Every legislative session introduces new threats to municipal home rule but the city of Holmes Beach has more to lose this year than most.
City officials traveled to Tallahassee March 5 to attend a hearing before the Florida House of Representatives’ Local Administration, Federal Affairs & Special Districts Subcommittee.
Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth, Commissioner Dan Diggins, planning and zoning administrator Chad Minor and city attorney Erica Augello attended and spoke during the hearing.
The HB team traveled to the capital with code compliance supervisor JT Thomas, who drove but did not address the House subcommittee.
The subcommittee discussed House Bill 947, which would authorize Manatee County to bypass local regulations to construct a 36-foot-tall parking garage in Holmes Beach.
The bill — proposed by state Rep. Will Robinson Jr., R-Bradenton, Jan. 12, at a Manatee County Legislative Delegation meeting sparked a fury of debate.
Robinson also proposed a study into Anna Maria Island’s governing structure, questioning the need for three municipalities on the island, but agreed to pull the bill after significant pushback from island officials and residents.
Manatee County Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge has pushed for the construction of a parking garage at the beach to make up for parking lost when the city regulated street parking in 2020 with a park-by-permit system.
The city prohibited public parking 9 a.m.-5 p.m. for 645 parking spaces along residential roadways and began selling $15 decals to residents and property owners to allow them to park in those spots.
City officials stand by the system, which they argue has improved the quality of life in residential areas by reducing litter and noise.
Van Ostenbridge and Robinson argue such a system is unfair to off-island residents visiting the beaches and has pushed the city to return the lost parking spaces.
The county legislative delegation unanimously supported HB 947 in January and county commissioners voted unanimously Feb. 28 to support it as well.
After Robinson presented his bill to the subcommittee, County Commissioner George Kruse voiced support, saying it would increase the enjoyment of the county beach.
“While, as an official in local government, I typically look at preemptions in a tight light, there are instances where the state must interject to rectify issues when a few attempt to supersede the will and enjoyment of the many,” Kruse said.
Titsworth said the county should have gone through the city’s review process to pursue the creation of a parking garage.
“You are being asked today to approve a bill that will entirely circumvent the city’s ability to review, comment and permit a 400,000-square-foot structure at the main gateway of our city,” she said. “There has been zero communication and no submittals made to the city by the county as they promised.”
Titsworth asked the subcommittee to reject the bill.
“Please, allow us the opportunity to have a seat at this table,” Titsworth said. “This is a local government issue. Not for big government.”
Diggins, Minor and Augello also spoke in opposition to the bill.
“This bill is not only a blatant disregard for the values and needs of our community but also a violation of the principles of good governance,” Minor said. “By ignoring the input of our local cities and bypassing the established regulatory processes, this bill is undermining the democratic process and the voices of our community that are directly impacted.”
Augello said city code hasn’t provided for a multilevel parking facility since 1950, but the city has considered such projects and would work with applicants proposing such a structure.
She added that the bill lacks specificity and does not address reviews of such a project by the Florida Department of Transportation, Florida Department of Environmental Protection or the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
“The bill is woefully deficient,” Augello said. “This bill does not allow for public input or public debate on a local issue affecting the local public.”
Diggins said that despite more than 30,000 motorists traveling every day to the city during spring break, city staff was still able to find about 50-100 available parking spots throughout the municipality.
He said the city didn’t have a parking problem but a traffic issue would be worsened by the addition of a parking garage.
Nevertheless, many members of the subcommittee voiced support for the bill, saying it supported the “greater good.”
One member, Rep. Michael Gottlieb, D-Plantation, said he was “reluctant” to support the bill given its local opposition. He said he looked on Google Maps to get a sense of the area and asked why such a parking facility wasn’t being created on the mainland.
“I wish that both governments would perhaps get together and see if there’s not a more suitable solution to their problem that deals with the congestion and deals with traffic and still allows the same level of access,” Gottlieb said.
Nevertheless, the subcommittee found the bill favorable and forwarded it to the House Regulatory Reform and Economic Development Subcommittee for consideration.
That subcommittee’s reading of the bill had not been scheduled as of March 18.
Titsworth told The Islander March 16 that if the bill became law and the county pursued the creation of a multilevel parking garage, the city would put up a legal challenge, since such a structure would violate its comprehensive plan.
BB aligns with HB on parking garage opposition
Reluctance gives way to unanimous support.
Bradenton Beach commissioners voted March 16 to authorize Mayor John Chappie to sign a letter drafted by Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth solidifying opposition to a state bill that would allow Manatee County to erect a multilevel parking garage at the Manatee Public Beach.
State Rep. Will Robinson Jr. sponsored the measure with the support of the Manatee County Legislative Delegation and the unanimous support of the Manatee board of county commissioners.
Bradenton Beach Commissioners Ralph Cole and Jacob Spooner expressed a reluctance to make a motion in support of Titsworth’s letter.
“Of course, we want to help out our neighbors. It just puts us in a tight spot.” Spooner said.
But planning and zoning board member John Burns, speaking during public comment, said not signing the letter would allow a precedent.
“That’s the first parking garage if it makes it through,” Burn said. “And it’s a statement that we have no jurisdiction or very limited jurisdiction over the county if they want to do something on any county property.”
After public comment, Spooner motioned to authorize the mayor to sign the letter and Cole seconded the motion, while still voicing his opinion that compromise was his hope on the matter.
The motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Marilyn Maro was absent with an excuse.
— Robert Anderson
Setting a precedent is a typical government excuse, of course most may not know, the lawyers haven’t told them, there is no precedent that binds any government body, if they have the authority to or not to do anything, the next group of popular representatives is not constrained and can change the direction, especially if it is only government policy such as this.
It is interesting that if county government wants to build to provide greater access to a county facility the municipality may arbitrarily deny such, much as they arbitrarily removed a substantial amount of the public parking that was necessary to fund the federal, state and county maintenance of all the beaches protecting the property of all the island?
It is gratifying to see that the noise and littering which is the root of the problem is solved by stopping the non-resident parking, wonder how all those pervasive problems existed without notice for so many years, but I find it hard to believe that local non-resident motorists parking are any greater a problem than those crossing the streets or being coming by bus. Really don’t subscribe to the “if we don’t improve it they will not come” philosophy either, since the TDC works overtime to tell all about “Our Little Secret”.