Manatee wants compromise, but Holmes Beach has ‘no intention’ to restore street parking
Before Memorial Day crowds flock to Anna Maria Island this weekend, county officials are asking Holmes Beach leaders to open up the parking spaces they closed last year.
Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began, the city of Holmes Beach moved to restrict on-street parking, but the decision was met with fierce backlash from residents and elected officials. Now, the Manatee Board of County Commissioners is seeking a compromise in an effort to restore those spaces.
“Our community and our county is not shrinking by any means. The beaches have always belonged to everybody in Manatee County,” said Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge, who penned a letter to Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth on Tuesday.
Van Ostenbridge found support from his fellow commissioners, who agreed that it’s time to meet with Holmes Beach leaders to come up with a “long-term solution.”
The board voted unanimously to direct Chairwoman Vanessa Baugh to sign the letter and send it on the board’s behalf. Van Ostenbridge said he felt it was vital to address the issue ahead of the holiday weekend.
“We urge you to consider re-opening 1,600 on-street beach access parking spaces to prepare for the impending influx of visitors,” the letter said. “As you know, Anna Maria Island is no longer our secret slice of paradise and we look forward to working with you on a long-term solution on how to share this beautiful island with future guests.”
Holmes Beach Police Chief William Tokajer clarified that the city only reduced available parking by about 500 spaces. He said the city started off with 2,400 spaces and 1,906 spaces are available now, including the permitted spaces reserved for Holmes Beach residents.
“We can’t allow our neighborhoods to be used as if it were the UTC Mall parking lot. Our residents have rights as well,” he said. “Even if we opened up those 1,600 mythical spots, we had 34,000 cars per day this past weekend.”
Manatee County wants a ‘win-win situation’
“We know that we have traffic issues. Everybody in the country wants to come to our beaches and the tourism dollars are so important,” Commissioner Reggie Bellamy added. “We want our county to always be in a win-win situation.”
As Holmes Beach’s decision made headlines last summer, then-Senate President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, and state Rep. Will Robinson, R-Bradenton, called on city officials to reconsider the move.
“Our coastal communities should plan accordingly and seize this opportunity to showcase the beauty of Florida’s Southwest Gulf Coast,” they wrote at the time. “We respectfully request that you reevaluate plans to reduce on-street parking.”
In a Tuesday evening email to the county, Titsworth said she’s happy to meet with county officials to discuss the situation but does not plan to restore on-street parking.
“Please advise the commissioner that I have no intention in expanding beach parking in the streets of our residential neighborhoods. This decision is based on increased traffic congestion, public health and safety,” she explained.
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Speaking with the Bradenton Herald on Wednesday, Titsworth said the city’s parking changes are meant to protect the quality of life for Holmes Beach residents, who have shouldered the county’s beach parking shortages for years. Putting more vehicles or parking spaces on the island isn’t going to make life easier for anybody, she predicted.
“It’s all well and good for Manatee County to say we want parking, but they’re not looking at the big picture,” Titsworth said. “We’re a tiny little barrier island so you’ve got to treat us like any other tiny little barrier island. When you’re full, you’re full. You can’t magically find space. If you want to come to the beach, you’ve got to leave early. It’s not about parking, it’s about the whole picture. There’s too many cars.”
“We’re not going to continue to be the overflow parking for the county beaches. They’re going to have to come up with other means to park cars besides relying solely on our residential neighborhoods,” she added.
Mayor says more parking means more congestion
Most of the on-street parking spaces were removed from neighborhood streets, where residents complained that tourists and visitors were abusing the perks of beach access by leaving trash in the neighborhoods and damaging property.
If Manatee officials want to provide additional parking for people who don’t live on the island, they’ll need to come up with a different solution, according to Titsworth.
“The county will need to find alternative modes of transportation for beach users as there are too many people in cars and we do not have the infrastructure to provide for them,” Titsworth wrote in her email. “If it continues to build, we will be driving our tourism industry away as this is no longer the experience they once enjoyed.”
After an outcry from residents and a traffic study by the Holmes Beach Police Department, the city implemented a permit system that allows homeowners to park on the street. Permit decals cost $15 for Holmes Beach residents.
But county leaders say that hasn’t been a suitable option for island visitors. Moving forward, commissioners suggested a number of ways that they could lend a hand to resolve traffic, noise and code enforcement violations that visitors cause.
“If we can help them in any way to get to a yes — or even a partial yes, I think the citizens would be well-served,” said Commissioner James Satcher, who suggested that the county could assist with beach cleanup in exchange for the return of on-street parking.
On Saturday evening, Titsworth shared that traffic on the island was at a standstill until 9:30 p.m. due to the number of visitors, but Van Ostenbridge argued that wouldn’t be the case if more spaces were available.
“I’m entirely open to discussing some of the issues with enforcement that they’re having out there, as well as some sanitation issues they’re having on the streets with beach access,” Van Ostenbridge said. “We’ll help enforce those. I’m open to offering more enforcement.”
Titsworth said that’s a welcome offer, but the county’s added support won’t make a huge difference.
“We’re already ticketing people, but we can’t follow people around with garbage cans,” Titsworth noted. “I understand how important it is to get to the beach, but there’s got to be a balance. We have people using sea oats as a bathroom. You can add another 1,000 cars, but there’s public safety to worry about.”
County officials are slated to discuss beach parking options with Holmes Beach leaders at 8:30 a.m. on June 7.
This story was originally published May 27, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
