STUART — Concerns over parking tied to a proposed Brightline station in Stuart resurfaced this week, as city officials examined a potential shortfall that could affect courthouse employees and nearby areas.
City Planning and Zoning Development Director Jodi Kugler outlined how the current proposal could reduce available parking tied to the courthouse.
“That space right now has 169 parking spaces. Total everything today, there's 334 parking spaces including the Brightline parking area. [If] Martin County was to give up two of the proposed Brightline, that would leave you in that parking space as 165. As you can see, that would be a deficiency of 53 parking spaces,” Kugler said.
The analysis raised concerns about how existing courthouse parking demand would be absorbed if the station moves forward as currently envisioned.
Mayor Christopher Collins said the city should take a proactive approach and communicate expectations before plans advance further.
“I think we should probably send a letter to county, to Brightline, and to anybody that's been a party to that grant application, that for them to move forward with this project, they need to be able to adequately park it,” Collins said.
He added that solutions should be identified to avoid displacing workers who rely on existing parking.
“Whether it's some kind of shared parking arrangement or a parking garage, somebody's got to figure something out so that those 53 county courthouse employees don't end up on on-street parking,” he said.
Commissioner Eula Clark suggested the issue could prompt a broader conversation about downtown infrastructure, regardless of whether the station proceeds.
“The question is, is this the time when we say it's going to be important for us to do a parking garage, whether or not people who might use a Brightline station, if a Brightline station is close to or within the city limits? Is this something that we look at for just having the city to facilitate our downtown vibrancy,” Clarke said.
Collins also raised concerns about traffic impacts in surrounding areas, particularly near schools and parks.
“You have cars that could be parked and stuck in front of the middle school, in front of a park. It just seems like a nightmare. These are the kind of reasons I would be concerned about not adequately being able to park,” he said.
Kugler said any shortfall would have to be addressed through the project’s formal review process.
“Technically, they would be violating their site plan. They would have to come in with a revised site plan demonstrating they're meeting the parking requirements or where their off-site mitigation is going to happen, their stacking, traffic. They would have to mitigate all that through their revised site plan,” she said.
City Attorney Lee Baggett advised that any formal correspondence could be directed to the Martin County Board of Commissioners. However, commissioners voted 3-2 to send a carefully worded letter to Brightline as well as other parties involved in the grant process.