The reception hasn’t been pleasant by the residents of Satellite Beach in response to the city’s new parking policy. As of September 15, the city launched a new parking ordinance that requires residents to register to park their vehicles at the beach parks, or face returning to their car being immobilized by a boot installed by a private company. The cost to remove the boot? $80.
Yesterday, a long-time resident was celebrating her birthday at the beach, only to return to see her car with wrapped with a present she didn’t want. The new ordinance has been the source of much local outrage from unsuspecting and uninformed citizens.
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Apparently, the husband of Satellite Beach City Manager Courtney Barker has also “gotten the boot.”
We received several reports today that his car was booted at one of the local beaches, which Courtney confirmed to us in a text.
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“My husband had an Annual pass and he was surprised by the boot. However, just like other Annual Pass holder’s, they found that we had entered the wrong license plate number and the Parking Team resolved the issue on minutes,” she told us.
Citizens have complained that they simply didn’t know about the new parking registration requirements. We went out to the parks to investigate for ourselves, and the signage leaves much to be desired.
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“So the City Manager’s husband can’t even get it right, but they expect the citizens to be able to comply with this b**l sh** policy and take our hard earned money for what,” said one resident who spoke to us. “I’d say it’s priceless that he got booted, but apparently it’s at least $80.”
The only signs that even mention booting or towing are at the immediate entrance to the parks alongside Highway A1A. The signs are high above the ground and in a small font, not where any driver would focus their attention while trying to navigate off the busy road into the parking lots.
Once in the parking lots, signs about paid parking are few and far between, with one sign spread out about every 10 or so parking spaces. They are not that obvious, and unless you park directly in front of one, you probably wouldn’t even notice it. And nowhere on the signs actually in the parking lot, do they mention that your car may be booted.
It also is not stated on the actual parking meter that your car may be immobilized. If your car is booted, after paying the mandatory fine, citizens will be provided with a code to key into the boot, and must return the boot to one of the return boxes or face additional fines. City Councilwoman Mindy Gibson supports the booting policy and stated it’s the best way to ensure the parking policy is enforced, as opposed to parking citations. “We want to make sure the people actually pay,” she said. It’s not clear how much, if not all of the money collected to remove the boots goes to the private company vs the city.
