This continues a long history of flip-flopping.
By Noah Lechtenstein
Original Air Date: August 5, 2026
Host: The city’s cyclical efforts to expand paid parking downtown and in St. Armands and Lido Key are almost as predictable as hurricane season. Commissioners realize the city subsidizes parking, and new fees and fines come in. Next is a storm of public outrage. And then there’s cleanup. In May, the City of Sarasota updated their parking rules, but this week the commission suspended most of the changes. WSLR News reporter Noah Lechtenstein reports.
Noah Lechtenstein: In May, the city commission voted to extend paid parking two hours earlier in the morning and four hours later at night, with the fine for an expired meter rising by $5.
Parking enforcement vehicle | Photo courtesy City of Sarasota
On-street parking was free to the public before 10:00 a.m. and after 8:00 p.m. Since the change was implemented on June 29, parking is free only from midnight to 8:00 a.m. Another change came on Sundays. Before the changes, Sunday parking was free all day. Now, Sunday parking costs money and enforcement spans from 1:00 p.m to midnight.
Then came the public outrage. Pushback came from downtown business owners, posting photos of empty streets on social media, and from downtown residents.
Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch responded by placing a discussion item on the agenda for the August 3 city commission meeting.
Before any public comment, City Attorney Joe Polzak explained to the commission that they had two realistic options.
Joe Polzak: The simplest action would be to suspend enforcement of the changes or the regulations you’re identifying and give time to evaluate a broader permanent regulatory change. If you’re gonna enact new regulations, that’s going to need to follow the procedure outlined in the back of the material, but if all you want to do is suspend enforcement of certain provisions, you can do that today.
NL: Kathrine Hermes, the owner of a downtown small business, posted multiple videos criticizing the new parking rules on Facebook. Some of her videos amassed over 20,000 views, with one of them gaining over 100,000, and two others are currently sitting around 60,000 views.
During the meeting, 20 residents spoke up before any decision was made.
Nicholas Dielsi, who manages Cafe Amici on Main Street, started offering parking rebates to customers. He made it clear what he wanted to see happen with parking.
Nicholas Dilelsi: Today, I respectfully ask the commission to suspend the current parking changes and temporarily return to the previous parking hours while the city works together with businesses, residents and stakeholders to develop a longer, better solution.
NL: City Commission candidate Flo Entler spoke to the dais as a resident. She put things in historic context.
Flo Entler: The first time we put parking meters downtown was 1942. We put 160 meters. A few minutes later, we took them out because the merchants complained. We’ve been doing this dance for over 80 years. It’s time that we get it right for the merchants.
NL: Everyone on the commission had the chance to speak on the parking issue. Commissioner Kyle Battie, the lone vote against the original parking change, was first to speak.
Kyle Battie: We have to do something to alleviate the ills and the pains of the merchants downtown and the residents, whatever that may be.
NL: City Manager Karie Friling says the city has already collected $62,000 just from the extended weekday hours. Add to that $23,000 from Sundays.
Here’s what Mayor Debbie Trice would like to see happen.
Debbie Trice: I would want us to consider immediately rolling back the times on enforcement of the free time-limited parking, but also, at some point, staff meet with the community and rethink which should be two hours, which should be three hours, maybe there’s some that should be four hours.
NL: Vice Mayor Kathy Kelley Ohlrich commented how they were personally affected by the changes.
Kathy Kelley Ohlrich: I’m gonna start by saying that limitation on the free parking spaces really got me. I go to Florida Studio Theatre a lot, and I park in those free spaces. Now I can’t.
NL: Battie made the motion to temporarily suspend the changes to the cities parking fees and parking enforcement hours until the commission conducted both a public town hall meeting and a commission workshop dedicated to evaluating the impacts of those changes.
The motion passed unanimously.
An open house is scheduled for August 24, 5:30 p.m. at city hall, and the workshop is scheduled for 9 a.m. on the 31st of this month, again at city hall, per a press release from the city.
Ohlrich then made a motion to keep the increased fines. It passed 3-2 with little discussion and dissenting votes from Ahearn-Koch and Liz Alpert.
Reporting from city hall, Noah Lechtenstein.
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