GALVESTON — City officials didn’t know until recently that the park board had moved 200 free parking spaces near Stewart Beach to make room for Texas South Beach, a planned festival and concert arena at the site once housing Voodoo Daddy’s nightclub.
The parking spots, which were moved to a paved lot east of the beach, are a necessary part of city’s beach access plan under review by the Texas General Land Office.
City Planning Director Wendy O’Donohoe said the switch would not affect the details of the plan, but said the park board should have contacted city officials before making the change.
“It’s the city’s beach access plan, so the city does need to be involved,” O’Donohoe said.
Park board trustees approved the lease to South Beach developers in February, said interim park board Director Lou Muller.
Muller said former park board President and CEO Gil Langley orchestrated the parking lot swap. Langley, it appears, discussed the deal with the state’s land office, but never contacted the city, O’Donohoe said.
The park board is given jurisdiction over beach parks by the city.
South Beach developers planned to fence off 2.75 acres of beachfront land to use for festivals and concerts. Work already has begun on the former nightclub’s structure, and fence posts around the perimeter went up this week.
The fence, though, has been another issue with the project. Both city and county officials say they haven’t given permission for its construction.
City officials have asked South Beach to stop work at the site. O’Donohoe said the organizers have since applied for the needed permits.
“They’ve been very cooperative and are submitting the information,” she said. “We are hoping to get permit issued within next two weeks.”
South Beach is a joint project between Galveston Development Corporation, a company that ran Voodoo Daddy’s, and the promotion company Big City Capital.
Cory Miner, president of Galveston Development Corporation, could not be reached for comment.
The state’s land office has to sign off on any beach construction.
Mike Fitzgerald, county engineer, said a lease is also needed to build or put up fences along the 47-foot right of way adjacent to the Seawall.
The South Beach project is near Seventh Street and Seawall Boulevard.
“It is on the county easement,” Fitzgerald said of the fence. “They haven’t gotten any permission from us to put the fence there.”
The county has signed lease agreements with nearby McDonald’s and Wings, both of which are east of the South Beach property.
South Beach organizers have two agreements with the park board, said Muller. One is for year-round use of the former parking lot space near the Voodoo Daddy’s site for concerts and festivals — a deal which gives the park board $25,000 minimum in rent. South Beach has also agreed to pay a minimum of $75,000 annually for the rights to hold a limited number of festivals in Stewart Beach from Sept. 8 through May 23.
