Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/329100
Siesta Seen Lally pointed out that two public hearings will be necessary before the changes can be adopted. Both the Planning Commission and County Commission will have to consider the matter. "I just got a copy of the ordinance yesterday myself," Lally added. "In the meantime, we're continuing to do nothing while all of that is being worked on?" Shay asked. Lally responded that it would not be a good use of his time to cite anyone for illegal out- door displays right now. By the time he had the paperwork filed and the issue went through the appropriate channels, he said, the new ordinance could be in effect. Then Lourdes Ramirez, a candidate for County Commission, asked Lally about a food truck that reportedly has been operating in space on Midnight Pass Road on Sundays, a short distance east of Siesta Public Beach. Lally said he had just learned about that mat- ter and would make sure someone from Code Enforcement checked on the food truck on June 8. Shay asked about a person who has been charging for parking on commercial property just east of the county's Fire Department No. 13 on Midnight Pass Road. He spotted the sit- uation on Memorial Day weekend, he noted. Someone had set up an umbrella stand, Shay continued, and was charging about $20 for each space. "Is that legal?" "If they've got a business [Certificate of Occupancy (CO)] to do parking there, it's legal," Lally explained. "If not, then I'll address it." "Is that really a bad thing?" Commissioner Patterson, a guest at the SKA meeting, asked of the rental of spaces at that commercial complex. "Frankly," she continued, "this church is doing the same thing." She was referring to St. Boniface Episcopal Church, where the SKA holds its monthly meetings. The church asks for donations from beach-go- ers in exchange for use of its parking lot. It is a short distance north of the Midnight Pass Road/Beach Road intersection. Shay told her he understood the parking situ- ation at St. Boniface is legal. When Patterson asked for details, Shay and Vice President Catherine Luckner both explained that the church operates as a not- for-profit organization. Additionally, Lally said, it implemented its parking arrange- ment before the current county code went into effect, according to his understanding of the situation. "I don't want anybody to come cite the church," Patterson quickly clarified her ear- lier comment. "But there is and always will be, frankly, insufficient parking [on the island] to suit everybody. … And it's hard to get excited when a commercial property charges for parking." "I guess, from my perspective," Shay responded, "if there are rules on the books, Sarasota News Leader June 13, 2014 Page 74