Reporting of curb lawns after parking rules
After an August 5 ordinance that will change parking rules on Gasparilla Island, the Beacon continues to get complaints that there are at least three new, unpermitted ‘curb lawns’ in Boca Grande. In response, the Beacon asked Lee County staff if there were any plans to address the non-permitted landscaping on the island on county property.
“The county continues to work through the process of both rollout and enforcement related to parking in Boca Grande,” said Betsy Clayton, Communications Director for Lee County.
In May, the Lee County staff identified all the parking spaces in Boca Grande, as part of an inventory. Part of that inventory showed that there were 3,062 parking spaces; 2,228 on the county right of way; 479 county spaces; 115 GICIA spots and 240 state-owned spots.
In the inventory, the county also found 478 parking spaces lost to unpermitted landscaping, and 15 spaces lost to permitted landscaping. Since the passage of the ordinance on Aug. 5, the Beacon has received at least three specific complaints about new landscaping efforts across the island.
The Beacon also asked, “If Lee County does not address the issue without a complaint, off islanders and on islanders have asked us how Lee County would enforce a car temporarily parked on a street, but not report a large palm planted on the right-of-way illegally?”
Clayton replied that anyone seeing or questioning one of the installations could contact the county about specific cases.
“Any Boca Grande resident who thinks a violation exists or sees something that wasn’t conducted as permitted should report the situation to the county by calling (239) 533-8895 or online: leegov.com/dcd/CodeEnf,” Clayton wrote.
The Beacon published the county parking maps back in May.
The parking maps of Boca Grande are available at bocabeacon.com/parking
Rules on right-of-way plants:
Back in 2024, Lee County offered this explanation on the issue of plantings in county rights of way, and what a “curb lawn” can look like. The County said:
• To work within the Lee County right of way, you need to apply for a right-of-way permit and submit a plan for the work you would like to perform. Lee County’s right-of-way staff reviews the plan for approval.
• If “curb lawns” is referring to landscaping, we have allowed plantings that are frangible, which means they must be able to breakaway when/ if a vehicle hits them. They also may not exceed a 4-inch caliber at maturity, which means the base of the tree/vegetation must be less than 4 inches wide.
