SEBASTIAN — The plans for a reworked boat trailer and car parking lot near Riverview Park in Sebastian is nearly ready for a public workshop, the Sebastian City Council decided without a voted Wednesday night. A workshop is planned for either late August or early September to get public input on the proposed plan for the CavCorp lot between the Hess gas station and Indian River Drive.
Frank Hickson, of Infrastructure Engineers, the firm responsible for coming up with the plan, walked the council through their proposal. The plan would accommodate 60 boat trailer spots, 45 car spots and five handicapped spots on a regular basis, along with 28 car spots along Coolidge Street.
During special events, all but a few boat trailer spots would be converted to dual car parking spots, increasing car capacity to 165.
Hickson reminded the council that the engineers had to accommodate on-site drainage along with the parking, which became a struggle to provide the requested additional parking and still meet stormwater requirements.
“If we shrink (the drainage areas) anymore, we’re not going to get the project permitted,” Hickson said.
Parking along Coolidge would be a combination of straight-in/out and angled spots. The angled parking would be situated along the north side of Coolidge, while the perpendicular parking would be on the south side, along the edge of the CavCorp lot.
Having angled parking on the north side, which doesn’t allow for as many parking spots, accommodates a sidewalk, while the perpendicular spots provide better access for drivers regardless of which direction drivers are coming from.
“We’re getting a lot closer,” Councilwoman Andrea Coy told the engineer. “You might be able to be put your erasers away.”
Coy added that, though the plan does provide more car parking, it’s still not enough, especially when there is an overflow lot for boat trailers on the other side of Riverview Park. She suggested the six boat trailer spots planned for the southwest corner of CavCorp be converted to car spots, providing room for 12 extra vehicles.
Coy said that she does not believe it is the city’s obligation to provide a boat trailer parking spot for everyone who has a boat.
Mayor Jim Hill reminded the Sebastian City Council that the rationale for the city buying the CavCorp lot was specifically to provide parking for the boaters launching from the Yacht Club ramp.
“This plan has a lot of additional car parking,” Hill said, adding, “I’m really liking what I see with this plan.”
Councilman Richard Gillmor agreed, noting the engineers had walked a “tightrope” balancing the need to accommodate both boat trailers and cars against drainage.
“We can’t get everything everyone wants,” he said.
Vice Mayor Don Wright and Councilman Bob McPartlan, too, approved of the proposed plan and green lighted it for public workshop.
Sebastian resident and businessman Damien Gilliams was the only one from the public to speak on the item, telling the council that the plan was great but that the council was short-sighted in not having the engineering firm address the overflow parking lot at the same time.
Based on input from the public workshop, which will be held late next month or early the following month, engineers are expected to tweak the parking plan and present the final draft to the Sebastian City Council for approval.
