Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
With no obvious solution in sight, Fernandina Beach City Commissioners (FBCC) once again wrestled a desire to relieve beach and restaurant parking problems while avoiding disruption to residents along the portion of First Avenue north of Sadler Road. And once again, finding that solution seems elusive at best.
At their December 6, 2016 Regular Meeting commissioners devoted considerable time to discussing the problems and taking citizen input. Five years ago another city commission also tried to solve this problem, but ultimately failed. Now the issue is back, and the parking/traffic situation has not improved in the meantime. After 45 minutes of public input and discussion the FBCC voted 3-2 to move on to consider all options for solving the parking problems in the area, with Commissioners Roy Smith and John Miller dissenting.
Commissioner Tim Poynter had been asked to place this item on the agenda for discussion, direction or action. There was no back up information provided with the agenda; nor did staff present any information for FBCC consideration. Poynter explained that five years ago a businessman had volunteered to incur the expenses associated with opening First Avenue and providing much needed additional parking in the area. Because of increased congestion and competition for parking in that area of the city, Poynter agreed to bring the item back for consideration by a new commission.
City Attorney Tammi Bach attempted to frame the issue. She advised commissioners that there is not a resolution on the agenda to address this item; it is listed as a discussion-direction-action item. She said that the question before the FBCC is whether to open First Avenue north of Sadler Road, which would include both a drive through with access onto Sadler and Fletcher, also to include parking spaces. “In order to accomplish that,” she continued, “the owner of Sliders Restaurant [George Stewart] has talked with Commissioner Poynter and other commissioners. Certainly 5 years ago when Mr. Stewart came before the FBCC, what he was trying to do was to add to the parking necessary for Sliders’ expansion which is not able to be added or created around his establishment.”
Bach said that the plan proposed would add 44 parking spaces, which would necessitate a separate agreement between the FBCC and the owners of Sliders. “There can be maintenance requirements transferred, liability transferred; it still remains public right-of-way.” Bach said that City Code specifies parking requirements for business establishments. Under the Code businesses are required to have up to 10 percent of their required parking on site. In the case of Sliders, that would mean 59 parking spaces. “To deviate from that standard,” Bach said, “the applicant would need to receive a variance from the Board of Adjustments. Sixteen of the spaces are already off site in space contracted with another commercial establishment.”
Board of Adjustment and Historic District Council decisions to grant or deny variances are not subject to review by the FBCC. Should an applicant’s request for a variance be denied, any appeal must be done through the court system.
Two of the ten speakers— architect John Cotner and Sliders owner George Stewart —supported the proposal. Cotner said that the proposal, which he had also supported five years ago, made sense from an architectural and urban planning perspective. He supported making First Avenue North one-way south with angled parking along the side of the street. Stewart presented the FBCC with petitions from 65 residents supporting the proposal. He emphasized that the additional parking would be public parking, not reserved for Sliders. He countered arguments that contended that his establishment had caused the parking problem. He reported that during peak visitor season, by the time his employees report to work at 10:00 a.m., there is no available parking in the area. He also said that his employees are instructed to park off site in spaces rented from the hotel across the street.
But the remaining eight speakers strenuously objected to the proposal. Opponents, many of whom lived in the immediate area, cited concerns over quality of life issues and objected to disrupting their neighborhood to benefit a business. Speakers objected to the loss of trees that such a proposal would cause. Concern was expressed that the city had not notified affected residents before the matter came up for discussion. An overriding theme was that the city appeared to be sacrificing the welfare of residents to accommodate an increasing number of tourists.
While all speakers agreed that parking was a problem in the area, there was no agreement on an ideal solution. One speaker suggested that since First Avenue residents do not need to park on the street, better signage could direct beach-goers to existing parking on that street. Another speaker asked why the FBCC only appeared to be considering one option. Another suggestion was that Sliders purchase vacant lots on First Avenue North and build a parking garage or a parking lot.
Speakers became quite passionate in their opposition both in the audience and at the lectern, causing Mayor Lentz to try to restore order with her gavel on multiple occasions.
Following public input, Vice Mayor Kreger said, “I think we need to discuss this. Understanding that we are not approving any of this, that we are just saying we need to move on, I don’t have a problem with talking about what the options might be. I’ve heard discussion that public safety supports this because it can give them another access. As you know, Fletcher backs up for a long way at times. I think it is worth looking at and discussion further. I see no problem with that. I think that’s fair to everybody.”
Commissioner Poynter said, “I understand the emotional impact of this. Earlier we had a discussion of not vacating a right-of-way [with the School Board’s request] so that development couldn’t happen. Yet here we have a right-of-way that the city owns, and there is a parking dilemma there, and I’m not speaking for Sliders. I personally have a problem with us spending millions of dollars every so often to renourish the beaches, yet we allow huge pick up trucks driving on the beaches [at the Sadler Rad access] that we spend lots of money to fix. I believe that the only reason we still allow parking at that city owned beach is that until recently there were houses where Seaside Park sits today. The rationale for leaving parking there when the city outlawed parking on other parts of their beaches was that the code says that you must provide parking in commercial districts. But if you buy a lot that’s commercial, you are prohibited from putting a parking lot on that property. So our rules contradict themselves so you can’t move forward.”
In addressing the suggestion that lots zoned residential on First Avenue North be converted to parking lots, Poynter asked the proponents to report back on how the adjacent residential property owners would react to that. Poynter emphasized the challenges, but added that the city does have a street that was originally platted to connect to Sadler Road. Poynter said, “This is not just a Sliders issue. There is no more land, but there are lots more people. The beach is full before any of the businesses in the district open.”
Lentz added her support to looking for more options. In referring to the specific proposal on opening First Avenue North, she seemed to not reject it offhand, stating, “It is the people’s street.”
After more discussion about existing beach accesses and misleading “no parking” signs, Poynter moved that the FBCC continue looking at the problem with more options, and Kreger seconded the motion.
Commissioner Roy Smith asked, “If we were to move ahead with this proposal, could we stop vehicles from going onto the beach [at Sadler Road]?” He believed such a move would make the opening of First Avenue more palatable to some of the speakers. Other commissioners seemed to believe that was a separate issue for discussion, possibly at the planning retreat.
When the vote was called, the motion passed 3-2 with both Smith and Miller dissenting.
During Commissioner Comments at the end of the meeting, both Poynter and Lentz returned to the issue.
Poynter said, “I just want people to understand here and at home that this commission tries to hear all sides to the issues. We certainly can’t please everybody. But I hate when people say that we don’t care enough about the community itself and that we should just ask people to leave. That’s not what this is about. We are trying to find solutions to difficult issues. … Regardless of Sliders, the people are here. We’re straining our infrastructure. I feel it’s crazy that we still have cars on the beach. We spend millions of dollars on the beaches and we still allow cars driving on the beach. It doesn’t make sense. What I ask is for the community to come to the meetings, to voice their opinions and to be passionate. That’s great! But if it doesn’t always go your way, that’s okay, because this is part of being in a community: sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. But what we are trying to do is to develop a good compromise for the community as a whole, and sometimes that is at the cost of a few people’s desires.”
Mayor Lentz took an opportunity to echo Poynter’s remarks. “These decisions are tough,” she said. “Very, very tough. I don’t want the citizens to think we are not hearing you just because we don’t decide questions the way you see it. We make the best decision we can in what we see as the best interest of the whole community. Bear with us and thank you for always giving us your feedback.”
She reminded people that speaking at meetings is not the only way to express their opinions. They should also call or email commissioners. She concluded, “Please don’t be frustrated with the 3-minute time limit [at public meetings]. Those are the rules, and as a schoolteacher, I follow the rules.”