Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
February 23, 2017 12:00 p.m.
What began as a neighborhood kerfuffle over the city’s consideration of opening the north end of First Avenue to Sadler Road appears to have morphed into a larger discussion, the outcome of which may be an end to traditionally free parking for beach goers who don’t live in the city of Fernandina Beach.
Fernandina Beach City Commissioners waded into the treacherous waters of paid parking during a discussion period toward the close of their February 21, 2017 Regular Meeting. The topic arose in connection with concerns raised by Commissioner Roy Smith over the city’s agreement with Sliders, which allowed the restaurant to increase its capacity a few years ago with the proviso that Sliders provide a certain number of parking spaces offsite. Smith contended that Sliders has broken the agreement by cancelling its parking contract with the Days Inn nearby on Sadler Road.
Sliders parking dispute
Smith asserted that the genesis of the recent parking problem arose from terms of the original development agreement between the city and Sliders. He claimed that the violation occurred a year ago and the city only became aware recently. “There’s something wrong with our system,” he said, “that we can do something that bad.” Smith contended that Sliders got what it wanted—an expanded restaurant—but backed out of its deal to provide parking afterwards.
At the request of Mayor Robin Lentz, City Attorney Tammi Bach addressed Smith’s concerns. She said that the city does have legal recourse. If it is shown that Sliders is not in compliance with the agreement or city code, the city can take action. But Bach said that the situation is currently not clear.
Bach explained that Sliders has retained legal counsel and may be involved in litigation with Days Inn to resolve their dispute over their parking contract. She indicated that Sliders believes it has a valid commitment to renew its parking contract at a set price. But the hotel’s corporate people disagreed, tripling the price for what they considered to be a new contract. She has shared legal exchanges with the commissioners. Sliders has informed Days Inn that they have a valid agreement and intend to hold Days Inn to its terms.
“If and when we find out that there is a lawsuit or an injunction that prevents Sliders from using Days Inn parking, then we have to get back to enforcing our code,” Bach said. “[Sliders] was issued a notice of violation, however.”
Smith continued, asking what the penalty would be. Bach drew an analogy with the code violation by Alvin’s Island over a sign that was not in compliance with city code. The city took legal action after repeated citations that the company ignored. As a result, the parties settled with correction of the violation and a $50,000 fine. She said that the city could pursue that course of action with Sliders or ask a judge to prevent Sliders from using its increased capacity on the second floor until the city and the restaurant could work out a new agreement.
“Any owner that decides to enter into an agreement that is not a perpetual agreement takes some risk that they could come into violation with city code,” Bach said, adding “or they could ask for a code change.”
Smith continued to find fault with the original agreement. Bach and Lentz suggested that perhaps penalties could be articulated in future agreements.
After asking additional questions, Commissioner John Miller concluded, “So we are sort of in a ‘stay tuned’ moment.” Bach concurred. Smith continued to maintain that the root of the problem was details of the agreements drawn up by the city.
Commissioner Tim Poynter disagreed. He said that according to Bach, the agreement was written and is enforceable.
Public weighs in on beach parking
Three members of the public spoke to the issue of beach parking, which transcends the Sliders parking dispute. David Sampson, a resident of First Avenue, said that he understands that the real issue is growth in the need for beach parking. “There are going to be more and more people coming to the beach,” he said, “and they need a place to park.” He urged the FBCC not to tackle short range, ad hoc projects, but to work on a master plan for beach parking. South Fletcher resident Lynn Williams agreed, adding that he agreed with previous comments by Commissioner Poynter that many people from west of the city come to enjoy city beaches. “It doesn’t seem right,” he said, “that we who live here have to pay for their parking.”
Williams suggested that while it has been previously discussed, perhaps the time has come to seriously discuss paid parking. “Many people come to enjoy our wonderful beaches, but a more cynical view is that they come to enjoy our wonderful beaches because it’s free,” he said. He said that advances in technology provide a means to collect parking fees without the need for kiosks or manned collection points. “We shouldn’t have to build parking lots so that [non-residents] can enjoy our beaches for free. We put a lot of money into beach renourishment and maintenance. The going rate seems to be $20 per day or $12 per day south of the island. Now might be the time to do that.”
