Letters: Parking kiosks or meters would destroy character

To the Editor:

I was horrified to read of a proposal to put up parking meters or some sort of paid parking system in downtown Boca Grande. Parking meters, and even parking apps and kiosks, of course come with parking meter maids, which also means parking tickets.

For a community that prides itself as one without a single traffic light, I can’t think of anything that would be more destructive to the unique ambiance of Boca Grande than parking meters.

Fortunately, as residents we do have at least two lines of defense against this abomination. As the former Chairman of a Planning Commission, I believe that any such proposal must go before the Historic Preservation Board. Given this board’s members of concerned citizens, I want to see if Lee County can convince them that parking meters are worthy of a historical “Certificate of Appropriateness.”

 The Gasparilla Island Conservation District Act of 1980 was passed to maintain our quality of life as unique in ever-growing Florida, and to prevent our community from becoming another Sanibel Island. Lee County is a signatory to this agreement to preserve the character and charm of our community, but it appears that the arrogant, faceless bureaucracy has forgotten both the spirit and letter of the Act.

Section 6 of the Act grants property owners legal standing to enforce or enjoin provisions of the Act. Rest assured that my wife, Cookie, and I will be first in line at the courthouse to preserve our way of life in Boca Grande.

I ask all members of our community to join in the resistance in this deplorable assault on our precious way of life in Boca Grande.

J. Jay Feinberg and Cookie Potter,

Boca Grande