Letter From Bob Kellner

The reality of the parking on Santa Rosa Island is that 99% of the time, parking is not an issue. It's only during special events and select weekends. 

The first question that should be asked given the limited amount of available funding, is that funding parking the best use of those dollars? Personally, I don't think so. I would rather see money spent on roadway and pedestrian improvements first.

As for any public transportation ideas, they are simply not feasible. All public infrastructure is subsidized because of insufficient ridership. That includes major urban transit systems much less a limited use system on a barrier island. Again, should limited infrastructure dollars be spent on empty shuttles? Where would any funds come from to subsidize any public transportation? Lease fees?

The idea of a parking garage to solve ongoing parking issues is not realistic unless it is one huge, mammoth, and expensive garage because in reality any basic garage would simply not be large enough to provide all of the traffic needs for those certain weekends and special events when additional parking is needed.  

An argument for a dedicated parking garage that could be exclusively used by beach and business employees might be made but who would pay for it? A Public/Private Initiative, doubtful?  Lease fees? Would this be the best use of Lease Fees? 

Besides the initial capital costs to construct a parking garage, consideration must also be given to the long-term maintenance and security costs of any garage. Does it make sense to dedicate ongoing lease fee funds to maintain a building that will sit empty most of the time? Who will be responsible to maintain it? 

Security is the other issue. Think about the recent rape in the downtown Pensacola parking garage. There is already crime presently in the Casino Beach parking lot and any proposed garage will also have crime that will require ongoing policing along with the additional costs for that policing. 

There are higher infrastructure priorities that can be addressed first. 

• Traffic mobility can be improved with intersection and traffic signal improvements, congestion pricing at the bridge, and proper roadway signage.

• Pedestrian mobility can be improved with better lighting and roadway streetscaping that integrates traffic and pedestrians.

• Overall street scaping can also provide improved aesthetics and environmental impacts.

• Beach facilities at Casino Beach and around the main core can be improved and better maintained. 

• Improving facilities and introducing potential events and limited commercial opportunities to the east and west public beaches would pull more traffic away from the main core area.

The main business core of the island simply does not have the capacity to provide the necessary parking needed for limited periods throughout any given year unless extremely expensive capital funds are invested for limited use infrastructure that will require expensive reoccurring costs. There are more important priorities that can be addressed with cheaper and easier solutions and opportunities to improve the island.

Letter from Bob Kellner

Exploring a Comprehensive Solution

The reality of the parking situation on Pensacola Beach is that99% of the time, parking is not an issue. It only becomes a concern during special events and select weekends when the influx of visitors outnumbers the available spaces.

However, one proposed solution presently being discussedto provide additional parking capacity and to minimize traffic on Pensacola Beachis to construct a parking garage. Given the roadway mobility in the main core of Pensacola Beach is already poor, constructing a parking garage seems secondary until comprehensive roadway improvements are made first.

Since there are a limited amount of public funds available for any construction projects, it is essential to ask whether dedicating limited resources to a parking garage without a clear understanding of both its potential impacts and potential benefits is the best use of those limited dollars.Any consideration of a proposed parking garage should only be made with a defined purpose followed by a clear understanding on the number of benefits it would provide to the public with those same benefits balanced against other potential improvement projects.

Concerns

Without understanding how a parking garage would impact the surrounding roadway infrastructure, aparking garage could potentiallyaggravate traffic mobility by concentrating too much traffic in one location. And unless it is one mammoth structure, it’s doubtful a new structure will provide sufficient capacity to alleviate any parking needs. Consideration could be made to construct a limited facility with dedicated parking for beach workers and business employees, but who would bear the cost of such a facility? The prospect of a Public/Private Initiative seems doubtful, and the potential use of public fees to construct a private use garage is not the best use of those funds.

Beyond the initial capital costs required to construct a parking garage, what arethe long-term maintenance and security costs? Does it make sense to dedicate ongoing fundsto maintain a structure that will sit empty most of the time while other infrastructure is neglected? Who pays for those maintenance costs?Private funds? Security is another significant issue that accompanies the construction of a parking garage.The Casino Beach parking lot already contends with crime, and any proposed garage will require additional policing activities. Before any funds are spent, these types of concerns should be discussed and again, balanced against the benefits that could be realized with other infrastructure improvements.

