Parking Group owner Joshua LaRose provides the CRA-funded Old Town Tram Parking shuttles. He also already provides paid parking equipment and oversight for the Chiles Hospitality group’s privately-owned paid public parking lot near the BeachHouse restaurant in Bradenton Beach, and Chiles Hospitality’s privately-owned paid public parking lot near the Sandbar restaurant in Anna Maria. Both of those paid parking lots are open to the public, including beachgoers, and are not restricted to restaurant patrons.
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.
BRADENTON BEACH – The Chiles Group hopes to implement paid parking in the Third Street North parking lot across the street from the Beach House restaurant.
As a precursor, the Chiles Group charged $30 for beach parking in the lot during the Labor Day weekend. Earlier this year, the Chiles Group began operating a paid public parking lot in Anna Maria, near the Sandbar restaurant.
This beach parking sign was placed near the BeachHouse parking lot during Labor Day weekend. – Submitted
In a separate paid parking action, the Bradenton Beach City Commission directed city staff on Aug. 30 to enter into negotiations with the Easy Parking Group to implement a paid parking pilot program. The city’s program will include the city-owned portion of the parking lot on First Street North, behind the BridgeWalk resort, and the parking spaces near the police department and public works buildings near Highland Avenue.
Review process
Bradenton Beach Building Official Steve Gilbert is currently reviewing the Chiles Group’s proposed paid parking plans.
“This would be the Third Street North parking lot, which was approved as offsite parking with valet service several years back,” Gilbert said when contacted by The Sun.
Gilbert was asked if paid parking is allowed in Bradenton Beach.
“I cannot find anything in our land development code or comprehensive plan that would differentiate between free or paid parking lots. We have prohibited parking structures, but again, even that prohibition says nothing about whether the parking is free or paid. Where site plan approval is in place for parking, is there a change of use for parking if a fee is required? If it’s valet parking with a tip, does that change the use? No, the use is parking. Whether the parking is free, valet or paid does not change the use as far as our land development code is concerned,” he said.
Gilbert discussed the city’s plans to implement a paid parking program.
“Given the city’s actions on Aug. 30, I would be hard-pressed to treat any private entity differently from the city on this matter. If the city wants to proceed down the road to paid parking on city-owned property, and our LDC doesn’t differentiate between free versus paid parking, how can we treat private properties differently?” Gilbert said.
“If the zoning allows parking onsite or offsite, how does free versus paid change the use unless it’s a stand-alone proposition? For example, three lots in a residential neighborhood where the owner wants to put in a parking lot for beach parking and charge a fee to park – or maybe free parking with a tip box at the entrance/exit. Is a standalone parking lot, not as associated with a principal use, allowed in our LDC? No, it’s not an allowable use, whether it’s free, tips or paid. It’s not about money, it’s zoning and land use allowed through the comp plan,” Gilbert said.
“I do understand how a business plan for a new development might warrant discussion on this issue. For existing development approvals, there is no existing trigger or threshold established by city ordinance. So, for now, free, versus tips, versus paid parking, does not trigger a change of use. It’s a parking lot,” Gilbert said.
The Chiles Group already operates a paid parking lot in Anna Maria. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Providing some additional insight, City Attorney Ricinda Perry said, “If someone has a parking plan approved by the city and wants to charge for their patrons to use the spots, that’s a business decision for them and not a land use regulation for the city. Steve and I both agree that ELRA Inc. (the Chiles Group) will need to continue providing the requisite number of spaces required for their patrons and employees.”
The Beach House also has parking lots located directly north and south of the restaurant building, along the west side of Gulf Drive.
BRADENTON BEACH – City officials soon will begin negotiating with Easy Parking Group owner Josh LaRose to create a paid parking program on city-owned lots.
The commission unanimously authorized City Attorney Ricinda Perry, Police Chief John Cosby and other members of the city team on Aug. 30 to enter into direct contract negotiations with LaRose to implement a paid parking pilot program that provides the city the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of the initial program before entering into a long-term contract.
