Protest Expected Over Parking Fee Proposal

A proposal to put parking meters in the county’s last free beach side parking lot is likely to draw strong opposition from residents at a community meeting tonight.

“This amounts to a new tax,” said Chris Thorne, a Sunset Beach Community Assn. board member who has helped collect more than 1,000 signatures on petitions against the county proposal. “There’s strong opposition to it.”

Unlike other beach cities, Sunset Beach has no nearby street parking, Thorne said. Those who live in the 574-home unincorporated community often use the 628-space parking lot to supplement limited garage space.

Under the county proposal, residents would pay $50 a year to purchase a parking permit for each car.

County officials say the proposal would bring the 2,250-resident community in line with the rest of the county. They say the fees are needed to help cover the $500,000 annual cost of beach maintenance.

“This area was created to allow for public parking for beach uses,” said Ron Tippets, chief of coastal planning for the county. “It was not created for the residents’ use.”

Paid parking would keep the lot from being monopolized by those who walk to other beaches, Tippets said. And prohibiting public parking in the lot after 10 p.m. would make the area safer for residents, he said.

The county also wants to offer space on trash cans and other beach area locations for corporate sponsorship. Both proposals would require a change the community’s Local Coastal Plan, which was approved about 10 years ago.

“This plan was a good-faith agreement with the community,” Thorne said, “and now they’re saying they want to come back and break it. That’s the biggest issue.”