Charlotte County passes resolution related to Boca Grande parking

At its Tuesday, Sept. 9 meeting, Charlotte County commissioners held a discussion regarding Gasparilla Island beach access and parking, asking Lee County in a resolution to “engage in a transparent and collaborative project with stakeholders” and “reconsider and amend its Boca Grande parking ordinance to restore reasonable public parking access to beaches.”

At the meeting, the commission unanimously passed the resolution directed at Lee County and their commission. The resolution includes a reference to harming the “inclusive character of Boca Grande” and that the restriction in parking may “potentially impact eligibility” for state and federal beach renourishment funding. It also “recognizes the vital importance of maintaining public access to Florida’s coastline for recreational, environmental and economic purposes.”

The ordinance is HERE. A full agenda of the meeting is HERE, and a summary of the presented meeting agenda memo is here. The full video of the day’s meeting is below; at publication time the meeting was still continuing with items from their land use meeting, so it may not be possible to rewind the video until the meeting is concluded.

The meeting also included the possible purchase of a parcel next to the county’s parking area at Englewood Beach, to add additional beach parking there. The parcel is at 2230 N. Beach Rd, immediately north of the Manasota Beach parking lot.