“I figured I’d put it on the agenda and see what everyone else’s thoughts are,” Commissioner Jake Spooner said when initiating the paid parking discussion.
“Paid parking can give us a nice stream of revenue without raising the millage or doing other things to raise the funds that are needed,” he added, noting that paid parking revenues could help subsidize the city’s police department.
Commissioner Jake Spooner requested the paid parking discussion. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
As part of his research, Spooner engaged in preliminary discussions with LaRose, who for the past two years has provided the trams and drivers for the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA)-funded Old Town Tram parking shuttle program.
LaRose’s Sarasota-based company provides and manages the paid parking kiosk located in one of the Sandbar restaurant’s overflow parking lots in Anna Maria. He also provides and manages paid parking systems in downtown Sarasota, St. Armands Circle and Venice.
Easy Parking Group owner Josh LaRose presented his paid parking proposal to the city commission. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Spooner said paid parking would help create more turnover and make more parking spaces available to those who visit the CRA district, which includes Bridge Street.
Agreeing with Spooner’s statement, LaRose said a paid parking program would also encourage those who don’t want to pay for parking to park in the nearby Cortez Beach parking lot and use the free Old Town Trams to get to their destinations in the CRA district.
LaRose proposed a pilot program creating paid parking in the city-owned portion of the lot located between First Street North and the backside of the BridgeWalk resort, and the city-owned spaces near the police station and public works building along Highland Avenue.
The city-owned parking spaces near the police station are included in the paid parking proposal. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Spooner suggested the public parking spaces along Bridge Street could also be used for paid parking to help discourage employee parking in those spaces. That option might be presented for future discussion.
Private parking lots generally charge $4.50 to $5 an hour, LaRose said. For Bradenton Beach, he proposed charging $3.50 an hour, which could be increased, decreased or waived as needed with users paying using onsite payment kiosks or their cell phones. Cosby said he liked the idea of potentially increasing the parking rate on certain holidays to help control the number of visitors coming to the city.
LaRose suggested allowing Bradenton Beach residents to park for free or at a discounted rate using their city-issued hurricane re-entry tags or a parking decal to be issued by the city.
“We’re really only taxing the visitors that come here,” he said.
This payment kiosk in the Sandbar restaurant’s overflow parking lot in Anna Maria provides paid public parking for beachgoers and others. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Using a conservative estimate, LaRose said the proposed 56 parking spaces would generate between $240,000 to $343,000 in net revenues per year, depending on whether his company provides a full-time parking ambassador who’s paid an hourly rate to enforce the paid parking.
LaRose said his company uses the same parking enforcement technology that’s used by police departments. He said his company’s enforcement aimed primarily at educating users but can result in boots being placed on vehicles if needed.
The enforcement costs will depend on whether his company receives 100% of the revenues generated by the parking citations issued by his employees, LaRose said. A typical enforcement period is 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., but his company enforces parking in downtown Sarasota until 2 a.m. and in some parking lots, enforcement begins at 8 a.m.
LaRose said there would be no start-up costs or out-of-pocket expenses for the city. He proposes a 50-50 split of the net parking revenues that remain after equipment, signs, enforcement and other expenses are deducted. The city commission favors a 60-40 split. LaRose said the revenue sharing can be further negotiated before an agreement is finalized.
Cosby said it’s important to designate in advance how the paid parking revenues will be spent. He suggested using some of those revenues to replace the aging city hall building. Commissioner Ralph Cole said some of the revenue needs to be used to for additional funding of the city police department that has to deal with the increased enforcement needs created by the large number of visitors coming to Bradenton Beach.
Mayor John Chappie asked if the city is required to put the paid parking services out to bid so other companies can submit proposals. Perry said the city’s procurement policy allows the municipality to enter into direct negotiations with LaRose because he already serves as the CRA’s contracted parking tram provider, adding that the discussions must be conducted in a public setting in accordance with Florida’s Government in the Sunshine Law. Cosby noted the Easy Parking Group is a local company and said he and city staff already have a good working relationship with LaRose.
BRADENTON BEACH – Paid parking and potential future millage increases were primary topics of discussion during the city commission’s July 12 budget meeting.
