Roundup: Parking in Boca Grande and on Gasparilla Island

The issue of parking, and public access to Gasparilla Island, has been a longstanding one on Gasparilla Island and in Boca Grande. Below, a list of some stories on the issue, both recent and historical, in addition to official documents relating to parking on the island.

The island is divided into two counties, Lee and Charlotte, and the bulk of the island, and the town, is in Lee County.

Below, a chronology of the issue, some local links and positions on the parking issue from The Gasparilla Inn and the Boca Grande Chamber of Commerce.

Chronology

Some stories relating to the parking issue from the Beacon:

• Sept. 20, 2024: Lee County wrote its own waiver for Community Center
• July 26, 2024: Parking documents indicate downtown parking areas
• July 19, 2024: Firm two-hour limit in draft parking docs in Public Records request
• July 12, 2024: Draft parking docs include digital sign board and vendor run ‘lot management’
• July 11, 2024: Merchants hold impromtu meetup on parking
• June 28, 2024: Parking Panel members resign from committee
• June 13, 2024: Retailers fear more parking restrictions will drive away customers
• June 7, 2024: Lee Commissioners vote, add last minute discussion of parking changes
• June 7, 2024: Major parking rule changes discussed at Tuesday Lee meeting
• June 4, 2024: Lee County pursues public parking restrictions across Boca Grande (Inside story, link to YouTube video of Lee County Board).
• May 31, 2024: Officials consider new regulations on town parking
• April 25, 2024: Churches send unified message on need for daytime parking
• April 25, 2024: Timeline of parking discussions in Boca Grande
• Feb. 15, 2024: Fifth Street beach access remains closed
• Nov. 17, 2023: Parking Panel to meet again with Ruane
• Sept. 22, 2023: County says Fifth Street beach access closed as a precaution
• Oct. 26, 2023: Meeting between Ruane and Parking Panel scheduled for November 2
• Oct. 19, 2023: Gilchrist parking is back, Parking Panel attends Lee Commissioners October meeting
• Oct. 28, 2018: Lee County Commissioners uphold parking on the median
• March 23, 2018: Parallel parking mandated on beach access streets
• March 10, 2017: New signage proposed on beach access parking
• Dec. 16, 2016: GICIA assists with palm tree planting on Gilchrist Avenue
• Dec. 2, 2016: New Gilchrist plantings ahead of schedule
• Oct. 28, 2016: Lee Commissioners strike Gilchrist from agenda
• March 16, 2016: Advisory board meeting at Community Center
• Dec. 4, 2015: A Gilchrist Avenue parking timeline, 2003-2015
• July 24, 2015: GICIA advisory board formed to investigate ordinance revision
• April 24, 2015: Gilchrist Neighborhood Association stance on Gilchrist parking
• April 10, 2015: Parking prohibited on two southern-most median strips by GICIA

Official Documents

• Lee County Plan (as amended through May 2024)
• Boca Grande Community Plan (Sept. 30, 2004)
• Waiver for Boca Grande Community Center (July 12, 2024)

Other Links, Draft Ordinances

• Administrative Code 11-9 (a draft code, referenced in our July 19, 2024 story)
• Draft ordinance (a proposed update of a parking ordinance, referenced in our July 26 story)
• Parking Panel resignation letter (June 28, 2024)
• Tourist guide to public parking on Gasparilla Island
• 2024 position letter from The Gasparilla Inn
• 2023 position letter from the Boca Grande Chamber of Commerce

Boca Beacon Editorials

• Questions before a possible October Surprise, Sept. 20, 2024
• Where are the $igns to our $leepy little town?, July 12, 2024
• Inventory of island parking needed, July 5, 2024
• Let’s start by curbing the ‘curb lawns’ in Boca Grande, June 21, 2024
• Quiet Gilchrist, overflowing Gasparilla Island State Park, June 13, 2024
• The issue of parking raised again, June 6, 2024
• Take down the fence on Fifth Street, May 30, 2024
• Parking subterfuge and precedents, Oct. 19, 2023

State Resources

• Florida Department of Environmental Protection map of officially defined state public access points. Also included are amenities for each access point, parking and ownership.

Community Comment: A sampling of letters to the editor

• Parking meters would destroy character of Boca Grande, Sept. 20, 2024
• Boca Grande church access not just about Sunday mornings, July 8, 2024
• Families need access to beaches, June 21, 2024
• Questions on Boca Grande town residents and parking, June 14, 2024
• Regional development and demand for parking, Oct. 26, 2023
• Turning into Coney Island? Oct. 26, 2023
• Why does the county allow Curb Lawns to occur? June 3, 2016

Florida and regional beach parking

• Sarasota, Ft. Myers relax parking restrictions, Jun 21, 2024

Cleanups, beach renourishment & restoration

• Bids out on Gasparilla Island State Park renourishment, June 21, 2024
• Seahorses, used COVID tests, pacifiers found at annual cleanup, Sept. 21, 2023
• Army Corps, Lee County agree on beach renourishment pact, May 19, 2022