The Commission revisited the extended paid-parking hours and higher parking citation fees that took effect June 29.

The Commission voted to suspend the extended hours while leaving the increased citation fees in place. Paid parking and the City’s broader downtown parking strategy remain works in progress.

Extended Paid Parking Hours Rescinded in Downtown Sarasota

The City Commission approved transmittal of proposed amendments to the Transportation Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan to the State for review.

The amendments cover a range of transportation policies involving streets, sidewalks, parking, transit, bicycles and pedestrian mobility. The City will also review whether a parking impact fee should be considered for developments receiving reductions from normal parking requirements.

A Town Hall to discuss the Transportation Chapter is scheduled for September 1. This will be another opportunity for residents to learn more about the proposed changes and provide input.

More information – Transportation Chapter Update

Legislative Public Hearing

The August 18 election is an important first step in deciding who will fill two at-large seats on the Sarasota City Commission.

The August results will narrow the field to three candidates. Those three candidates will advance to the November 3 general election, when city voters will select two commissioners.

The five-member City Commission makes decisions affecting the City budget, development, transportation, public safety, parks, infrastructure, cultural facilities, and many other matters discussed regularly in this newsletter.

For residents who vote by mail, the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections confirmed ballots have been mailed

Election Dates to Remember

July 20
Registration deadline for the August election

August 6 | 5:00 p.m.
Vote-by-mail ballot request deadline

August 8-16
Early voting
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily

August 18
Election to determine the three candidates advancing to November

November 3
General election to fill the two at-large City Commission seats

Residents are encouraged to confirm their voter registration, precinct number, vote-by-mail status, and polling location in advance through the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections.

At the end of her first month in office, City Manager Karie Friling joined the DSCA Board on July 1 for a candid and wide-ranging discussion about downtown Sarasota and the City's future.

She began with an overview of her first weeks and several major matters facing the City. She also confirmed that she has placed a hold in anticipation of a very tight budget - an early indication of the financial discipline that will shape the upcoming budget process.

The discussion included:

• The potential effects of proposed Florida property-tax changes on City revenues, staffing, services, and capital projects

• Sarasota's principal challenges over the next five years and downtown's role in addressing them

• Opportunities for stronger cooperation between the City and Sarasota County

• The neighborhood impacts of rapid downtown construction

• The future of the Sarasota Performing Arts Center and other major community investments

• Her early impressions of Sarasota and City government
  
  

The meeting gave DSCA an important early opportunity to hear directly from the City's new chief executive and to ensure that downtown residents are represented in the conversations ahead.

Full Video: Click Here

Speaker Video: Click Here

Downtown parking and mobility remain important issues for DSCA members. 

The city’s paid parking changes are now becoming part of downtown operations. DSCA will continue to monitor how these changes affect residents, visitors, restaurants, cultural venues, employees, and overall downtown access. 

The City of Sarasota publishes a monthly Special Events Summary with upcoming events, road closures, and community happenings.

To ensure you always receive the most current information, the City recommends subscribing to receive updates as soon as the monthly report is published.

Subscribe to the City’s Events & Street Closures updates
Browse the full events calendar anytime

Stay ahead of what’s happening around the city and plan accordingly.

At the May 18 City Commission meeting, Bay Park Conservancy CEO A.G. Lafley presented plans for phases 3A and 3B of the Bay Park buildout. One of the newer elements is a concept for an approximately 700-space, five-story parking structure within the park site.

The City Commission voted to accept the Bay Park Conservancy report for phases 3A and 3B. A more specific discussion regarding the parking structure portion of the effort is expected at a meeting slated for later this week.

The proposed structure is intended to replace a comparable number of surface parking spaces now located in the Bay Park/Van Wezel area. Those surface lots would be converted to green space as part of the broader park development. The goal is to preserve overall parking supply, return significant ground-level acreage to park use, and improve the quality of stormwater leaving the site before it enters Sarasota Bay.

The structure could also serve a future performing arts center on the site, should that project move forward. The image below is an early, rough concept subject to significant revisions but does reflect the approximate new location for the structure envisioned.

At its May 18 meeting, the City Commission approved changes to paid parking in downtown Sarasota on second reading. The broader expansion of paid parking hours is scheduled to begin June 1, with paid street and garage parking generally running from 8 a.m. to midnight.

One modification was made during the discussion. Following concerns raised by downtown churches, on-street parking downtown and on St. Armands Key will remain free on Sundays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. The change is intended to address Sunday morning church service concerns while allowing the broader paid parking changes to move forward.

Click here to read more.

What's happening west of U.S. 41 is no longer a Rosemary District issue — it's a district-wide convergence. The Quay, Bay Park, and Rosemary now function as one connected place. Their parking and mobility needs should be planned the same way.

The 2018 Quay Master Plan assumed a shared model — on-site spaces, the Cordelia garage, valet, and walkability working together. It never assumed the Quay would stand alone. If a meaningful share of Cordelia's roughly 150 public spaces are now leased privately, available supply is shrinking just as demand is peaking.

That demand is arriving from multiple directions at once. Cordelia restaurant spaces are filling. The Ritz-Carlton Residences and One Park are moving toward occupancy. A 174-room hotel is coming to the Quay. Bay Park Town Square opens later this year. A performing arts center remains in play. At full build-out, the west-of-41 district could support six or more restaurants — with guests, employees, and service providers all competing for the same limited supply in an area with virtually no on-street parking and no informal overflow.

Into that picture, the McCown site is uniquely positioned. Most Rosemary parking alternatives are east of Central Avenue. McCown — west of Central — is one of the only parcels with the geographic reach to serve the Quay, Bay Park, and the Rosemary edge simultaneously. Rosemary's growth makes the need urgent. The broader district convergence makes it irreplaceable.

The Sarasota City Commission approves extending paid parking to 24/7 and increasing citation fines to make the Parking Division solvent and fund future capital needs.  As an enterprise fund, the Parking Division, under the direction of General Manager Broxton Harvey, intends to cover its own expenses with revenues generated. During their March 23 meeting, however, city commissioners were warned, unless changes are made, of upcoming annual deficits approaching and exceeding $2 million. Opting not to increase hourly rates and monthly parking permit fees, the City Commission unanimously voted to extend hours of paid parking in city-owned spaces and to increase fines for citations, which are projected to generate more than $2.7 million in additional revenue.  The additional revenue will find capital expenses including elevator replacements at the State Street and Palm Ave garages, license plate recognition equipment, meter replacements, garage signage and contactless meter payments.  Commissioners rejected increases in monthly employee parking permit fees and hourly rates. Click here to read more.

The Rosemary District Association held a community meeting with Broxton Harvey, GM Parking along with business leaders from the neighborhood.  The purpose was to discuss issues and solutions affecting parking in the district.  All agree that there are not enough spaces available and a garage is needed.  Concerns included rapid expansion of business, business growth limitations, employee parking, customer parking, construction vehicles not being cited, limits on parking permits and more.  The city listened intently and agreed to enforce violations, improve the permit process and indicated the city parking study indicates 216 additional spaces are needed in the district.  The staff also discussed how to fund a parking garage.  One idea being considered by the Commissioners is building a garage on top of a proposed new affordable residential building at the McCown Center.