The tentative budget discussed on Tuesday proposes $4.17 million in total city expenditures – an increase of $584,618 from the current fiscal year that ends on Sept. 30.
The commission intends to maintain the current 2.3329 millage rate for the 2022-23 fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1.
A significant portion of the city’s expenses will be covered by the $2,005,086 the city anticipates receiving in ad valorem property tax revenues. Due to skyrocketing property values, the city anticipates a significant increase in ad valorem property tax revenues in the coming fiscal year.
City Treasurer Shayne Thompson told the commission this equates to a $291,521 increase in property tax revenues for new fiscal year. He said the city usually sees a $120,000 to $140,000 annual increase in property tax revenues as property values increase by an average of 6-8%, but in this current fiscal year, property values have increased by approximately 17%.
“That is an anomaly, plain and simple. The raise in property values this year is certainly not the norm. Without that increase, we would probably be faced with a millage increase, like it or not,” Thompson told the commission.
Higher property values mean property owners will pay higher property taxes and Mayor John Chappie said the commission does not intend to adopt a lower rollback millage rate that would generate the same amount of property tax revenues as last year while lowering the millage rate for city taxpayers.
Thompson said the city’s reserve fund has been drawn down in recent years and needs to be replenished, and small annual millage increases may be needed in future years to accomplish this.
Thompson said a one-tenth of a percent millage increase on a home with a $1 million assessed value would result in the property owner paying an additional $100 in property taxes. According to Thompson, a one-tenth of a percent millage increase would generate approximately $85,000 in additional property tax revenues during a single fiscal year.
Chappie and Commissioner Jan Vosburgh said they would not support a millage increase this year and they hope to avoid doing so in future years.
Police Chief John Cosby supports paid parking in city-owned parking lots. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Police Chief John Cosby said, “Every year for the past five years I have told you that you need to raise the millage a little bit every year. I do agree with Shayne that it’s something to keep in the back of our mind. I don’t think we’re in trouble yet, but I think next year will be the year we really have to look at it. I think you should heed Shayne’s advice that going up a little bit every year at some point is not going to hurt.”
Chappie noted the commission intends to discuss paid parking in city-owned parking lots as a possible means of generating additional city revenues. That work meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 30 at 9 a.m.
Potential paid parking locations include the city-owned portion of the parking lot behind the BridgeWalk resort, the city hall parking lot and the unpaved parking lot near the Public Works Department building.
The city-owned parking lot near the Public Works Department building could be used for paid parking. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
In recent months, Cosby has repeatedly told the commission the police department is underfunded and understaffed when it comes to policing a city that receives thousands of visitors on any given day. During the budget meeting, he mentioned paid parking as the most likely revenue source for additional policing and also replenishing the city’s reserve fund.
“Paid parking is it. We’ve got to get it back from the people that are coming here and enjoying our amenities, and the only way to do that is paid parking. That could generate a lot of revenue. That would take care of your concern and Shayne’s concerns,” Cosby said.
“I’ve done a little research and Pinellas County just went to $7 an hour for paid parking. It’s an option we need to look at. Your citizens have already told you they want you to find a way to generate revenue outside of a tax increase and this is one way to do it,” he added.
Cosby said the city’s current reserve fund would cover approximately 20-25% of the city’s annual expenses, but a coastal community that’s more prone to storm and hurricane damage should really have a reserve fund that would cover $30-35% of the city’s operating expenses.
“This city has to rely on itself until FEMA can get here to help us. We’re going to have to be self-sufficient and we’re not there yet. When we do the paid parking, we have to really look at how we’re going to distribute that revenue. I think a percentage of that revenue should automatically go into reserves so we can build a good strong reserve,” Cosby said.
Other budget matters
As is the case each year, the city’s largest expenses are employee salaries, benefits and retirement fund contributions. City Clerk Terri Sanclemente told the commission that due to budget constraints, she and the other department heads are requesting a 6% cost of living adjustment (COLA) increase for all city employees but are not requesting any additional salary increases.
