A parking lot in the 200 block of Gulf Drive South in Bradenton Beach was partially under water July 11 and the lot’s owner was facing city scrutiny.
Bradenton Beach building official Darin Cushing said the lot at 219 Gulf Drive S., the site of the former Joe’s Eats and Sweets, has an artesian well that was not permanently capped. The well, as of July 11, was leaking water onto the lot and down Third Street South toward Sarasota Bay.
In a July 8 notice to owner Shawn Kaleta, Cushing outlined three issues the owner must correct to bring the lot into compliance and avoid a shutdown of the parking lot:
- The well must be permanently capped;
- Proper permitting must be obtained for electronic pay stations added to the property;
- A final site plan from a civil engineer showing improvements on the property must be provided.
The lot was constructed after the demolition of the building, to make way for a planned 106-room resort that will include seven other properties between Bridge Street and Third Street South.
The 32-space lot was allowed by the city as a temporary use.
“This parking lot has been in operation for five months now, during which time we have had to continually address the well issue,” Cushing wrote in the notice. “We’ve also asked multiple times for a site plan to be prepared and turned in.”
Cushing said a deadline for the completion of the tasks was July 12 and, if the deadline was not met. the lot would be closed and the area barricaded.
Kaleta responded to July 11 inquiries from The Islander via text saying, “I was made aware this week that the well on my property sprang a leak. The well had been previously repaired by a licensed well company.”
“The repair obviously didn’t hold, so I have made the decision to have the well professionally capped. This will permanently solve the issue.”
Cushing, later July 12, said because repair work was underway, the shutdown was not enforced.
“They are making progress,” he said.