Jane MusgraveProposal would raise $7 million a year toward balancing county’s $2.2 billion spending plan.
Editor’s note: On July 14, 2026, county commissioners decided to keep parking free for residents at most county parks. Our story is here.
As the price of housing, groceries and family outings soared in Palm Beach County in recent years, there remained one bright spot: a free day at the beach.
That could change in October if county commissioners follow through with plans to begin charging $4 an hour for parking at 12 beachfront parks from Gulf Stream to Tequesta.
In hopes of making the fee more palatable for beachgoers who live here, commissioners are considering giving county residents a 20% discount, which would drop the hourly cost by 80 cents. They also are kicking around an idea of selling annual passes to county residents although no details have been offered and no price has been set.
But, those who live here say any amount is too much. The topic, first floated at a June 9 budget workshop, is drawing venom on social media sites and among beachgoers.
“People are used to not having to pay to park,” Valenthyna Rios, a North Palm Beach resident, said after spending Saturday at Juno Beach Park. “It sucks that people are going to have to pay to enjoy nature.”
J.D. Douglas, brings his family to Juno Beach Park, just east of a long stretch of dog-friendly beach, because he likes it better than coastal parks near his home in West Palm Beach. He shared Rios’ views.
“It’s always been free and it should stay free,” said Douglas, who grew up in the county. But, he acknowledged, he’s also a realist.
“If they want to charge, they’re going to charge,” he said. “It’s all about money.”
And, for commissioners, it is all about money.
Fees would offset budget shortfall
Facing what was originally a $40 million shortfall in next year’s proposed $2.2 billion spending plan, which includes fire-rescue and libraries, County Administrator Joe Abruzzo pushed his top staff to cut $35 million from their budgets.
Jennifer Cirillo, director of the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation, sliced spending, but said further cuts would cripple operations. Instead, she suggested imposing the parking fee to raise roughly $10 million a year.
Her estimate dropped to $7 million after commissioners urged her to give county residents a discount.
Sheriff Ric Bradshaw ultimately agreed to cut $20 million out of his proposed $1.2 billion spending plan, which makes up more than half of the county’s budget. His concession, along with a tax rate increase, the parking fee and other adjustments, brings the county’s proposed budget into balance.
But without the beachfront parking fee, commissioners would have to slash another $7 million from the spending plan, which pays for roads, nature preserves, housing programs, animal care and other county services.
Commissioner Marci Woodward pointed out that all of the county’s coastal municipalities, including Lantana, Lake Worth Beach, Palm Beach and Delray Beach, charge for parking at their beachfront parks. Residents of Boca Raton, where she lives, pay a special tax for parks, and still have to pay $85 for an annual park pass, she said.
Decades ago, the county began charging for parking at South Inlet Park in Boca because city officials demanded it. If the county offered free parking, Boca officials worried admission revenues at the city’s nearby parks would drop.
Lake Worth Beach officials had similar concerns, prompting the county to impose parking fees at R.G. Kreusler Park, next to Lake Worth Beach Park. City officials feared its parking revenues would plummet if fees weren’t collected at the adjacent county park.
County Commissioner Gregg Weiss said the proposed parking fee is unfair. Spending a day at the beach is one of the few affordable options for cash-strapped county residents, he said.
At the least, he said when the commission again discussed it on July 7, the county should allow people to park for free after 4 pm. Abruzzo tentatively endorsed Weiss’ suggestion, saying the financial loss would be minimal.
North county hit hardest
While other commissioners echoed Weiss’ concerns, most said they would bow to the wishes of Commissioner Maria Marino. Of the 12 parks that would begin collecting parking fees, seven are in her north county district.
Marino insisted that the proposed parking fees would benefit county residents.
“The cars that are parking there don’t have Florida plates,” she said on July 7 of complaints she receives, particularly during winter months. “I don’t believe that the folks who don’t live here should park for free. Too many nonresidents are parking at our beaches and that makes it difficult for our residents to park at our beaches. It needs to be put in place for the protection of our residents.”
Beachgoers scoffed at Marino’s claims. Most acknowledged that it is difficult to find a parking space at county beachfront parks during the winter tourist season. But, they said, a $4-an-hour parking fee isn’t going to dissuade Northerners who flock here to escape the cold.
“They’ve been planning their vacation for a year and they decided they’re going to Juno Beach Park but then they see they’re going to have to pay $4 an hour to park,” said one beachgoer who identified himself only as Sam. “You think they’re going to turn around and go home? No. They’re going to pay it.”
Linda Lynch, who was visiting Loggerhead Park on Saturday, suggested that if commissioners are trying to free up parking spaces during the winter months, they could suspend collections in the summer. That, she said, would help county residents.
Parks that would charge for parking
The parks in Marino’s district that would begin charging are: Coral Cove Park (north) in Tequesta; Dubois, Carlin, Ocean Cay and Jupiter Beach parks in Jupiter; and Juno Beach and Loggerhead parks in Juno Beach. Street parking along State Road A1A near the parks would remain free.
Elsewhere in the county, beachgoers would pay to park at Ocean Reef and Phil Foster parks in Riviera Beach, Ocean Inlet Park in Boynton Beach, Ocean Ridge Hammock Park in Ocean Ridge and Gulfstream Park in Gulf Stream.
The county contemplated charging for beach parking in the early 1990s, as well.
A recently posted change.org petition argues beaches should be open, regardless of ability to pay. “Enforcing a $4 per hour parking fee threatens to transform our public parks into privilege-based spaces rather than places open to everyone,” petition originator Georgina Castro wrote.
Some pointed out the unintended consequences of the parking fees. Tennis and pickleball players at Carlin Park would pay to park even though the courts are across State Road A1A from the beach.
Former Commissioner Karen Marcus, who serves on the board of the Loggerhead Marinelife Center that operates at Loggerhead Park, said she worries that all important gift shop sales will suffer at the nonprofit where admission is free.
Having paid to park, people will be less inclined to buy a T-shirt or stuffed turtle that helps keep the sea life rehabilitation center afloat, she said.
But, she said, her real concern is county residents. Before term limits forced her to step down in 2012 after 28 years on the commission, she repeatedly fought beach parking fees.
Anglers who spend hours on the Juno Beach pier are going to be particularly upset, she predicted. They already pay $5 to get on the pier.
Two teens from Hobe Sound said the parking fee would mean they could pay as much as $30 a day to fish. “I’d either park somewhere else,” 16-year-old Dominic Scrivani said, pointing to a nearby shopping center, “or not come.”
The prospect was upsetting, said 15-year-old Dominick Pepsidero. “I’ve been coming here my whole life,” he said.
Marcus said she understands budget crunches all too well. “I know every penny counts,” she said. “But everything else costs so much. Let people go to the beach for free. They’re already paying for the beach in their taxes.”
The commission will make a final decision on the parking fees during budget hearings on Sept. 3 and 15.