Alternatives

A parking garage will require significant initial capital costs along with costly reoccurring costs with a questionable number of benefits. Instead, there are higher infrastructure priorities that should be addressed first. 

Traffic mobility can be improved with intersection and traffic signal improvements, congestion pricing at the bridge, and proper roadway signage. Traffic mobility that is integrated into the surrounding land uses should be the highest priority for any proposed infrastructure projects on Pensacola Beach.

Pedestrian mobility can be improved with better lighting and roadway streetscaping that integrates traffic and pedestrians.

Overall street scaping can also provide improved aesthetics and environmental impacts.

Beach facilities at Casino Beach and around the main core can be improved and better maintained along with designated parking areas for beach employees.

Prioritizing Investments

Before any consideration of a parking garage is made, the impacts and benefits of a garage should be first quantified in a comprehensive transportation planning approach which includes roadway and pedestrian improvements along with any proposed parking solutions so that optimum mobility solutions that benefit both residents and visitors can be identified. The proposed improvements should provide long-term benefits and ensure that Pensacola Beach continues to thrive.

Ultimately, there are presently more important priorities that can be addressed with cheaper and easier solutions, and by focusing first on roadway and pedestrian improvements, we can enhance the overall experience for everyone. Parking will always remain a concern during peak times, but the solution does not lie in constructing a costly and underutilized parking garage. Instead, exploring alternative transportation options and investing first in infrastructure improvements with defined benefits will provide more sustainable and cost-effective benefits for the island community

As Pensacola Beach continues to grow in popularity, so too does the strain on its infrastructure, traffic flow, and sensitive coastal environment.  Traffic and parking are HUGE concerns here at Pensacola Beach.  Residents here do NOT want more vehicles here, while the businesses want MANY MORE vehicles here because they bring out more customers, so they're calling for a massive, public parking garage.  There must be a better solution.

It’s time to consider what many other Florida beach communities have already recognized: a well-designed paid parking system.  This is not only a practical tool for managing growth and encouraging carpooling—it’s an essential step toward protecting the very qualities that make Pensacola Beach unique.

A focused paid parking program—limited to the core commercial area and high-use zones such as Park East and Park West—would help address crowding, fund beach maintenance, and support environmental preservation.  These areas draw the highest daily traffic, yet also contain some of the most fragile dune ecosystems and shoreline.  With smart planning, parking revenue could fund improved trash collection, dune stabilization, better boardwalk maintenance, and many other public services that improve the visitor experience and protect natural resources.

Equally important, any parking plan must include restricted parking in low-density residential areas that simply cannot accommodate large volumes of vehicle traffic.  These neighborhoods were not built to serve as overflow lots for peak tourism days.  Increased parking in these areas puts undue stress on aging infrastructure, increases stormwater runoff, and threatens the tranquility and livability that residents—and many visitors—value most.  Protecting these areas from uncontrolled vehicle use is an environmental and public safety imperative.

We don’t have to look far to see how this can be done right.  Communities like Clearwater and Jacksonville Beach have used paid parking to invest in accessibility, maintenance, and beach safety.  Others, like Venetian Bay, show us what happens when implementation lacks transparency or public input.  We can—and should—learn from both.

A Pensacola Beach paid parking plan should include resident discounts or passes, revenue reinvestment into local beach improvements, and clear communication with the public.  The goal isn’t to discourage access—it’s to make sure access remains sustainable, enjoyable, and in balance with the needs of the environment and surrounding communities.

Pensacola Beach is more than a destination—it’s a public treasure.  Let’s take the steps necessary to ensure its long-term health and accessibility.

I am posting this for PBA President Rhonda Dorfman:

I believe the traffic on Pensacola Beach and a traffic analysis  on Pensacola Beach was reviewed and analyzed approximately two years ago. It is my understanding that Traffic situations get reviewed every five years. I know that Commissioner Bender worked hard on this as is Commissioner Hofberger. As a resident on the beach, and as president of the Pensacola Beach Advocates, I am pleading with you to put additional boots on the ground with sheriff deputies to manage the traffic situation at Casino Beach parking lot and the main intersection on Pensacola Beach. Every single beautiful weekend we average more people than on Blue Angels weekend. I am unaware if you regularly come out to the beach on the weekends, or if your staff who monitor the lights, ever travel the beach on the weekends, but every weekend has become a Blue Angels weekend when the weather is perfect.

