Boca Grande businesses struggle after pending parking changes

Small business owners on Boca Grande aren’t just bracing for a slowdown in income after Lee County approved a new parking policy for the island. Some are already feeling it. 

Business owners said they are feeling financial pressure and worry their businesses may not survive as plans move forward to cut visitor parking on the island from about 2,600 spaces to roughly 240, most clustered at the southern end of the island, 2.5 miles south of downtown. 

On Aug. 5, Lee County commissioners voted 5-0 to implement a new parking policy suggested by Commissioner Kevin Ruane. The ordinance no longer will allow island visitors unlimited parking in the downtown and beach access area between First and 19th streets. Almost all of those spots will be off limits to nonresidents and visitors without a parking pass.

Social media backlash was swift, with “Cancel Boca Grande” and “Boycott Boca Grande” memes and hashtags being shared among Charlotte County community groups. A nearby homeowners association plans on appealing to Charlotte County commissioners Sept. 9 to intervene. 

While many Lee County beach goers frequent Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel, Charlotte County beach goers traditionally turn to Boca Grande, despite a $6 toll, because of its proximity. 

The only road to the island, including the toll bridge, goes through Charlotte County. 

“A good share of our customers come from Charlotte County, and I value them very much personally as a restaurant owner. They’re important to me,” said Sandy Stilwell Youngquist, who after Hurricane Ian put her faith in the Boca Grande business community, investing by building a Key Lime Bistro restaurant in part of the historic train depot building at 433 Fourth St. 

“I know many are very upset,” she said. “They’ve even talked about boycotting coming to Boca Grande because of it.” 

The few remaining downtown spaces will have a 3-hour time limit. That limit would have been 2 hours, had Commissioner David Mulicka not asked for and received a 1-hour extension along with three other amendments. 

The parking policy changes were supported by the neighboring Gasparilla Inn, which shuts down for a few weeks during the slow summer months. But the changes were not supported by the town’s own chamber of commerce. 

Dina Beaumont, owner of Sunsets of Boca Grande, a boutique and gift shop at 433 Fourth St., adjacent to Key Lime Bistro, had an empty store on a recent Tuesday during lunch hour. On that same day, Key Lime Bistro served just four tables. 

“Even though the parking ordinance has not taken effect, it’s already been effective, stopping people from coming,” Beaumont said. “It’s impossible to run a gift shop with no customers. 

“There is a solution. There are a lot of solutions that are not in this ordinance, but no one seems to want to do what’s best for everyone. They just want to do what’s best for some of the residents.”

South Beach Bar & Grille, 760 Gulf Blvd., near the southern end of Boca Grande, would seem to be benefiting from the parking changes, but owner Bart DeStefano said the changes would harm his restaurant just as much. 

He said that if most of the island’s visitors parked in clusters on the southern end, it would create chaos in his own parking lot.

“In the last couple of weeks, business has dropped off significantly,” said DeStefano, who spent about $4 million to rebuild his restaurant, which was reduced to rubble in September 2022 by Hurricane Ian. He said he spent an additional $500,000 recovering last year from hurricanes Milton and Helene. 

“We were open for seven weeks, and then we got hit by two more hurricanes,” DeStefano said. 

The parking ordinance has pitted Boca Grande residents against the only businesses on the island, DeStefano, Stilwell Youngquist and Beaumont each said in separate interviews. 

“I’m fighting for my survival now,” DeStefano said. “I don’t think that it’s a good thing to have neighbors against neighbors. 

“And that’s what it’s coming to. There’s lot of people that have hard feelings on both sides of this issue. And to be honest, there’s people on both sides who stoke the fire. I try not to do that in my opposition, because we all have to live together. What do we have? Class warfare on Boca Grande? This is crazy.” 

Stilwell Youngquist said she hoped the ordinance could be further changed or dropped altogether. 

“To have the community divided is just the saddest thing to see,” she said. “I just want everyone to get along again. Hopefully some sense of togetherness will happen.” 

Fugate’s, a department store at 428 Fourth St., also has seen a drop in customers since the ordinance passed, manager Wendy Davis said. 

“They’ve created this emptiness,” Davis said of parking ordinance proponents and opponents alike. “I think they spoke before they thought. I think the future of all the businesses in the area are in jeopardy.”