Former Mayor/Commissioner Ron Sapp, who lives in the Historic District, reminded commissioners of the residential development underway off the island in Nassau County, encouraging commissioners to take a macro view of the problem. “You have 4,000 homes being built in Wildlight. Terra Pointe –27,000 homes. You have 13,000 people living in the city of Fernandina Beach, probably 26,000 during summer weekends. And you’re dealing with an infrastructure at the beach and space that is relatively finite. You are going to have thousands and thousands of people coming to the beach with no place to park. I don’t envy you guys.”
FBCC discussion
Vice Mayor Len Kreger agreed with the speakers, indicating that the city is in discussion with the county over improving parking along Sadler Road. He also spoke to comprehensive plan requirements for parking.
Mayor Lentz agreed on the need to tighten up future parking agreements and also with Kreger and the speakers. She endorsed the existing parking flexibility standards in city code.
Smith called for a workshop on paid parking, agreeing that the situation will only get worse. Miller agreed on the need for a workshop and indicated that he had read over the extensive parking study that had been done a few years ago. “I think it’s time that we took a real hard look at paid parking in the beach area,” he said. “The one pushback I have is that city residents should not have to pay. I agree with the sticker concept. “
Smith suggested that the concept of paid parking should be looked at for other areas of the city as well, but he concurred that city residents should not have to pay for parking. “We are not only paying for [non-residents] to use the beach, but we’re paying for the sand that gets put on the beach. They come out here, like you say, bringing sandwiches and stuff and we get nothing out of it. We want the tourists; but we want them to help pay for [the experience].”
Commissioner Tim Poynter said that he has been in favor of paid beach parking going back to his first term on the commission. “But all the people showed up [at FBCC meetings] saying, ‘That’s the worst thing the city could do.’ There are people in the audience tonight who made those claims, saying ‘This is unfriendly,’ ‘It’s going to ruin the [city’s] home town feel,’ etc. That’s why paid beach parking has not been implemented—for that simple reason. I don’t need a workshop, to be honest with you. We’ve got a parking study that’s [several inches] thick. If you want to get out in front of this stuff you’ve got to control the narrative. What this city doesn’t do at times is control the narrative. We wait for events to run us over. If we have designated areas to park, that’s all we have. If 2,000 people want to go to the beach and we only have 500 spaces to park, those people will have to turn around and come back or go away. They might have to park somewhere else, get on a bike and ride to the beach.
“By not doing anything, we will be overrun with people, cars and parking where they are not supposed to… on residential streets, on people’s lawns all the way up and down Fletcher and First Avenue. It’s time this community gets out in front of this and says these are designated parking areas—and that’s it. When space is up, space is up. We don’t need to supply parking for everybody. But what we do need is to supply parking that is very well located, and we absolutely should charge people. We spend over half a million dollars per year maintaining those beaches, so everyone can come from somewhere else and not pay anything.”
Poynter went on to say that the idea that those same people visit downtown, spend money in the community, etc. is not supported by facts. “Go to the beach and see what happens,” he said. “They are bringing their coolers to the beach, eating what they bring, and leaving their garbage before getting back in their cars and trucks and driving away. If it’s the will of the commission, we should be [charging for parking].”
Mayor Lentz reminded commissioners that re-examining paid parking was a commission goal. She asked City Manager Dale Martin to bring the matter back to the commission in the next two months.
St. Johns County facing similar issues
In a news report on February 22, News4Jax reporter Vic Micolucci asked, “Would you pay to park t a St. Johns County beach lot?” [See http://www.news4jax.com/news/florida/st-johns-county/would-you-pay-to-park-at-a-st-johns-county-beach-lot]
He reported that county officials are currently studying how to best charge for parking in all county lots off the beach. St. Johns has 42 miles of beaches and 1,364 parking spots. A county spokesman said that more than 6 million people visited county beaches last year, and maintenance costs money. Micolucci reported that prices have not been set, but the county appears to be considering a $5-10 range. He said, “If the charge was $5 per vehicle, that could make $1,000 a day for a 200-space parking lot. That would be $365,000 a year. And that’s just for one lot.”
