No formal county parking proposal from Lee County

Lee County is currently working on an ordinance revising parking regulations in Boca Grande. While there is a draft version circulating on island, the county was not ready to share a new version at this time. 

“The Board gave staff direction to present amendments to the parking ordinance during the month of August,” said Betsy Clayton, communications director for Lee County. “Staff is currently working on a county-authored draft that will reflect the direction given during the May 6 meeting.”

Currently, there is a homegrown version of a proposed ordinance circulating by email among some non-profit groups and residents on the island. There is also an attached petition. That version has a number of addendums and ideas, including parking zones, resident and worker passes and further restrictions on beach parking access. 

Lee County voted on an initial draft in April. The current draft, as moved forward, would limit beach parking to a few select areas on the island and enforce a strict two-hour parking restriction in the business district. In its current version, it would also restrict parking for churches on Gilchrist Avenue except on Sunday morning. At a Lighthouse United Methodist Church meeting on May 13, that church announced an agreement with neighbors, delivered to the county manager’s office. That document could have some manner of reconciliation so that churches and groups could park cars nearby at times other than Sunday morning. 

At the May 6 Lee County meeting, Commissioner Brian Hamman told the Beacon he hoped that a draft could be released. “If the people can get some of the details that they could look at, then it might start to put people at ease,” Hamman said.