The police department budget includes enough money to hire one more officer at an approximate cost of $100,000, including the officer’s annual salary and employee benefits.
According to Thompson, the city has received to date $320,296 in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds from the federal government and expects to receive an additional $320,296 before the current fiscal year ends.
The ARP fund expenditures included in the 2022-23 fiscal year budget allocate $37,000 for the public works department to buy a new pickup truck and a new GEM cart, $88,000 for two new police vehicles, $20,000 for a Polaris-like ATV to be shared by code enforcement and the police department for beach patrols and $66,600 for server upgrades for the city and police department computer systems.
The budget remains a work in progress and will be finalized and adopted during two public hearings in September.
ANNA MARIA – The city commission has approved an amended site plan that allows the Chiles Group’s Sandbar restaurant to continue to use one of its parking lots for paid public parking.
The commission approval granted on July 14 is for the parking lot already being operated at 9902 Gulf Drive, between Magnolia Avenue and Spring Lane.
As he did during the preliminary Planning and Zoning Board review on June 27, City Planner Chad Minor said the site plan approval process was initiated after the city’s code enforcement department discovered in February that the parking lot was being used for paid parking, which was not an allowable use of that property.
Minor said the paid parking lot is one of nine parking lots the Chiles Group owns or leases to serve the Sandbar. He added that the lot is located in the residential/office/retail zoning district where paid parking is allowed. The commission-approved site plan brings those 28 paid parking spaces into compliance with city code and those spaces will continue to provide paid parking for beachgoers and other visitors.
The parking fee is $5 an hour or $30 for eight hours. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
The automated payment kiosk installed in February is provided by the Sarasota-based Easy Parking Group owned and operated by Joshua LaRose. LaRose recently told The Sun the fee to park there is $5 an hour or $30 for eight hours.
Commission discussion
During Thursday’s meeting, Commissioner Jon Crane said, “This is gonna be the first time we’re going to have a paid parking lot in the heart of the city. I would have liked a more full-throated debate focused generally on whether we want paid parking in our city, rather than a site plan amendment that kind of makes that a side-door issue. Having said that, I’ve got no objection to this particular site plan amendment.”
Commission Chair Carol Carter asked Crane if he wanted the commission to discuss paid parking in general at a future meeting.
“No, I think once the camel gets his nose under the flap of the tent it’s over,” Crane said. “If we allow paid parking on a piece of private property in the ROR district it’s going to be harder to deny it and there are a lot of properties that might be affected. I think we’ve already kind of made the decision if we approve this site plan amendment.”
Regarding other properties being used for paid public parking, Minor said those properties would have to meet and maintain their city-imposed parking requirements before offering any additional paid parking to the public.
“I think they would be far and few between,” Minor said. “This one is unique in that they’re able to serve the needs of their property and they have an excess of parking spaces. If they did not meet the parking standards for the Sandbar itself, I wouldn’t be in front of you today.”
Public input
During public input, city resident Kris Wisniewski noted the Sandbar is required to have 129 parking spaces and with one parking lot now being used for paid parking still has 161 parking spaces for its patrons.
“Year-round, this seems like a pure money-making parking lot. Only during season would you get close to using that,” Wisniewski said.
The paid parking lot provides 28 parking spaces for the general public. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Commissioner Deanie Sebring said, “I’m excited they decided to have paid parking and have it available for people that want to come to the beach. Everybody knows I would like to get rid of parallel parking on Pine and it would be wonderful if these people could park there.”
“This is a practical way to solve a huge problem we have on the Island, which is parking,” Chiles Group representative Brooks O’Hara said.
“Now we can provide 28 additional parking spots. It just makes too much sense,” Commissioner Mark Short said.
“It’s a good thing. It just has to be done right,” Mayor Dan Murphy added.
Minor said if the restaurant fails to maintain the required number of parking spaces, the paid parking lot would become non-compliant with the city code.
Roser parking
Public input from city resident and Roser Memorial Community Church trustee Dan Devine triggered additional discussion regarding the past, current and future use of the church parking lots for paid parking.
