St. Pete Beach affirms commission control of parking fees; staff to draft resolution building on revenue options
March 09, 2026 | St. Pete Beach, Pinellas County, Florida
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On final reading the Commission approved Ordinance 2026‑02, a code change that makes parking fees administratively settable by commission resolution rather than fixed only in the municipal code. Assistant City Manager Adam Poyer presented a parking revenue package and a set of implementation options and estimates.
Poyer described the work that produced the menu of options — a 2025 parking action plan and historical transaction data (roughly 621,000 transactions in the 12‑month lookback). Individual options included a citywide $0.50 hourly increase (estimated +$600,000/year), passing credit‑card processing fees to users (+$170,000), sunset (late‑day) pricing (+$257,000), a $1 seasonal rate increase (+$425,000), standardizing rates at the county park (+$90,000), and increasing holiday flat fees (from $25 to $40 estimated +$480,000). Combined options could yield roughly $1.7M–$1.9M annually, depending on which elements are adopted and demand elasticity.
Commissioners asked for more granular transaction and duration data (including holiday stay durations where a flat rate currently obscures time stayed), discussed enforcement hours (current enforcement 8 a.m.–8 p.m. citywide; county park enforced 24 hours), and weighed fairness concerns for nearby neighborhoods. The Finance & Budget Review Committee had recommended most items; the committee opposed passing credit‑card fees to users and opposed a morning rate reduction that would lower revenues.
Quote and context: Poyer summarized one option: “That would raise you about $600,000 per year in extra, parking revenue,” describing the $0.50 hourly increase. Commissioners directed staff to draft a resolution consistent with the finance committee’s guidance and to return with more granular transaction-level data before final rate adoption.
Next steps: staff will prepare a resolution that implements the committee‑backed package and will include data on transaction durations and location‑specific impacts; the commission signaled support for dynamic adjustments later as enforcement and new parking technology roll out.
Poyer described the work that produced the menu of options — a 2025 parking action plan and historical transaction data (roughly 621,000 transactions in the 12‑month lookback). Individual options included a citywide $0.50 hourly increase (estimated +$600,000/year), passing credit‑card processing fees to users (+$170,000), sunset (late‑day) pricing (+$257,000), a $1 seasonal rate increase (+$425,000), standardizing rates at the county park (+$90,000), and increasing holiday flat fees (from $25 to $40 estimated +$480,000). Combined options could yield roughly $1.7M–$1.9M annually, depending on which elements are adopted and demand elasticity.
Commissioners asked for more granular transaction and duration data (including holiday stay durations where a flat rate currently obscures time stayed), discussed enforcement hours (current enforcement 8 a.m.–8 p.m. citywide; county park enforced 24 hours), and weighed fairness concerns for nearby neighborhoods. The Finance & Budget Review Committee had recommended most items; the committee opposed passing credit‑card fees to users and opposed a morning rate reduction that would lower revenues.
Quote and context: Poyer summarized one option: “That would raise you about $600,000 per year in extra, parking revenue,” describing the $0.50 hourly increase. Commissioners directed staff to draft a resolution consistent with the finance committee’s guidance and to return with more granular transaction-level data before final rate adoption.
Next steps: staff will prepare a resolution that implements the committee‑backed package and will include data on transaction durations and location‑specific impacts; the commission signaled support for dynamic adjustments later as enforcement and new parking technology roll out.
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