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Even when finished, the new garage will not eliminate a shortage of parking downtown. The site is now used for surface parking with 139 spaces; the garage will have 399, for a net gain of 260 spaces. Stancel noted the city could add additional public parking in the City Hall lot, along Ringling Boulevard or on prop- erty now leased from real estate firm Michael Saunders & Co.'s office on Orange Avenue. The city also has a deficit of parking at St. Armands Circle, where a new garage is under consideration. All parking in the city is free to the public (except for long-term leased spaces) but not free to the city. The admin- istration, enforcement of time limits and maintenance are running $500,000 in the red each year, with the deficit made up from the general fund. Commissioners fumbled with paid parking before jerking the meters after a few people protested by showing up at a meeting with paper bags over their heads. The final vote to approve the "adjustments" was 4-1, with Planning Board Chairman Chris Gallagher in the minority. KAYAKER'S PARADISE The Planning Board also approved an 18-unit condominium complex on a long-vacant lot on south Lido Key. As you leave Ted Sperling Park (aka South Lido Beach) on the south- ern tip of the island, the first right turn off Ben Franklin Drive is a one-block-long street named after President Taft. Decades ago, it held a hotel, but that was demolished. About 10 years ago, a 110-foot tall condominium complex called the Azure Tides was proposed and approved, but never built. Patrick DiPinto with Seaward Development bought the land — one of the few open plots on the key — and has asked for approval to build three medium-rise buildings containing 18 units. The maximum height would be 35 feet. City Planner Steve Stancel, architect Darrell McLain and planning consultant Joel Freedman brief the Planning Board on the State Street garage proposal. Photo by Stan Zimmerman Sarasota News Leader March 14, 2014 Page 39