“We’ve got records going back 12 years documenting paid parking at our church. We have four lots that are ROR. I see no reason why (Ed) Chiles should not be able to use his lots for paid parking as long as he’s meeting his regulations. Paid parking is one of two options. The second option is for the city to buy property to provide public parking,” Devine said.
In February, the city commission adopted revisions to the city’s off-site parking requirements. At that time, it was noted the church has parking agreements with several nearby businesses that use the church parking lot. Roser trustee Dave Cheshire told the commission those parking agreements are based on donations from each business rather than a specific fee sought by the church.
Several nearby businesses have parking agreements that allow them to use the Roser Memorial Community Church parking lot. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“I was told by one of your trustees just a few months ago that you were not offering paid parking, that you were taking donations. If you’re offering paid parking that’s a change of use,” Murphy told Devine.
“No, it’s a grandfathered, legal, non-conforming situation,” Devine responded. “We are grandfathered in and it becomes a taking if you deny it. We have the same rights. I believe Chiles has every right to rent his parking spots and I feel the church has no problem with that as well.”
“Dave Cheshire came here and said it was not operating a paid parking lot, and he’s a representative of the church,” Murphy replied. “I specifically asked him if Roser is offering paid parking and the answer was ‘no we are not.’ There’s nothing grandfathered.”
Thursday’s discussion prompted additional debate about paid parking at the Roser Church.
Minor said city staff is not aware of the Roser parking lot being used for paid parking. He said the church has to first meet its own parking requirements but would have the same right to use its excess parking spaces for paid parking.
BRADENTON BEACH – City commissioners plan to discuss the possibility of charging for parking in some city-owned parking lots.
During the July 7 city commission meeting, Commissioner Jake Spooner requested that a city commission workshop be scheduled to discuss potential paid parking.
“I was going to ask the board if there’d be any appetite to have a workshop on the possibility of paid parking in the city lots,” he said.
“I think that would be wonderful,” Commissioner Jan Vosburgh said.
“I agree,” Mayor John Chappie added. “We briefly discussed it a little while back and I know you’ve been working with the (police) chief.”
Chappie asked Spooner to work with City Clerk Terri Sanclemente to schedule the requested commission workshop, which will also include insight from Police Chief John Cosby.
He noted the scheduling of a commission workshop does not mean the commission is already committed to the idea of paid parking.
“We’re going to hear what Commissioner Spooner has prepared, and discussion with the chief, and see where we’re at,” Chappie said.
Past discussions
Spooner has suggested paid parking in the past. During the June 1 Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) meeting, he suggested paid parking in city-owned parking lots as a means of generating additional revenue to help subsidize the CRA-funded Old Town Tram program; and to also help fund additional policing within the CRA district that extends from the Cortez Bridge to Fifth Street South. In response, Chappie said he didn’t want to see paid parking lots located all over the city.
More than a year ago, when discussing the potential replacement of the aging city hall building, Spooner suggested building a new city hall/police department building near the existing police department and public works buildings and converting the existing city hall property into a paid parking lot. Spooner estimated this would generate enough revenues to pay off the new city hall complex in 10 years and continue to provide the city with additional revenues after that.
In response to that suggestion, Chappie and Vosburgh expressed opposition to converting the city hall property located across the street from the Gulf of Mexico into a paid parking lot.
A new trend?
On Thursday, July 14, the Anna Maria City Commission is expected to approve a site plan amendment that will formalize the existing paid parking in a lot owned by Ed Chiles and the Sandbar restaurant ownership group.
Located near the Sandbar, the automated paid parking kiosk provided by Joshua LaRose’s Easy Parking Group charges $5 per hour or $30 for eight hours of paid public parking that is open to anyone on a first-come, first-served basis. Parking in that lot is not restricted to Sandbar restaurant patrons only.
One of the Sandbar restaurant’s parking lots now offers paid public parking. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
LaRose’s company also provides paid parking kiosks in downtown Sarasota and in Siesta Key. He is also the service and equipment provider for the Bradenton Beach CRA’s Old Town Tram service.
