Beach parking struggle turns into debate about merging Anna Maria Island, Holmes Beach, Bradenton Beach

ANNA MARIA ISLAND, Fla. - A struggle to find beach parking on Anna Maria Island has a state lawmaker looking into solutions and exploring a bigger debate about merging the island’s cities.

Anna Maria Island has options for sun and sand with the cities of Anna Maria, Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach.

"We have three complete separate characters, and we’re that quaint island communities that everybody loves, which is why this is a top tourist destination," said Judy Titsworth, the city of Holmes Beach mayor.

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But parking on the island may be tricky, and State Representative Will Robinson hopes to fix that.

"I have talked to Manatee County, and they are interested in building a parking garage in the public beach area right off 64, that will in some small way alleviate the parking issues that we have. Is that the only solution? Absolutely not," said State Rep. Robinson of District 71.

In Holmes Beach the mayor said the city limited parking in neighborhoods for safety.

"Everyone’s parking in right of ways up and down every single residential street. We never had any ‘no parking’ signs,'" said Titsworth. "We did limit some of the parking, but we made sure to still be more than compliant by what was required by the state."

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That may not be enough for state lawmakers in Manatee County. At Thursday’s legislative delegation meeting in Bradenton, Robinson said it may be time for changes to parking and to the island cities.

"The last 20 years those three cities have lost almost 50 percent of their population. So, I think it’s time that the legislature just study the issue, and I ask that this delegation make a motion to bring back a study - should we continue to have three cities?" said Robinson. "Is that economically feasible? Because we have three different mayors, three different councils, three different levels of government, should we streamline things a little bit and have maybe one city or two cities or no cities? I don’t know what the answer is so over the next year, we can have the study do along with significant public input."

Talk about consolidating the cities felt like a bombshell, Titsworth said. 

"It almost feels like a hostile takeover. I can’t help but think it’s like really, number one, never brought up to any of the three mayors, never a discussion with either one of us of what we felt or city commissioners, what they felt about it," said Titsworth. 

She said that the island’s population also fluctuated over the years.

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"We’ve brought in $30 million in revenue for the bed tax fund, just in our little city alone," Titsworth said. "We had a decline as things move about, but it circled back around, and we’re starting to grow again."

So she said it’s up to the beach cities to fight for their community’s character.

"It’s a huge wake-up call for all the cities, all the cities of Florida. If they can do it to us and single us out just because we cut back on parking, look what they can do to all the other cities," said Titsworth.

Rep. Robinson said he wants to see a consolidation study and get resident feedback for the 2024 legislative session. The Holmes Beach mayor said the move could mean big changes not just for the cities but also the locals.