- April 16, 2024
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Like most cities, Flagler Beach has rules about the parking its local businesses provide to patrons.
But many of the city’s restaurants came before the ordinances were established. Couple that with a difference in rules for the city’s downtown district, and there likely will be a problem, said Chad Lingenfelter, the city’s planner.
That’s why Johnny Lulgjuraj, who owns Oceanside Beach Bar and Grill with his brother, Tony, was frustrated when he approached city officials about expanding his restaurant to include a deck.
Flagler Beach requires that any restaurant outside of downtown provide parking spots for patrons at a ratio of 1-to-3. Most restaurants in the city don’t meet this requirement, but most of the restaurants are grandfathered in, Lingenfelter said.
When Lulgjuraj approached the city’s Planning and Architecture Review Board about building a deck, he was told he needed to adjust his parking to meet codes. His question: Why didn’t other restaurants that built decks have to do the same?
Board members said their job was to uphold ordinances. “It’s hard to undo in less than two years what was done wrong for 10 years or 20 years,” Lingenfelter said.
Oceanside Grill currently has 160 seats, which means it should have 53 parking spaces, but it falls short of that number. The same is true of Johnny D’s Beach Bar and Grill, which recently expanded its deck and patio seating. Even though the restaurant’s current owner, John Davis, purchased the property recently, the grandfather rule applies for new ownership, Lingenfelter said. But Lingenfelter doesn’t know how many seats that is, and he can’t find the proper records. When that restaurant expanded its outdoor seating, it addressed parking only for its newly added seats, Lingenfelter said.
Lulgjuraj barely scraped through the Planning Board meeting on Tuesday after bringing a plan that would give the restaurant enough parking spaces to meet current code by leasing a nearby parking lot.
The first plan Lulgjuraj brought to the board in November was rejected because its valet parking solution was considered unacceptable.
“The board is saying these site plans are substandard, but we don’t have a standard, so how can it be ‘sub’?” Lingenfelter said. “I can only work with what I’m given. I just want (officials) to adopt a standard, and I’d be happy to enforce it.”
Lulgjuraj stood before the City Commission Thursday. Again, the issue of the length of Lulgjuraj’s lease was questioned.
“I feel that we were trying to go above and beyond what we needed to do,” Lulgjuraj said. “Still, this has been so hard for us. It’s like we’ve been singled out as an example.”
As several business owners approached the podium and accused Flagler Beach of being business unfriendly, officials held their ground, saying all they can do is handle things on a case-by-case basis. Considering what other businesses have been allowed to do is irrelevant in Oceanside Grill’s case, said City Commissioner Jane Mealy.
“I could probably count the number of businesses in Flagler Beach that are conforming on one hand,” said resident Silvio Digregorio, during public comment. “Let’s face it: The city was built long before the ordinances were.”
After lengthy discussion, Lulgjuraj’s plan was approved by the commission, allowing him to move forward with plans for his deck. But to him, the victory is bittersweet. He said the experience has opened his eyes to the difficulty of doing business in Flagler Beach.
And so, he has decided to run for City Commissioner this year, he said.
“There are changes that need to be made,” Lulgjuraj said. “This is the problem with Flagler Beach: Everyone loves how it’s a small, quaint community. But by trying to restrict growth, and the more we reject businesses, it’ll only create more problems.”
