The Manatee Board of County Commissioners is putting its weight behind a state bill that would open the door for a parking garage in Holmes Beach.
The board was unanimous Feb. 28 in its support for House Bill 947, legislation that would authorize a parking garage in a county-managed public park, such as the Manatee Public Beach, 4000 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach.
An economic impact statement prepared Feb. 13 by Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director Elliott Falcione estimated such a parking garage would cost $45 million for construction and $400,000 for maintenance in subsequent years.
The bill, proposed by Rep. Will Robinson Jr., R-Bradenton, would override a Holmes Beach ordinance that prohibits multilevel parking facilities and structures over 36 feet tall within city limits by preempting permitting to the county.
A city ordinance, adopted in August, was created to prevent the addition of a parking garage as proposed by Manatee County Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge to make up for parking lost to the city’s park-by-permit system.
Manatee County was one of the last to close its beaches during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in summer 2020 and people flocked to the area then to enjoy the last beaches left open to the public.
Some of those beachgoers caused problems on residential streets, blocking access for emergency vehicles and homeowners and leaving litter and human waste, as well as acting disrespectfully to island residents.
The city then restricted 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 parking restrictions, which they say protect the residential quality of life by reducing roadside parking and subsequently traffic and litter in residential areas.
Van Ostenbridge and other county commissioners argue such a system is unfair to off-island residents when visiting the beaches, and they have pushed the city to return parking to pre-pandemic levels
by threatening to withhold county funds from the city, including resort tax funding for beach renourishment.
County commissioners voted in June 2021 to deny a $282,910 funding request for improvements to a seawall along Marina Drive, where pedestrians and boaters use the adjoining sidewalk.
The board members once again spoke against the city’s park-by-permit system at the Feb. 28 meeting.
Van Ostenbridge called the city’s parking measures “draconian” and supported a parking garage. He said a structure built on the footprint of the beach’s existing parking lot could add about 1,500 parking spaces.
He said the county could use the same justifications as the city to close roads, such as Manatee Avenue or Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, but was responsible for trying to “accommodate the will of the people.”
Van Ostenbridge said that “1,100 people a day are moving to this state and the reason they’re coming here is because they want access to the beach. You cannot put the cat back in the bag.”
Commissioner James Satcher said, “It’s a sad situation that someone would take advantage of COVID and use that to make a land grab and to say, ‘It’s my island. We’ve got high-class people here and we don’t want you. Go home,’” Satcher said.
“We can’t allow that kind of exclusionary policy to take place,” Commissioner Amanda Ballard said. “And we can’t allow our public beach to, in effect, become private.”
Commissioner George Kruse said Robinson’s bill did not require the county to build a parking garage but rather provided an option — which he encouraged the county to pursue.
“I’m in favor of this bill and I’m in favor of putting a parking garage up,” Kruse said. “I think we owe it to Rep. Robinson to give him the assurance that his efforts are not going to go underutilized by this board.”
Mayor Judy Titsworth told The Islander March 2 that she was not surprised by the county commissioners’ comments.
“They’re just continuing the narrative to try to make it us against them, that’s all it is,” Titsworth said. “We’re very welcoming to everybody out here.”
Titsworth said the problem with parking in the city was not the removal of spaces but an ever-increasing demand that the island infrastructure might never meet.
“People can’t find a parking space because 10,000 people got here before them on any given day,” Titsworth said. “A parking garage is not a fix because it’s just going to fill up. Then what will they do with the next 1,000 people?”
She said she would continue coordinating with state legislators to stop Robinson’s bill from becoming law.
The bill was up for scrutiny in the Local Administration, Federal Affairs and Special Districts subcommittee as of March 4.