- April 25, 2024
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At the end of Solee Road next to the small, gated community of Hammock Beach Estates, the serenity of the beach has been jarred by a debate, as not everyone agrees with the new “No Parking” signs.
In addition to the gated community, the rest of the subdivision, known as Armand Beach East, also uses this beach access point. Not many others likely know about it. Only two official parking spaces exist.
When the two spaces are taken, cars sometimes line one side of the road with a few cars.
When residents arrive at the beach today, a metal guardrail blocks access to the still unpaved Old Coastguard Road. In front of that, new signs planted by the Hammock Beach Estates Homeowners Association warn guests not to park. Large rocks make parking even more of a challenge. A couple months ago, none of this was here.
In a meeting held outdoors at the beach access point on Sept. 4, Sara Clarke, Hammock Beach Estates Home Owners Association president, explained that the changes were made because the additional parked cars can block access for rescue vehicles, moving vans and trash trucks.
Darcy Araya, a resident of Hammock Beach Estates, says not everyone in the HOA agrees with these changes.
“People feel disenfranchised,” she said, “because it was not discussed, and out of the blue things were changed and blocked.”
Additionally, there are residents in the subdivision who have disabilities; walking a long distance to the beach is a hardship. If both parking spaces are taken, and they adhere to the signage, they may not truly have access to the beach.
According to Hadeed, the HOA had been mowing the stretch of grass along the road for years. They assumed it belonged to the HOA. So when residents complained about people parking there, they took it upon themselves to create a solution.
But the HOA doesn’t own the land. The county has owned the land since 1955, and it is protected public access as part of the Mala Compra park. For now, the signs are still up, and the rocks still block cars from parking in the grass.
“The signs and rocks were not permissible,” Hadeed said. He explained that there is a “stop work order” on these. But for now, the communities are still debating what the best solution will be. A gopher tortoise also resides at this location, complicating the issue further.
Philip Kopman, HOA board member, has proposed working with the county to comply but also asking the county to add two or three off-road parking spaces.
Hadeed was hopeful that the county will be able to agree on a solution that will allow for more parking.
“People over parking,” Araya said. “People are more important than parking.”