St. Johns County Commissioners have not set a target date for their decision, and no action appears imminent.
A couple of comments. I understand Comm. Smith’s concerns about someone entering into an agreement and realizing a benefit from the City and then not maintaining their end of the agreement that justified the benefit. But as the City Attorney indicated, legal matters get complex very quickly. Has Sliders lost use of their supplemental parking or is there an ongoing dispute with the property owner but parking is still allowed? If in fact they have lost their parking rights then Slider’s ability to use their upstairs area should be cut off. But any legal agreement must have some latitude as one can never predict all the possible things that might happen in the future. What if Slider’s loses the current area but finds another lot that meets the criteria but only provided 60% of the previous parking? Do they still get to use 60% of the upstairs area removing 40% of the seating or do they lose their rights of use altogether?
On beach parking, Comm. Poynter hit the nail right on the head. Unfortunately the City generally waits until a situation reaches a near-crisis point before action is taken and then options are usually limited. There is absolutely no question that pressure on the City’s beaches is going to increase and increase as development off-island continues. This pressure is not just parking capacity but a demand for more sections of beach to receive lifeguard coverage, greater trash pick-up, etc. Past City Commissions spearheaded by Ron Sapp did a great service to the City and its residents and visitors in protecting the street ROWs that have resulted in so many beach access points. But there is a finite capacity. At some point residents are going to find that getting access to “their” beach is becoming more and more difficult. Only then will some of the “it’s not FB’s charm to charge for beach parking” crowd start to change their mind. With the implementation of the beach sand tax expanding outside the City limits, it no longer is a simple exercise of giving City residents a sticker for their cars as now that eligible base has grown. I served on both beach parking study groups. The financial numbers do not show a great profit, but I don’t think the objective is to do so but only to generate a level of income that can be used for maintaining our beaches from an access, safety and health standpoint. Any financial projections must be developed by an objective source and a key component is the parking usage figures. Such data collection is labor intensive and must cover at least the period from April through October to gain reliable seasonal data. Unlike the simplistic financial projections from the St. John’s officials cited in the story, our beach lots will not be completely full every day of the year. Additionally, there are many other issues that must be part of a beach parking strategy. How do you stop people looking to avoid paid parking from parking on side streets and in yards? Yes, you can put up no parking signs but then you have the criticism of “visual pollution”.
The time is now to start working again on this issue and getting ahead of the curve.
Are we asking the right question? Is it how do we get more parking or less parkers or is it how do we get better access to the beach? A more comprehensive analysis increases the realm of solutions. I don’t know the answer but here are some possibilities. We are working to be a bicycle friendly community but there is not an easy or safe way to get from off-island to the beach. What would a beach shuttle from Twilight and Terra Pointe look like to get it to work? Maybe we should analyze the carrying capacity of the island and plan for that.
Robert,
So how do you propose such a shuttle be paid for? The beach parking situation is pretty finite unless we gain additional capacity from a parking garage somewhere.
Hi Dave, First the correction, Wildlight not Twilight. The point of my comment is to think broader and not get hung up on just parking. But to answer your question, I don’t think there is a simple answer. I don’t even know if a shuttle would be used in lieu of having your car and all your stuff at the beach. Funding a shuttle could take several forms and probably multiple sources. Wildlight could assess a fee, funds could come from tourism dollars, riders could charged, or develop a public private partnership. It is hard to say since the shuttle is not defined. It also matters how innovative we can be. Since the high demand is summer, can we use school buses? I am guessing the easiest is a fee base or supplemented fee base. A round trip is about 25 miles and at 25 mile per gallon and say $2.25 per gallon for gasoline, a starting fee could be $2.25 per family. If there is some paid parking at the beach, say $5.00, then raise the cost for the shuttle to $4.00. The important things is not to pick ideas apart but to develop a well thought out plan how the City (and County) is going to manage beach access and not how much to charge for parking.
It’s important to read the entire article. There are valid arguments about the tens of thousands of new homes being built in Nassau County. Tens of thousands. That’s multiplied by the number of people living in each house. Coming to Amelia Island beaches.
Which means higher maintenance costs: increased wear and tear on sand dune walkovers, more trash bins and multiple daily collections during peak times or garbage is overflowing and blowing everywhere, additional signage requirements, more lifeguards needed, more law enforcement beach patrols which means additional hiring, maintenance of beach parking areas, and so on. That all costs money. If there is no beach parking, that means Higher Taxes on island residents.
Which City residents want to pay even more in taxes just so thousands of mainland residents can come to our beach for free? Costs that those mainland residents are causing.
Fernandina Beach residents and Amelia Island south end residents already pay a sand tax to replenish the beach sands. The County found a legal loophole to get out of their long standing agreement to pay their fair share of sand replenishment. So it Does seem fair to charge Off Islanders a fee to use Amelia Island beaches.
The caveat being that Fernandina Beach residents and the south end sand taxed residents are not charged Twice for using our beaches. If paid beach parking was implented without that caveat, there will be a major island rebellion against it.
I have news for Mr. Poynter and Mr. Williams and anyone else who has their tunnel vision. While I do not live within the tiny city limits, I live in the 32034 as a county resident and I do frequent the beach. I also stop for food en route and I buy drinks at the convenient store at Main Beach and purchase gas there. I usually stop at the Pelican or the Galley or Sliders on the way home for a beer and a snack. But I also eat downtown on other days and evenings at least 2 times per week- sometimes more- Karibou and Timotis no less, so even though I may not spend money at your places on beach day and I pack a cooler does not mean I don’t spend money in what you people act like is “your” city. Younalso seem to be ignoring that County tax dollars also go towards beaches as do state tax dollars- help pay for beach projects- which I and other county residents pay. The people you should be asking to pay are those coming from GA or true out of area tourists. Moat of the beach line isnt even in the city limits! If you don’t like visitors at the beaches, stop the tourism marketing, stop getting FB published in travel articles, stop the tourist development council from doing their part. To compare us to places like SJC is irrelevant as they allow beach parking and driving on the majority of their beaches and they do have alot more condos and hotels who offer shuttles. The Terra Point issue is interesting as Rayonier kept city and county folks employed for decades before the beaches were crowded and tourism was booming – please by all means fight with them- and fight all the traffic lights coming out way out on SR 200 thanks to them too. Oh, but that won’t bother you because you don’t drive to Jacksonville for work every day like me and others who make a living in Jax but choose to live here and spend money our incomes here. Perception is that you feel that because we don’t reside in city limits makes our opinions moot. Your extra city taxes pay for lots of other services the rest of us don’t get, so I think you all should stop acting so victimized by the rest of us. County residents are not your enemy and any stickers for city folks should also be offered to coubty residents. If you want to pay me a $5 annual fee for paperwork, go right ahead.
yes and well said. if you keep aggressively promoting a place more people will come.
A wonderful point. Many of us that live in the county, bought or rent here due to its close proximity to the beach. We care for it as our own, we pick up trash, advise dog owners their pets need to be on a leash and fill the large holes dug up by vehicles and people. We want that kind of care to our land.
We are not the enemy. Because of the growth, businesses thrive, property owners can rent or sell, local jobs are created (albeit not ones with a living wage-hence many do have to drive to jax but live here).
Maintenance does cost and that cost shared fairly.I would glady pay a fee for an annual pass, but then there is enforcement and administration. That will require money. Its easy to say lets do this or that but a comphrehensive overview of the bottom line and the preservation of the beaches is paramount (costing $ too).
Are we addressing the correct problem? The beach should not be only those that can afford to buy on the island. Lets not go there for our children’s sake. Can we find a solution to create responsible access without excess! Thank you.
Even with paid parking, people will drive the surrounding neighborhoods and park on city streets free of charge. That will impact our quality of life. I would suggest that all streets that are one block from the beach in residential areas be marked as 1 hour parking or parking for residents only and then enforce it. I see this a lot on south first ave. Just what residents love, tourist cars lining their property.