Add to that, check in for 3000 hotel rooms is between 3 PM and 4 PM along with those homes that are rented for short term rentals every Saturday. Also take into consideration that the morning visitors to the beach are leaving the beach at 3 PM. Fort Pickens is gridlock.  Via de Luna is gridlock.   We understand the light is being monitored 24/7. If it is not, please provide the active monitoring timeframe for the Beach light.    During the peak summer hours between the hours of 10 AM and 8 PM there’s never a time when people are not constantly coming onto the beach or constantly leaving the beach, leaving the timing of the light at the intersection in a quandary.

We understand the tremendous growth that has taken place in Escambia County, and we also understand that other parts of the county are as important as the beach, however, given the importance of tourism, and the fact that the growth in Escambia County appears to enjoy being on the beaches every beautiful day… We feel our traffic situation should be given a priority and analyzed annually.  We know that the prior commissioner worked  to keep traffic moving through Highway 98 in Gulf Breeze , but as taxpayers in Escambia County,  we feel that a priority should be given to us when it comes to being able to come and go on the beach and moving the traffic in an efficient manner.  

We also know that it is a very important to remove the pedestrians from the traffic situation, but you must know that without the police there to monitor jaywalking, and crowds that just walk across the street, even though they do not have the right to walk across the street, all of this adds to traffic problems. As someone who lives on the beach and travels it day in and day out during peak times in the summer we really must insist that Traffic deputies be implemented to move pedestrians and to monitor traffic coming out of casino Beach and at the light.  

In another observation, it is not when Casino Beach fills up that the traffic begins to back up. We have greatly reduced wait time to get onto the beach now let’s work on getting people off of the beach. Removing the toll booth is the start and will greatly improve time getting onto the beach. And as mentioned before, when the lots  fill up, that is not why Traffic begins to back up.  Poor signage and newcomers, not knowing where they want to go is also part of the problem.

Another scenario we have encountered is when there is an accident. I’ve spoken with Lt. Barnes on the beach and we have discussed the need for communication protocol between 911, state troopers who must deal with any accidents, and deputies who must move the traffic, even though the scene of an accident is being attended to.   This  seems to be one of the biggest reasons for back up onto the beach during late afternoon exit  times.

Last, but not least, we truly need to think about congestion pricing for our toll booths, an HOV lane when the Bob Sykes bridge is rebuilt, park and rides from other areas of the city like downtown Bay Center, UWF, PSC, in addition to the free ECAT from the transfer station. We must begin to think like Disney World when it comes to moving people out to the beach.  We would also like the trolleys to run all day long on the weekends and not just at 4 PM.   Residents need to be offered special bus rates to get them on mass transportation out to the beach.

I realize that agencies must work with other agencies, and this needs to be a multifaceted approach, but I am here to tell you that just monitoring the light on the beach does not work. I welcome any feedback, comments, or propose solution solutions to the problem.


Rhonda Dorfman
President
PBA
661 496-4573

The Biden administration sells oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico

March 29, 20234:27 PM ET

By Bill Chappell, Jeff Brady

Fossil fuel energy companies looking to extract oil and natural gas from U.S. waters in the Gulf of Mexico got a boost on Wednesday, as they secured access to 1.6 million acres of waters offered at auction.

That was just a fraction of some 73.3 million acres of federal waters the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) opened up for bidding. Officials spent more than an hour reading aloud the bids in Lease Sale 259, with some 13,600 blocks of "outer continental shelf" acreage in the Gulf of Mexico at stake.

Continue reading the article HERE

Or click the link below: 

https://www.npr.org/2023/03/29/1166802809/gulf-of-mexico-oil-gas-leases-drilling

Below is a PDF with information from the NOAA Fisheries- Southeast Regional Office regarding Bryde's Whale Recorvery Outline and Rice Whales. 

https://media.fisheries.noaa.gov/2021-08/RIWH-Recovery-Outline-Final-508-Compliant.pdf.pdf

Florida's rental market is causing so much pain to everyday workers that it might stifle the state's economic growth. At least that's the takeaway from a new study from Ken Johnson, an economist at Florida Atlantic University's College of Business. 

According to Johnson, there are too many vacation rentals in the Sunshine State. These short-term rentals — oftentimes listed on sites like Airbnb and Vrbo — are removing apartments and homes that could otherwise be filled by workers that need to live near their jobs. 