The anticipated approval of the Sandbar’s paid parking program may inspire other private and public property owners to follow suit as a means of generating additional revenues while also providing more public parking on Anna Maria Island.
ANNA MARIA – Sandbar restaurant owner Ed Chiles is one step closer to having his paid public parking lot formally approved by city officials.
The Anna Maria Planning and Zoning Board unanimously recommended on June 2 that city commission approval of an amended site plan would bring the existing paid parking operations into compliance with city code.
The Chiles Group/Weld Inc.-owned parking lot at 9902 Gulf Drive has long served as an overflow parking lot for the Sandbar restaurant. The paid parking lot is located between Spring Lane and Magnolia Avenue. In February, the city’s code enforcement department became aware of paid parking occurring there without the city’s approval.
The paid parking lot is located along Gulf Drive, between Spring Lane and Magnolia Avenue. – City of Anna Maria | Submitted
“This is before you today as a result of a code enforcement case that was brought forward to the property owner,” City Planner Chad Minor told the planning board.
Minor said the automated payment kiosk and paid parking signs were installed in February and paid parking began without the knowledge of city staff. The kiosk also references a cell phone app. Minor said the Chiles Group was informed that the city would not pursue further code enforcement action if the ownership group submitted an amended site plan to be reviewed by the planning board and approved by the city commission.
The property has been used for parking since the mid-1960s and will continue to provide overflow parking for the Sandbar restaurant, while also providing paid public parking for beachgoers and those visiting other restaurants, businesses and destinations, he said.
The paid public parking is available to restaurant patrons, beachgoers and others. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Minor said city staff was initially concerned that using that lot for paid public parking might eliminate some of the parking required for the restaurant operations. He said the site plan amendment process gave city staff the opportunity to review the potential impacts of the paid parking lot and staff determined the restaurant parking requirements would still be met. Minor recommends approval of the site plan application that conforms with the city’s ordinances and comprehensive plan.
Board member Barbara Zdravecky asked Minor if the approval of the Sandbar site plan would set a precedent for other paid parking lots. Minor said any property proposing to offer paid parking would have to go through the same site plan approval process. He said he’s not aware of any other property owners currently pursuing paid parking, but they are afforded that ability through the city code.
Brooks O’Hara, the director of real estate for the Chiles Group and the applicant for the amended site plan approval, attended the planning board meeting and answered questions posed by the board members.
The paid parking options include an automated payment kiosk and a cell phone app. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
When asked how the automated paid parking is enforced, O’Hara said the Chiles Group uses the same vendor (Joshua LaRose’s Easy Parking Group) that provides the city of Sarasota’s paid parking kiosks on Main Street. O’Hara said enforcement is mainly voluntary, but if a violation occurs, a notice can be placed on the offending vehicle. If the violation continues, a wheel lock or windshield bar can be placed on the vehicle.
“We haven’t had to do that,” O’Hara said.
When asked about the overnight parking and RV parking, O’Hara said the parked vehicles are usually gone by 10 p.m. and he’s not aware of any overnight parking or RV parking taking place in that lot. He said the parking spaces are not large enough to accommodate RV parking and the lot could be closed off after hours if needed.
Minor said the city code includes provisions that address overnight parking and RV parking.
When asked why the Sandbar ownership group wasn’t issued a code enforcement violation citation, Minor said, “Our goal is to work for compliance.”
O’Hara said the parking lot in question has historically been used for paid parking, but with a parking lot attendant collecting cash payments.
“For years, this was out of compliance then?” board member Bob Carter asked.
Mayor Dan Murphy attended the meeting and provided some historical context on the past use of the parking lot. Murphy said Sandbar patrons used to pay $25 when parking there, but in exchange received a $25 voucher to use at the restaurant. Murphy said the city did not consider that to be paid parking, but the installation of an automated payment kiosk signified a switch from restaurant customer parking to paid public parking.
Murphy said O’Hara’s assertion that paid parking was previously allowed in that parking lot was not accurate.
“The reason we let you do what do is because you had a voucher system for eating at your restaurant. That made it customer parking,” Murphy said.
