Right-of-Way Town Hall Meeting Notes
On Saturday August 18th, Charlotte County hosted a town hall meeting to address the ordinance on road rights of way.
Read the official Charlotte County Meeting Notes >
John Elias, Director of Public Works, led the meeting. He was accompanied by Joanne Vernon, County Engineer, Karlene McDonald, Public Works Operations Manager, and Karly Greene, M&O management. About 35 Islanders attended.
Mr. Elias led off with a discussion of challenges related to the Island. While recognizing the unique charm of the island, he pointed out that the County-maintained sand and shell roads we have here require a special road grooming contract. (He smiled and added this was “bonkers to me”.)
The sand roads had to be surveyed to make sure that the roads did not extend beyond the rights of way. While acknowledging the traffic calming properties of winding roads, Mr. Elias said that the meandering of the roads within the ROW was considered unfair by the County. It extended the ROW in front of some houses and shortened it in front of others. This led to the first vote: would Islanders prefer the meandering roads or have the roads straightened uniformly? All of the Islanders voted in favor of the winding roads.
He moved on to the two key concerns regarding ROW encroachments:
- Safety. A 10-ft clear area, known as a “recovery area”, is required by the County ordinance. It gives space in the shoulder of the road for a car to pull over if necessary.
- Beach access parking. Beach nourishment funding is contingent on having 50 parking stalls available per public access, 10′ deep running parallel to the road. Download a PDF of those beach parking areas >
Discussion of cleared recovery areas:
Until now, code violation enforcement was complaint driven. However, the County Attorney has stated that enforcement of the code cannot be selective due to the risk of lawsuits. If Islanders want the code enforced, it must be done uniformly. Complaints cannot be anonymous. To be compliant with code, you must pull a permit or get a variance for ROW encroachments.
Two attendees expressed support of clearing the road ROWs Island-wide. Many expressed concerns raised during the sewer issue, such as the potential environmental damage.
Mr. Elias said that low vegetation such as grasses and ground cover, is acceptable in the ROWs. These are “non-frangible” obstructions.
Discussion of restoring parking areas:
Parking area recovery impacts North Gulf and South Gulf boulevards. Some of the beachfront owners felt it was unfair to be singled out for ROW clearing. Others understood that this was necessary. It was generally agreed that beach access parking was important due to the funding requirements and essential dune restoration is tied to the beach renourishment project.
Conclusion
It was suggested that the transportation engineer look for the minimum measurement for a clear zone. The County will post the July 2024 established parking map online.
One Islander called the situation an unsolvable problem for which we have to find a solution. Mr. Elias pointed out that there is always a solution but added “if we did it the way we do it everywhere else, no one would like it.”
There will be another town hall to address ROW encroachment scheduled this Fall.
Helpful Links:
Don Pedro and Knight Islands Street and Drainage Unit
Don Pedro and Knight Islands Beach Renourishment Unit
