Town issuing non-resident parking passes for $300
The Town of Fort Myers Beach is now offering non-resident parking passes for $300, which will be good through Dec. 31, 2027. There will be up to 500 non-resident parking passes issued, following the passage of a new fee schedule by the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council as part of its budget preparations.
As of Monday, when the passes went up for sale, approximately 70 were sold, Fort Myers Beach Public Information Officer Abigail Eberhart said.
The passes can only be purchased at Bay Oaks Recreational Campus. Parking decals must be affixed to the bottom passenger-side corner of the front windshield. The non-resident parking passes are only valid at Town of Fort Myers Beach operated beach access parking and the bridge parking lots.
The non-resident parking passes do not cover any private lots in town, and also do not include any streetside parking even if they are town meters. They also do not include the Waistina Way lot next to the Margaritaville Beach Resort, and do not cover any Lee County properties such as Lynn Hall Memorial Park, Crescent Beach Family Park or Bowditch Point Regional Park on Fort Myers Beach. The permit does not cover parking in excluded areas, and violations may be issued if parking is unpaid.
Passes are only valid at Matanzas Pass Bridge Lots 1-4, Zone 2391, spaces 117 through 197, and designated Town beach access parking spaces at Aberdeen Avenue, Bayview Avenue, Coconut Drive, Connecticut Street, Dakota Avenue, Delmar Avenue, Flamingo Street, Gulf Drive, Hercules Drive, Lanark Avenue, Mango Street, Palm Avenue, Pompano Street, Seaview Street and Strandview Avenue. Each parking decal is vehicle-specific and must be properly affixed to the bottom corner of the passenger side of the front windshield. If your vehicle receives a new license plate during the duration of the permit, contact 239-765-0202 or visit Town Hall to update the information. Vehicles with mismatched permit information and license plates are subject to ticketing. The Requirements for purchasing the non-resident passes are: 1. Valid vehicle registration in your name, presented at each new permit or renewal. 2. Valid driver’s license or government-issued photo ID. 3. All outstanding parking violations must be paid before a permit can be issued. Limits: Each permit is valid for one vehicle only, and each vehicle must be registered separately.
The town increased the rate for resident parking passes this year from $50 to $75.
Violators of permit regulations will be ticketed, not towed, unless the infraction creates a safety hazard or obstruction. A decal not properly affixed to the windshield will result in a violation. All vehicles must be parked in legal parking spaces, following direction-of-parking restrictions. Expired permits are invalid and subject to parking violations.
No overnight parking is allowed in any town parking space between 4:00 AM and 6:00 AM even with a parking pass. Abuse of permit regulations may result in revocation of the decal by the Town of Fort Myers Beach, county officials wrote in an announcement.
“Council authorized up to 500 passes, and we want to implement the program thoughtfully for everyone who relies on parking on Fort Myers Beach,” Town Manager Will McKannay said. “Our goal is to maintain a parking system that works for our residents, our visitors and the businesses that depend on both.”
Meanwhile, while the town approved increasing its parking meter rates from $5 an hour to $6 an hour, effective Oct. 1, the signage has not yet been updated. Parking meters in the town, as of Tuesday, still said $5 an hour, and when paying for parking, the application was still saying $5 an hour, though Eberhart said the $6 an hour rate had gone into effect. “The Town is working as expeditiously as possible to update the parking signage to reflect the new rate,” Eberhart said.
“The signs could not be changed in advance because the rate increase required formal approval by Town Council and could not take effect until the new budget was adopted. Now that the increase is in effect, staff is actively working to complete the necessary signage updates,” Eberhart said. “In the meantime, the Town will continue issuing regular public advisories regarding the new rate to ensure residents and visitors are informed. We will also continue our public education efforts until all signage has been updated,” Eberhart said. In response to questions from the Fort Myers Beach Observer regarding the different signage and rates, Eberhart said the town “will honor the 5 dollar signage rate until every sign in the town has changed to 6.”