Additionally, Johnson describes the regulations some homeowners and condominium associations as "oppressive" because they limit when homeowners can begin renting their units, which only puts further pain on renters' wallets.

It's this particular combination of strict HOA rules and the sheer number of vacation rentals is a mixture that is affecting housing affordability negatively, he said. 

"Both of these take away units that could be rented to the public, and it's the shortage of available units that drives rental rates higher," Johnson wrote in the study. 

Florida became a hot destination for many during the pandemic as remote workers became untethered from their desks and had the freedom to chose living in warmer places. In all, the state's population grew by 1.9% between June 2021 and June 2022, the most of any state for that period, census data shows. 

The droves of people moving to Florida is just one reason why the rise in rents across the state has outpaced the national average for the past three years. According to Johnson's study, Florida is now home to 9 of the 21 most overpriced rental markets in the US. 

For example, Johnson estimates that renters in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area are paying a 18% premium for their homes when compared to long-term trends, according to FAU's Waller, Weeks, and Johnson Rental Index. The index is weighted to capture the historical rent trends in a given area rather than computing the average rents of homes that are currently available. 

Currently, the average rent in Cape Coral is above $2,200 per month while the Waller, Weeks, and Johnson Rental Index estimates that a fair market value is closer to $1,880 per month. 

The number of vacation rentals in the state is only making it harder for people to find affordable places to rent, the study suggests. For example, Panama City Beach, a popular coastal vacation community, has more than 11,800 vacation rentals listed on Airbnb and Vrbo at an average cost of $265 per night, AirDNA data shows. That's compared to the city's total housing stock of nearly 17,000 units, as counted by Point2Homes.

"In Florida, US Census data indicates the share of housing units used as vacation rentals has remained constant since 2010, and yet the cost of housing is up everywhere, for everyone because the country simply has not built enough housing," a spokesperson for Airbnb said to Insider over email. "The need to prioritize building new housing is an issue in communities large and small across the country, and Airbnb is committed to working with local officials on efforts to support housing solutions and Florida's vacation rental industry which continues to provide economic opportunity throughout the Sunshine State." 

However, in many instances, it is more lucrative for homeowners to list their properties on short-term rental websites like Airbnb and Vrbo instead of leasing their house or apartment to a regular long-term renter, which is one reason why there are so many of these units in the state, Johnson said in the report.

Meanwhile, data from Point2Homes shows that apartment rents in Panama City Beach have climbed up 5.6% over the last 12 months to more than $1,830 per month. Single-family homes are renting for closer to $2,800 per month as well. 

To view the full article, CLICK HERE.

Click the link below to view the SRIA January 11, 2023 Committee Meeting Agenda.

https://sria-fla.com/ADA_PDF/January_11_2023_Committee_Meeting_Agenda_BU_ADA.pdf

When the new year starts in less than a week, a number of new laws will take effect in Florida.

Among the new laws SB 2A, which involves the state’s property insurance industry and was passed just a few weeks ago.

The changes were made, in part, because of the recent hurricanes. After Hurricane Ian slammed the Sunshine State, dealing between $50 billion and $65 billion in estimated damage, Florida’s already troubled property insurance market was pinched even more.

Insurance companies had been dropping customers and raising rates because of financial problems. So state lawmakers gathered for a special session this month. The Florida Legislature passed SB 2A, which will do a few things starting in the new year.

First, the law creates the Florida Optional Reinsurance Assistance Program, or FORA. It’s a billion-dollar fund that will act as a financial safety net to bail out insurance companies in the event of a major catastrophe like a hurricane.

Republican Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo released a statement when the bill was filed, saying, “The goal we all share is for Florida to have a robust property insurance market that offers homeowners the opportunity to shop for insurance that meets their needs and budget. We also want to make certain that when damage occurs, claims are paid promptly and fairly.”

The law also speeds up the claims process. New claims will have to be filed within one year instead of two.

And it will also speed up the payout or rejection process, with companies required to make that decision in 60 days instead of 90.

The law also works to get more Floridians out of the state-created Citizens Property Insurance program, which was meant to be an insurer of last resort for property owners priced out of the private market. Under the new law, owners would be required to buy flood insurance and move to a private policy if there are any policies that are no more than 20% above the cost of a Citizens policy.

Read the full article at the link below.

https://www.news4jax.com/news/florida/2022/12/26/new-property-insurance-legislation-to-take-effect-jan-1-in-florida/