ST. PETE BEACH — City commissioners heard results of a parking study that recommends the city raise its parking rates and fines, and even consider hiring contracted parking enforcement officers to supplement staff.

Assistant City Manager Adam Poirier told commissioners that “over the last several months, through a lot of community engagement and a lot of online surveys, we’ve been going through a comprehensive parking action plan. What you’re going to hear tonight is the results of that study.”

Poirier noted the community survey had very high turnout for a city of St. Pete Beach’s size, which he said was “certainly reflective of the community’s interest in the topic.”

He cautioned that just because something appears in the draft or presentation doesn’t necessarily mean staff will move forward with it.

The first item commissioners will likely see will be a pricing adjustment in the next 90 days, Poirier said.

Study findings

In March, the city engaged Dixon Resources Unlimited to conduct a comprehensive parking management study, culminating in a Parking Action Plan report.

Poirier said Dixon’s approach was rooted in the city’s goals for the parking program, including increasing revenue, encouraging compliance with regulations, managing impacts on residents and streamlining operations.

“Overall, parking turnover was low, with 60% of vehicles staying longer than three hours. The average length of stay across the study area was 4.1 hours,” the report found. However, the average length of stay for paid parking spaces was lower, at 3.5 hours.

The study concluded that implementing demand-based pricing for paid parking is a key recommendation, including adjusting parking rates that allow for peak season or holiday pricing. A parking consultant told residents rates could be adjusted “on a whim” for events such as sunset parking and holidays.

The report recommended the city recognize shared parking agreements and consider building a parking garage in the central part of the city.

Resident proposes driveway parking

Resident Loren Mones offered a unique approach to solving the parking crunch: implementing shared parking by residents.

As a resident of Pass-a-Grille, she painted a picture for commissioners of the “parking purgatory” created there.

“People lose their minds when they’re trying to find parking there,” she told commissioners. “In high season by 10 a.m., the city spaces are full, the meters are full; cars are looping the same street for an hour.”

When visitors eventually give up and leave, “so does their money that our economy could have benefitted from. I’m sure we lose thousands of visitors per year due to the stress of not being able to find parking,” she said.

Mones suggested that instead of providing more public parking, the city could allow residents to rent parking spaces in their driveways to those looking for a space.

“While visitors are stuck in parking purgatory, hundreds of empty driveways are sitting right there in the neighborhood, totally unused,” Mones explained. “I’m asking the city to allow residents who have space in their driveway to open their spaces to visitors for a fee.”

She added that this would only apply when city parking is full, so the city would not lose money. The practice is already commonplace in other cities that have festivals near neighborhoods.

Enforcement recommendations

The parking study suggested the city invest in fixed license plate recognition cameras and handheld technology that allows parking enforcement officers to be more nimble.

In a recommendation, the study said “outsourcing enforcement is considered highly advantageous for the city.” It advised the city to consider contracting with a firm to act as, or supplement, the city’s parking enforcement team.

“Parking penalties have to be increased so they are comparable with neighboring cities,” the report noted.

Study consultants explained the contractor would provide parking enforcement officers for patrolling designated routes, issuing warnings, citations and towing requests, and interacting with the public while on duty.

To perform the services, the study said, the contracted enforcement team would require access to various equipment and workplace items such as enforcement vehicles, including the lease, fuel, auto insurance, parking and auto maintenance, in addition to uniforms, office space and supplies. Other required items would be desks, computers and internet access, and communication devices such as cellphones with voice and data plans.

The contractor would also have to be provided with license plate recognition equipment, including software and support.

The study noted the city currently has an in-house enforcement team consisting of three full-time and one part-time officer, along with a supervisor.

Poirier suggested the city could consider hiring contracted code enforcement officers to supplement city staff during hours when it is difficult to find people to work.

Commission response

City Manager Fran Robustelli asked commissioners what items they would like to see staff address and bring back for consideration.

Mayor Adrian Petrila said he would like to hear more input from the business community on the parking rate structure. He added he likes the idea of initiating resident-only and golf cart parking as perks, especially on unused spots like those on Upham Beach.

Regarding parking enforcement, the mayor said two things are “immediately and obviously glaring. One is we are the lowest in parking fines.”

“We generated $398,000 in parking fines last year. If we went from $30 to $60, that still puts us $20 cheaper than almost everybody else,” he said.

He also favored increasing parking enforcement staff, noting “it’s hard to monitor the entire island if you only have three people.”

Specific changes will be brought back to the commission for acceptance on a case-by-case basis.