A small storefront on Main Avenue is back in front of the Lake Placid Town Council Monday night, carrying with it a familiar downtown issue: parking.
The space at 9 South Main Avenue, previously used for retail or service, is now proposed to become a bakery and café. Under town code, different uses require different amounts of parking. A café, based on customer area and employees, requires more than a retail business. In this case, the proposed use calls for nine parking spaces, while the property has seven.
The result is a difference of two spaces.
That difference, however, is not constant. According to the application, it appears only during a limited window in the afternoon—about 2.5 hours—when both the café and a second tenant, a music school, would be operating at the same time. Outside of that overlap, the available parking aligns with the expected demand.
Because the building cannot add additional parking, the request is being considered under a section of town code that allows reductions for existing structures. The Council may approve such a request if it determines the reduction is necessary to allow use of the property and will not result in a severe parking shortage or traffic congestion.
The materials submitted with the request include a two-week observation of nearby on-street parking within one block of the site. The data shows that, on average, a significant portion of spaces remain open, with higher availability later in the day.
Since first appearing before Council earlier this month, the proposal has been adjusted. The applicant reduced the amount of seating, removed outdoor seating, and coordinated operating hours with the second tenant. The item had been tabled at the April 13 meeting after discussion about how additional parking reductions might affect the downtown area over time.
Town staff has recommended approval of the request with conditions, including limiting the approval to the specific uses and operating assumptions described in the application.
The Council is now set to decide whether to allow the reduction.
If approved, the café could move forward under those conditions. If not, the applicant would need to revise the proposal or pursue a different use that meets existing parking requirements.
What council must decide
Under Section 161-10, council approves if the waiver enables viable use of the 1967 building without severe parking or traffic issues. Similar waivers granted before at Nu-Hope, Journal Plaza, Warehouse Billiards.
Meeting details
5:30 p.m. Monday, Government Center, 1069 US 27 N. Public comments before vote. Watch live: lakeplacidfl.net or YouTube (Lake Placid FL Gov).
