Opinion
By Jesse Clyde Stubbs, 11-23-25
City of Fernandina Beach is a municipality making high impact decisions on a small environmentally sensitive barrier island, like paid parking at its beaches and historic downtown the City’s legal duties under Florida law state:
1. Under Florida Statute 286.0114, all boards and commissions must provide the public a reasonable opportunity to be heard on propositions before them, and they may adopt rules and written forms for citizens to indicate support, opposition, or neutrality. It’s time for the city to adopt a user friendly online portal for public comment.
2. Florida’s municipal home rule and ordinance authority in 166.041 gives Fernandina Beach broad power to adopt local procedures, including public comment policies and electronic tools, so long as they are consistent with state law
3. The recent anti paid parking petition, which collected over the required 10% of registered voters and has been certified by the Supervisor of Elections, demonstrates unusually high public interest in how parking and access are managed in this constrained island environment.
4. Paid parking decisions, vendor contracts, and implementation details directly affect the public’s practical ACCESS to coastal resources and the historic downtown that defines Fernandina’s character.
5. Heightened duty for public process and narrow tailoring In light of this barrier island context, public trust obligations, working waterfront and comp plan policies, and historic access functions, the City has a substantial responsibility to ensure that any changes to parking, circulation, or enforcement near the historic waterfront are narrowly tailored so they do not undermine water dependent uses or de facto restrict public access to trust.
6. Waterfront streets, lots, ramps, and docks in places like Fernandina are often improved with overlapping county, state, and federal money (FIND, FDEP coastal grants, FWC boating access grants, federal recreation or navigation funds), each of which can carry deed restrictions or grant conditions requiring continued, non illusory public access.
7. The Amelia River and vessels using it are within the sphere of federal maritime and navigation law, with the Corps, Coast Guard, and navigation district roles over channels and related access infrastructure, reinforcing that this is an active working waterfront / navigation corridor, not just a generic tourist street.
8. The historic working waterfront also aligns with the Bartram Trail / Bartram National Heritage interpretation and David Yullee’s old rail bed that historically connected to Old Town, putting it within the class of resources Florida historic preservation policy treats as significant public assets.
9. When state or federal recognition (such as National Register listings, master site file entries, or national heritage trail designations) is in play, agencies expect that public interpretation and access will be maintained, and that projects affecting those corridors will be reviewed for consistency with preservation and future public use goals.
***Public comment is the “spirit” of the municipality an “”easier online comment portal”” becomes concrete evidence of what the community wants, and that evidence is what courts, agencies, and even the city’s own lawyers look at when asking whether the city is acting reasonably within its legal limits. It’s time for the people who can’t make it to every regular city meeting to have a say. Weather they live in the city or wherever, public is everyone. And everyone is an affected party.***
Every Taxpaying Voter has a right to give their opinion, either way.
Speak up folks. Speak up NOW or don’t complain later.
Jesse Clyde Stubbs is a Fernandina Beach resident, fisherman and frequent commenter on local issues.
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florida.