I agree but take it a little further. Make it two blocks. And posting signs every block or every so many feet is not necessary. A sign at every access point to a road is all that is necessary. Or, for that matter, signs at the two access points to the island! “On-street parking within two blocks (or a ¼ mile or whatever) of the shoreline for residents only. Vehicles without a resident sticker will be ticketed and towed.” Make paid beach parking ISLAND wide at all the lots, city and county….for non-island residents. I have no issue with tourists…but they should pay to enjoy our beaches since WE are paying to via property taxes!
I grew up in south Florida in the 60’s and 70’s. I watched local, quaint, clean beaches turn into over crowded, dirty, not so quaint beaches. I remember as a resident having to get to the beach earlier and earlier to find a parking spot and I remember the beaches getting trashed. It’s easy to trash a place when you have no ownership. Eventually they built more parking and started to charge. But it was late and a lot of damage was done. By the time I was a teen, my family was driving 45 min up to the state park in Boca Raton where we paid a fee and the number of visitors was restricted.
In the big picture our beautiful beaches have a finite capacity. Much sooner than later, as the friendly, hometown community we are, we need to identify a realistic beach capacity, provide adequate legal parking and charge a fair fee to non-residents. The residents should not have to pay the brunt of the cost for non residents to enjoy the beach. If you let the situation get to a point where the residents become resentful of the visitors, we will no longer be that friendly, quaint, hometown.
Through my 45 year career, I have lived in several Florida beach towns, Utah, Colorado and Virginia. And every where I have lived, I have paid a fee to enjoy the local treasures. And I never complained, because I knew those fees went to maintaining an enjoyable atmosphere.
And yes, when we finally start charging for beach parking/access, many non residents will complain. And I would venture to bet those are the same visitors who haul in all their stuff and leave their trash behind.
I hope the City commissioners will remember as they deliberate on this issue, that many of us who live here on the island are not actual City residents. We live here, some of us work here, we spend a good part of our disposable income here – we just don’t happen to live within the meandering City limits line. Where I live I’m in the County, but I am surrounded by the city. Those of use who live here on the island, just not within the City limits line, should not be treated like we’re from “away” and therefore part of the problem.
Don,
As I noted in my original comment, I suggested that island resident’s be given a “free” beach parking sticker as I believe all are now paying the “sand tax” under either the expanded MSTU or SAISSA assessments. Visitors staying in one of the lodging facilities on the Island are also paying through their bed tax – a portion of which is used by the TDC to pay for beach clean-up, signage and other aspects of beach maintenance. Also, I suspect that most of them are not driving to one of the beach accesses but using the beach access provided through their property. Clearly it is a controversial subject, especially for those that have enjoyed somewhat of a free ride over the years.
Just a thought….
from Jekyll Island website….
“One Day Parking Pass: $6* (tax included). Valid for 24 hours (*Parking ticket has barcode that can be scanned at pay-in-the-lane system for re-entry)
Weekly Parking Pass: $28 (Valid for seven-days)
Annual Parking Decal: $45 (tax included). Valid for 12 months from date of purchase.”
i know the flow can’t be controlled at the bridge as they do up there but the point is that’s a reasonable rate for parking for a beach not nearly as nice as Amelia Islands. Peter’s Point and other county beaches should also charge. Vandals’ destruction of Peter’s Point bath houses has been a problem….maybe this will slow that down or at least give a cam photo of tags entering and leaving the lot.
Foof for thought.
Two things I rave about to my visiting friends: non-fee parking downtown and at the beach. Both are becoming rarer as municipality expenses and growth collide. However, having moved from a North Carolina community before this (Wilmington / Wrightsville Beach) about 9 years ago to return to my birthplace of FB, I previously lived through the angst of parking fees at the beach rising precipitously year after year until finally giving it up due to the hassle and over-charging even though I lived less than 2 miles “off island”. Once a fee is imposed, the camel’s nose is now in the tent. Levied taxes and fees only grow and never shrink.
With cautious planning and a considering of all the facts, if a future fee is imposed I sure hope due consideration is placed on in-county residents to receive a discount for an annual decal. That is what I had hoped for in Wilmington, but never saw happen. I was treated as an outer stater, not someone who frequently visited and spent money at restaurants and retail shopping several times a week all year around as I do here. Fairness needs to be applied to off islanders too, not just in-city residents.