Residents not happy about new Celebration Park parking lot

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Some residents who live near the Celebration Food Truck Park say they're not happy about a new parking lot (WINK)
Some residents who live near the Celebration Food Truck Park say they’re not happy about a new parking lot (WINK)

When Bob Messmer first heard about the plans for a food truck park near his home off of Becca Avenue in east Naples, he figured there would be good and bad.

“More businesses, more traffic; and that comes with development,” he said.

But he and some of his neighbors say they didn’t expect the lack of parking to lead to chaos.

“Before she got that lot, they had no place to park other than 13 spaces on the food truck park,” said Messmer.

So Celebration Park Owner Rebecca Maddox bought the lot directly across the street, clearing a residential area to put in a parking lot.

“There’s only, what, 15 spots, 13 spots? And if you have a thousand people a day, we need extra parking,” she said.

But there’s just one problem. Maddox didn’t get permission and the property is not zoned for parking.

Thursday, Maddox will ask the Collier County Hearing Examiner for a parking exemption. But neighbors like Messmer say the lot has got to go.

“She has other options for parking,” he said, pointing out available parking on two other lots nearby.

Neighbor Dennis Samblanet agrees.

“Celebration Park is a huge asset to the Bayshore community and I like that it’s here and I don’t want to be detrimental to that, but the parking issue should’ve been thought about way in advance,” he said.

Maddox said she hopes to work with the county to improve the lot by paving the surface and adding a decorative wall.

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