MELBOURNE BEACH, Fla. — Starting this weekend, visitors to Melbourne Beach who aren't at least part-time residents of the city face parking tickets or even getting towed if they park in certain designated areas.
What You Need To Know
- City giving away free parking stickers for residents
- City residents must show vehicle registration to obtain parking sticker
- Visitors to the beach may still park in county-operated parking lots
- More Brevard County stories
According to the City of Melbourne Beach website, resident parking passes are now available. Residents can pick up a free parking sticker at City Hall by presenting their vehicle registration. Part-time residents can obtain a parking sticker by bringing their drivers license and utility bill to City Hall.
Brevard County resident Craig How lives in Grant-Valkaria, but he feels he's not welcome in Melbourne Beach anymore because he doesn't live in the city.
“We've been coming to this beach since we were kids," How explained. "We just parked here last week and [the parking signs] weren't here."
Melbourne Beach resident Casey Runte has one of the new parking permits and thus is able to utilize one of the limited side street parking spaces.
“There's residents on the barrier island and if they can't park in one of the five spots then they have to walk or bike,” Runte explained.
Visitors can still park on county-operated beach parking lots nearby.
We reached out to the Melbourne Beach city manager to find out how long will this change last and if out of town visitors can buy a parking pass. We have yet to receive a response.
Meanwhile, City of Melbourne Vice Mayor Paul Alfrey expressed displeasure on Facebook with the city's decision: