Parking

Officials discussed options for fixing the parking division’s projected shortfall of about $2.6 million by 2028.

A Sarasota parking open house meant to ease months of frustration instead erupted into boos, shouting and accusations that residents had been misled about the meeting’s format.

The proposed change would apply to Fort De Soto, Sand Key and Fred Howard parks as part of the county’s fiscal year 2027 budget.

Sarasota’s St. Armands parking garage has fallen far short of the revenue projections used to justify the project, leaving the city’s parking division struggling to cover the debt tied to it and contributing to a financial crisis now rippling across the city’s parking system.

Chris Steinocher, president and CEO of the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce, said the proposal risked creating what he described as a “not in my front yard” approach to parking.

While resident permit parking already exists in parts of downtown and Old Northeast, the proposal would broaden the framework citywide as redevelopment pressures continue spreading outward from the urban core.

City leaders have increasingly embraced policies designed to encourage development near transit routes, reduce dependence on cars and concentrate growth around walkable districts.

The “expectant mother parking permit” allows pregnant women to obtain disabled parking placards at any point in their pregnancies.

Demand for temporary permits could rise by nearly 20 percent if every pregnant women in Florida applied, since there are about 225,000 births each year in the state, according to a lawsuit.

Casey Ellison, CEO of Ellison Development, noted the uniqueness of showcasing a “very complete,” nearly 80-million-year-old dinosaur skeleton outside of a museum.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will issue temporary placards to expectant mothers, which are valid for up to one year.

The expansive garage nearly doubles the number of parking spaces in St. Petersburg’s booming EDGE District.