INDIAN ROCKS BEACH — Mayor Denise Houseberg wants to pump the brakes on the city’s paid parking plan after a firestorm of public criticism and public misinformation followed the City Commission’s December approval of beach access fees.

“The wheels fell all the way off the bus since the last meeting,” Houseberg said by phone on Dec. 28, calling the blowback “just ridiculous” and criticism of new City Manager Ryan Henderson “uncalled for.”

The commission unanimously agreed to move forward with a proposed six-month pilot program Dec. 9 that would charge $4.50 per hour through the ParkMobile app at 182 public beach access parking spots. The decision sparked intense criticism on social and traditional media, with much of it fueled by misinformation about the program’s details.

Houseberg blamed other news organizations for spreading false information, particularly about how parking revenue would be used and the fact that residents would continue parking free.

“That’s a big thing that got lost in all of this,” she said.

Now the mayor said she is considering proposing a scaled-back approach: charging for parking at beach accesses Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with free parking on weekends.

“That’s a real pilot program,” she said, calling her idea “parking-light” and “less punitive.”

“This way people who come to walk the beach early in the morning, there’s no cost to you. And people who come to watch the sunset in the evening, there’s no cost to you, either,” she said.

Houseberg, who faces reelection in March, said she’s unsure how her fellow commissioners will react when she presents the proposal at the next meeting Jan. 13. But she emphasized there would be no final vote until every detail is addressed.

“At the next meeting we’re not voting on anything,” Houseberg said. “We’re going to continue the discussion and get into the details. We’re not rushing this, for sure. Let’s do this right.”

Not a new idea

Paid parking is hardly new territory for Indian Rocks Beach. City officials have discussed charging for beach parking for years, most recently in July 2024 when then-City Manager Gregg Mims told commissioners they would hold a work session on the topic.

Those discussions stalled when hurricanes Helene and Milton battered the Gulf Coast, shifting the city’s focus to storm recovery. Mims later left to work for Pinellas County, and the commission hired Henderson as the new city manager.

After Henderson was sworn in in November, he made paid parking a top priority.

During the Dec. 9 meeting, Henderson recommended starting with beach access spots only during the pilot program, noting commissioners had “no desire to charge residents to park.” He said resident parking decals “would suffice for parking freely at those paid spots.”

The proposal drew pushback from commissioners concerned about whether paid beach parking would drive visitors into residential neighborhoods across Gulf Boulevard.

“It’s going to push everybody across the street, which is where we don’t want them,” Commissioner Jude Bond said.

Henderson outlined how parking revenue would be spent: on stormwater infrastructure and community resiliency projects. Indian Rocks Beach doesn’t charge residents a stormwater fee but faces nearly $13 million in stormwater needs, Henderson said.

“This money, paid for by visitors using a public asset, would go back into preserving that public asset and go towards the resiliency of this community,” he said.

The city currently has one paid parking lot owned by Pinellas County, where meters charge $2.50 per hour. Raising that rate to $4.50 could generate about $100,000 annually from the 17th Avenue lot alone, according to city estimates.

A Dec. 22 city news release stated that parking revenue would be “reinvested directly into stormwater management and infrastructure projects,” adding: “The goal of this program is preservation, not transformation.”

Houseberg said paid parking will eventually come to Indian Rocks Beach, but officials need to ensure residents, visitors and business owners understand how, when and where it would be implemented.

“Ryan is very smart, and he’s making videos and educational information that will help make people aware of these new policies and programs,” Houseberg said. “We want to do this right and be inclusive of everyone but do it so we get the greatest result for the greatest amount of people in the community.”

March election set

Seven candidates will appear on the March 10 ballot after the qualifying period closed Dec. 8.

Five candidates — Matthew Barrowclough, Don House, Michael Mirmanesh, Kelle Watt and incumbent Janet Wilson — will compete for two open commission seats. Houseberg faces former Commissioner Lan Vaughan in the mayoral race as she seeks a second term.

Commissioner Jude Bond, first elected in 2022, decided not to seek reelection.

Winners will be sworn in March 25 to serve two-year terms, according to city code.

The election will be held at the Indian Rocks Beach Civic Auditorium from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The city will host a candidate forum at City Hall in February.

For more information, visit votepinellas.gov.