Parking garage bill speeds to governor’s desk

BY KRISTIN SWAIN SUN STAFF WRITER | kswain@amisun.com

TALLAHASSEE – There’s only one more stop for HB 947 before it becomes law – Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The bill, which would allow a threestory, 1,500+ paid parking space garage to be constructed at Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach, sped through the Florida Senate on May 4 with 39 votes in favor and none opposed. It now goes to DeSantis for approval, veto or approval by nonaction on the part of the governor.

The parking garage bill, sponsored by Manatee County Rep. Will Robinson Jr. and supported by other members of the county’s legislative delegation, allows for the parking garage to be built at the county-owned beach in Holmes Beach against city regulations and land development code provisions and without permits from the city building department. Parking garages are not an approved land use in Holmes Beach and require approval through a special exception process with the city commission and building department.

A county commission effort to build the garage, spearheaded by Commis- sion Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge, skipped past the special exception process and went straight to the state with support from the full county legislative delegation despite pushback from city elected officials and Anna Maria Island residents. Van Ostenbridge said he thought it best to work around the city because he felt the commission wouldn’t approve the parking garage even if county officials went through the special exception process. He took the matter to state leaders where the bill sped through three House committees, a floor vote in that chamber and most recently the Senate floor vote. Though no official plans for the garage have been released, Van Ostenbridge said it’s planned to span the entire width and breadth of the county’s parcel at Manatee Beach, replacing the current concession stand, tiki bar, retail store and restroom facilities, with some built into the garage along with 1,5001,700 parking spaces over three stories with rooftop parking. Construction is currently estimated to cost $45 million and take at least two years to complete, during which parking and facilities at the site would not be available.