A small county-owned park in a Key Largo residential neighborhood is closing to the public immediately, following complaints surrounding overuse. Sunset Point Park will stay closed for the Fourth of July as county officials work on a management plan that addresses parking, among other issues.
The Monroe County Board of County Commissioners earlier this week approved a resolution to prohibit parking on county rights-of-way in the Bay Harbor and Sunset Point subdivisions surrounding the park that takes effect immediately. The board also closed the area between Bay Harbor Drive and the waterline while alternatives are investigated for safe use of the park following its eventual reopening.
South Bay Harbor and North Bay Harbor drives in the Bay Harbor subdivision and Sunset Road and Sunset Court in the Sunset Point subdivision are located in a residential neighborhood that contains a small county-owned park. The changes were implemented at the request of dozens of neighborhood residents.
Users frequently exceed the limited parking for the neighborhood park by parking vehicles and boat trailers on the shoulder of the narrow neighborhood roads, which causes traffic problems, safety issues and difficulty for residents entering and leaving driveways.
The roads in the Bay Harbor and Sunset Point subdivisions are now designated as a no-parking, -standing, or -stopping area. “No Parking” signs are being posted that will include the noncriminal civil penalty set at $200.
“It’s a short-term solution for a long-term problem that needs to be addressed,” County Commissioner Mike Forster told the Weekly. “For now, these no parking signs on the right-of-way will definitely stem the amount of traffic and quantity of boat trailers and trucks.”
A once hidden gem in Sunset Point Park has evolved into a popular spot for now known by visitors and day-trippers. It’s located next to a larger private park that members of the local homeowners association use. Forster said he’d like to offer a long-term lease to that group, but some kickback is being seen among locals who say they’re taxpayers who like to use that park. Only a few cars fit in the small parking area in front of the park.
“The question is where are you going to park?” Forster said.
At the Bay Drive park, Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay and his deputies are authorized to issue trespass warnings and can arrest any person who is found at the park. The board asked the sheriff also to consider providing enhanced law enforcement during the first weeks.
The area will remain closed until an alternative management plan is approved at a future board meeting. The board closed the area immediately to prevent the huge crowds that were expected to overwhelm the facility and surrounding neighborhood during the July 4 weekend.
Forster said he intends to bring up Sunset Point Park at the July 21 meeting.
