It’s going to take more than three hours for Holmes Beach and Manatee County officials to work out their differences.
The two sides came to the table March 1 in a workshop setting to discuss solutions to an ongoing disagreement centered around the city’s parking limits.
The city’s park-by-permit system was established during the summer in 2020 to reduce streetside parking on some residential streets.
The city established a zone — north of Manatee Avenue and west of Gulf, Marina, Palm and East Bay drives — where permits are needed to park 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily.
The permits — available to Holmes Beach residents — cost $15 per vehicle and $10 to renew annually.
County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge immediately announced his opposition to the city parking plan upon his election in November 2020, saying it was unfair to residents who can’t afford to live on the island.
At his first county meeting, Ostenbridge threatened to withhold beach renourishment funds from the city if it didn’t scrap the park-by-permit system.
But there have been no renourishment plans to squabble over, although the county board denied the city’s $282,910 request for tourist development tax funds for improvements to a seawall along Marina Drive, which would have freed city funds for bike lanes, sidewalks and landscaping.
City officials have stood by the system, which they say was a result of an influx of resident complaints about waste, congestion and safety issues caused by beachgoers parking adjacent to their homes.
After plenty of back-and-forth over the past 16 months, the workshop gave both sides the opportunity to speak face-to-face on the issue.
Public comments
The meeting started with an avalanche of public disapproval for Holmes Beach’s changes — and attacks aimed at city officials.
Out of 10 people who called in to speak at the meeting, all but one spoke in opposition to the city’s parking changes, with several callers labeling them as “elitist” and “discriminatory.”
Two early callers also took jabs at Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth, who they called a “crony,” among other derogatory language, before Van Ostenbridge stopped public comment to recite the board’s rules for civility.
Bradenton resident Matt Duncan spoke against the city’s changes and proposed the county prohibit Holmes Beach residents from using county facilities in response.
In the meantime, he called for the city to reverse its parking plan.
“Do the right thing and bring the parking back,” Duncan said.
Myakka resident Carol Felch, who said she previously lived on the barrier island, said the plan doesn’t meet demand for the beaches.
“You can only put so many people in one place feasibly,” Felch said. “The issue is a matter of space.”
She called for people to respect the city’s attempts to maintain the integrity of its residential community.
Beach parking
Charlie Hunsicker, director of the county’s parks and natural resources department, who oversees beach renourishment, said the 480 parking space reduction leaves more than enough beach access parking to meet state and federal requirements.
Van Ostenbridge called again for the city to reverse its changes.
“We want 480 parking spots back,” Van Ostenbridge said. “We are literally here to debate if the beaches should be restricted to the 99% and left open to the 1%.”
He also read letters from Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown and a delegation of state lawmakers, including Rep. Will Robinson and then Sen. Bill Galvano, asking Holmes Beach to reconsider its parking changes.
County Commissioner Carol Whitmore, a Holmes Beach resident and former mayor, said she had never supported the city’s parking changes and called for city officials to share their “paradise” with the rest of the county.
Titsworth said the city was not responsible for making up for a lack of parking at the Manatee Public Beach, which is owned and operated by the county at the west end of Manatee Avenue on the Gulf of Mexico.
She said the county should purchase nearby property, such as the Bank of America building at 699 Manatee Ave., to convert into additional parking.
“The problem is your problem. It’s not our problem,” Titsworth said. “You have a public beach that is too small for the amount of development that’s happening in the county. … I wish you would’ve seen the trend 10 years ago.”
City Commissioner Terry Schaefer said reinstating 480 parking spaces wouldn’t resolve the issue.
“480 spots? It’s a spit in the ocean,” Schaefer said. “Somewhere along the line, you can’t appease the developers every time.”
City Commissioner Jayne Christenson said she was opposed to the pay-to-park plan for residents, but the system was needed to protect a diminishing quality of life in residential neighborhoods.
“That’s what this is really about: safety and maintaining our residential community,” Christenson said.
Van Ostenbridge blamed the free market on the city’s changing residential community.
“I get it, there are a lot of people on the island and it is changing, but there is no way we can say, ‘Oh, the island is full,’” he said. “The horse is out of the barn, so now we’re trying to manage what we have.”
Van Ostenbridge proposed the county explore building a parking garage at Manatee Public Beach, an idea that County Commissioners Misty Servia and Vanessa Baugh supported.
HB Commissioner Kim Rash said he conducted a survey of 14 residents, seven of whom said they’d support a parking garage at Manatee Public Beach.
However, the city’s charter establishes a 36-foot maximum height for all buildings and any parking garage would need to exceed the height limit. In order to approve exemptions — Titsworth reminded her counterparts — it would require a vote of the city electorate.
Small solutions
While a cure-all was not on the horizon, city and county officials discussed several smaller solutions to address the beach community’s traffic, parking and safety issues.
Van Ostenbridge suggested the city add signage to better inform visitors where they are allowed to park.
Servia agreed, adding that both sides could explore applications to track parking in real-time.
County commissioners also advocated opening public parking at the Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, and Anna Maria Elementary, 4700 Gulf Drive, on weekends and after business hours to make up for the reduction.
City commissioners supported the idea, but asked the county to provide portable restroom facilities and crossing guards to limit waste and ensure safety.
Titsworth said she’d like to use tourist development taxes to help fund the addition of a multiuse path along Gulf Drive to provide pedestrians and bikers safer travel.
Whitmore and County Commissioner George Kruse voiced support for the idea, and Titsworth said she would prepare a proposal.
Elliott Falcione, director of the county’s convention and visitor’s bureau, presented plans for alternate transportation — a water taxi connecting the mainland to the island.
However, Whitmore said the city lacked an ideal stop for the water taxi since it did not have a pier like Anna Maria or Bradenton Beach.
Schaefer said he was “encouraged” by the water taxi and added that the city was willing to explore locations for a stop. He said he didn’t expect the water taxi to solve any of their issues, but may help.
As the clock ran down on the allotted time, Van Ostenbridge called the workshop a “good first step” and said county and city staff would coordinate another workshop to continue the discussion.
If the county wants parking let them step up and purchase the B of A property and build a two story parking garage. Far better than building some monstrosity on the sand!!