The amended site plan will now be presented to the city commission for final approval.
ANNA MARIA – The city has a newly-amended ordinance that addresses business parking in off-street parking areas.
Adopted by the city commission on Feb. 23, the new off-street parking regulations are set forth in Ordinance 22-899. The amended ordinance revises section 90-3 of the city’s code of ordinances.
According to Mayor Dan Murphy, the amended ordinance applies to new off-site parking agreements and business uses only. It does not apply to off-street parking agreements and business uses in effect before the amended ordinance was adopted.
The amended ordinance contains new language which states: “Parking spaces located off-site shall be clearly marked in a manner approved by the city to indicate that they shall only be used as off-site parking for the particular business.”
The amended ordinance still includes pre-existing language which states: “Off-street parking facilities shall be located on the same lot or parcel of land they are intended to serve. When such an arrangement creates undue hardship or is impractical, parking facilities must be located within at least 300 feet of the perimeter of the development. Such location for off-site parking must be approved through the site plan review process.”
During Wednesday’s meeting, Murphy noted Roser Memorial Community Church has off-street parking agreements with multiple local businesses. He also noted there are several other privately-owned off-street parking lots in Anna Maria.
Roser parking
Roser board members David Cheshire, Alan Ward and Dan Devine attended Wednesday’s meeting. Cheshire chairs the church’s board of finance and he addressed the commission regarding the church’s shared parking agreements.
“We do support some nearby businesses who need additional off-site parking. In return they provide liability insurance that helps protect Roser and they also make a contribution to our maintenance costs,” Cheshire said.
Roser Church board member David Cheshire addressed the mayor and city commission during the off-street parking discussion. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“We do this using shared parking that is compatible with our church uses. Several of the nearby business that have agreements with us are closed on Sundays, or they move all of their equipment before Sunday morning, or they don’t use our property until after the services. We’re protecting our church attendance. That comes first,” Cheshire said.
Murphy said, “As long as it doesn’t come across that you’re running a commercial parking lot on your property. There’s legal ramifications to that. That is strictly on a donation basis. You’ve got several clients now and we’re not trying to change anything there. But if you go out and seek new clients, according to this ordinance, you’d have to mark them (the parking spaces) as their parking.”
Roser Church currently has shared parking agreements with the Anna Maria General Store, gRub restaurant, Sato Real Estate, Beach Bums and AMI Golf Cart rentals. The spaces shared with the church provide parking for those business patrons and employees.
The Roser Memorial Community Church provides shared parking for five local businesses. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
In reference to the Chiles Group-owned parking lots located near the Sandbar restaurant, Murphy said, “Ed Chiles tried to have paid parking in a couple of these lots. They had signs that said public parking and they had a kiosk where you could put money in. We stopped it because if you’re charging people to park it’s a change of use of the property and it requires a permit and a site plan to go forward.”
Regarding the revenues generated by Roser’s parking agreements, Murphy said, “Is it a donation or have you told people here’s how much you owe?”
“It’s a donation,” Cheshire replied.
“You’ve never told them this is what you’ve got to pay?” Murphy asked.
“We do not say it’s either this or no. Hopefully, they recognize the value we bring and they contribute accordingly,” Cheshire replied.
“I didn’t want to treat Ed any differently than what you’re doing. As long as we understand you’re not setting a fee or a dollar amount,” Murphy said.
Chiles did not attend Wednesday’s meeting, but he was contacted later in the week and asked about the Chiles Group’s paid parking.
“We have had paid parking on lots we own in Anna Maria for several years. We appreciate the positive comments we’ve received about having our lots available. We look forward to working with the city as they work to expand our model for others to be able to have expanded parking. Parking appears to be the primary issue our city and all of the Island faces. We are happy to do our part,” Chiles said.
Ed Chiles’ W.E.L.D. Inc. owns the off-street parking lot on the left and Robert Hynton owns the off-street parking lot on the right. – Manatee County Property Appraiser Office | Submitted
Ordinance 22-899 and Sec. 90-3 of the amended and previous version of the city code do not specifically reference paid parking and an online search of the city’s entire code of ordinances revealed no specific references to paid parking.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Cheshire said each of the church’s parking partners has a map that indicates where their designated spaces are located.
