Cost of parking for islanders, workers unclear

While a new parking plan is under consideration by Lee County, what is not defined in the ordinance is how much these permits will cost for island residents, homeowners and workers. 

A new parking draft ordinance presented June 17 for Gasparilla Island would have a tiered plan for residents, hotel guests, house guests and island workers. 

A similar plan of tiered parking in Sanibel charges from $14 to $300 for different types of passes. 

The county staff does not have an answer about cost, yet.

“Because this proposed ordinance amendment was not authored by staff, has not yet had a public hearing and has not yet gone through the adoption process, staff are not able to respond to your questions at this time,” said Betsy Clayton, Communications Director for Lee County. 

The Boca Beacon also asked the same question of Chairman Kevin Ruane’s office, and has not heard back.

The current draft ordinance has no provision in the ordinance for any beach parking excepting the spaces at the Florida State Parks parking areas. That state parking would continue to be $3 per vehicle, collected using a current honor box system at four locations on the island run by Florida State Parks. Guests can also buy a Florida State Parks yearly pass, but that does not guarantee a parking place. There is also an ability to pay ahead online.

With other details from ordinances, typically, the implementation details are handled in County Administrative Code. The draft ordinance presented in June by Chairman Kevin Ruane refers to issues relating to Gilchrist Avenue parking event permits, for instance, being “set forth in the Lee County Administrative Code.”

The plan was sold in the community as a series of passes available to all on island. An FAQ circulated with the draft plan simply states, “A variety of low-cost methods are available to prevent placards from being duplicated or used inappropriately.”

The question is, what is “low cost” and what will that cost be for residents and workers or companies?

Currently, Lee County charges a yearly fee of $60 for a Premium Parking pass at its beaches and parks. Lee County Parks and Recreation has not installed this program for Boca Grande beaches, opting to allow for free parking at the numerous access points here. Lee County in general has ceased using stickers entirely; instead, Premium Parking, a vendor of the county, merely adds your license plate to a database, and some sort of enforcer checks license plates against a database.

The FAQ that circulated with the draft version of the ordinance also refers to placards, in addition to the stickers. It reads, “Residents and employees would have stickers for their vehicles. House guests and hotel guests would be given placards for their dashboards.”

The proposed parking ordinance being circulated has four categories of permits. There could be an “A” decal or sticker for cars owned or leased by a resident, and subject to space availability. There is a “B” placard, available to a vehicle of a hotel guest. There is a “C” decal available to employees, and a “D” placard for house guests.

Commissioner Kevin Ruane has cited his experience in Sanibel with a parking plan there as the rationale for a plan here. Currently, Sanibel has a plan with three tiers of permits, A, B and C. The plans are purchased at the Sanibel Recreation Center. For 2025, the Resident A pass is $14 for beach. A resident AC, for beach and boat ramp, is $113. A non-resident B pass is $300 for a non-resident and non-property owner and a BC class, for beach and boat ramps for non-residents, is sold out. That pass is $399.

The current ordinance draft does not allow for the purchase of parking passes from off the island, including other Lee County residents.

The proposed ordinance also defines as “vehicles” any powered device including automobiles, trucks, golf carts and motorcycles. Bicycles are exempted from the ordinance. That would mean that to be safe from ticketing, all golf carts belonging to a household would also need an “A” parking sticker or decal.

The ordinance is set to be voted on by Lee County in August. The full ordinance is at bocabeacon.com/parking.