Cheshire said the church plans to install ground-level parking bumpers that specify which business shares which spaces with the church. As of last week, the shared parking spaces in the Roser parking lot near the food pantry and thrift store had no parking bumpers.
According to both the amended ordinance and the previous version of Sec. 90-3 of the city code, “Nonresidential parking spaces shall be designated with a parking bumper with the parking bumper not to exceed five inches in height.”
Commissioner Jon Crane noted that during Sunday church services Roser’s shared spaces are not fully guaranteed to be available for their parking tenants.
“If a restaurant gets permitted by us under the notion that they have 15 spaces guaranteed by Roser, then we gave them credit we shouldn’t have. I don’t care if you share parking, but I do care that these people are supposed to have a certain number of spots,” Crane said.
Crane said a business that does not provide the full number of required parking spaces would be operating “under false pretenses.”
Ward noted the newly opened gRub restaurant is not open on Sundays but the church would like some flexibility should the needs of their parking partners ever change.
Murphy said the amended ordinance is a temporary stop-gap measure and the city’s parking code will likely need to be revised again after the pending Reimagining Pine Avenue safety improvements are completed.
During past discussions, the commission was divided regarding the potential elimination of some or all of the 53 parallel parking spaces along Pine Avenue that currently provide public parking.
BRADENTON BEACH – If there’s one thing the leaders of the four Island cities, including Longboat Key, can agree on, it’s that they don’t support paid parking at Manatee County beaches or at county boat ramps.
Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore attended the April 9 Coalition of Barrier Island Elected Officials meeting, held at Bradenton Beach City Hall, to gather the opinions of Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key elected leaders before beginning official talks with her fellow county commissioners.
Whitmore said she’s opposed to any paid parking on Anna Maria Island because she feels it takes away from the community feel of the area. If she had to choose a type of paid parking though, she said she’d rather have paid parking at county-maintained boat ramps than at the beaches.
Island community leaders said they’d rather see county commissioners find a different way to deal with the expense of required maintenance at boat ramps than charge people for parking.
Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth said she feels that there isn’t enough parking available at the county-maintained boat ramps, including Kingfish boat ramp on Manatee Avenue, to contribute in any real way toward the millions of dollars it takes to periodically renovate boat ramps.
Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie agreed, saying that there are only about two dozen parking spaces at the newly renovated Coquina boat ramp, not enough to be a good financial source for the county.
Whitmore said the county relies on general funds, West Coast Inland Navigational District (WCIND) grants and funds from boater registration to pay for maintenance and upgrades to the county-maintained boat ramps. Because of the limited amount of funds available, she said the county is behind on needed repairs to boat ramps like Kingfish and is now looking at spending a lot of time and money to get the newly-acquired Palma Sola boat ramp, located on the southwestern end of the causeway, back to a safe operating state. A large-scale renovation at Kingfish boat ramp also is on the horizon.
Bradenton Beach Commissioner Jake Spooner said that he’s not in favor of paid parking, tolls or anything that might discourage families, particularly those with limited financial means, from enjoying the outdoor activities offered for free at the local beaches and boat ramps.
“It’s not just about the money,” he said. “There’s other ways of finding the money.”
Holmes Beach Commissioner Carol Soustek added that having paid parking at public beaches would push parking into nearby residential neighborhoods, adding to the strain already felt by residents due to the increasing tourism on the Island.
Though the city leaders did not support paid parking, they did support signage for the Cortez Road and Anna Maria Island bridges that would alert motorists to parking availability at boat ramps and beaches.
While Whitmore pointed out that many people would ignore the signs, West Manatee Fire Rescue Commissioner Al Robinson said that even if only 5 percent of people turn around rather than crowd onto the Island’s streets when parking is full, the investment in the signs, controlled by local law enforcement, would be worth the funds.
Whitmore said she’d ask the county and the Manatee County Tourist Development Council about funding for the project.
