- September 9, 2024
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Volusia County residents, starting Oct. 1, you won't have to pay to drive on the beach.
The County Council voted 5-2 on Tuesday, Aug. 6, to approve changes to Volusia's beach tolls. In addition to residents being able to get a free annual pass for vehicular beach access (which currently costs $25 for residents), the changes also includes raising the day pass cost from $20 to $30, and the cost for a non-resident annual pass, from $100 to $150.
Volusia County Councilman Troy Kent, who has been pushing to eliminate beach toll costs for residents since he was elected in 2022, said on his Facebook page that residents have received "a long-overdue win."
"The taxpayers spend millions of dollars to fund our great local beaches and by a 5-2 vote of the council, Volusia residents will soon have the ability to drive on it, park on it, and enjoy it the same way generations prior to us did for nearly 100 years, without having to pay for a pass to do so," Kent wrote.
The free annual pass for residents will expire on Jan. 31, 2026, and revert back to $25, unless authorized by the County Council to continue. Property owners and full-time college students with a parking pass from Bethune-Cookman University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, or Stetson University are also eligible.
Residents will need to register their vehicles online to have their fees waived, and an online registration portal will be made available. Existing beach driving annual pass holders will automatically transition into the new system until their current passes expire, a county press release states. No refunds will be issued for previously purchased annual passes, and parking fees at inlet parks will remain unchanged.
The county added in its press release that disabled individuals and veterans will continue to enjoy free access to beach driving, off-beach parking and inlet parks, regardless of their residency status.
Tuesday's approval also came with a caveat: Staff must bring back an analysis of the financial effects of the ordinance by the council's first meeting in November 2025.
The beach toll changes came as the council approved a new five-year almost $4.2 million contract with PCI Municipal Services, LLC. On July 16, the council previously awarded a $1.5 million contract to the Michigan-based company for off-beach automated paid parking services. Starting Jan. 1, 2025, visitors will need to pay $20 for an off-beach parking day pass or $100 for an annual pass to park at Volusia County's coastal parks and approaches. The county estimates this will bring in about $6 million in revenue.
The county also reported it is saving $450,000 a year by contracting PCI Municipal Services for both the on-beach and off-beach parking contracts.
Beach toll booths will look a little different — License Plate Recognition technology will be utilized for automated vehicular access to the beach, with the ability to switch ramps from an automated status to one staffed with an attendant. The county plans to keep all of its current toll attendants.
All beach ramps will be equipped for automation by February 2025.
"I'm seeing this as a pilot program," County Councilman Don Dempsey said. "I would probably be against this if it wasn't going to sunset ... I'm hoping that this new structuring of fees will not result in an increased tax burden on the Volusia County taxpayers who don't even use the beach."
County Councilman Matt Reinhart and Danny Robins both voted against amending the beach tolls. Both were concerned about the financial impact of eliminating the user fee for residents to drive on the beach.
Robins wanted to wait until after the elections to make a decision, citing unknowns in the economy. He also suggested waiting until the county has data on how much revenue the off-beach parking fees are bringing in after they're implemented in January.
"I don't think anyone of us, fiscally conservative as we are would risk our paychecks or our salaries to take that kind of gamble with our money, so my thought process is, 'Why do it with the taxpayers?'" Robins said.
This is a trial period, Brower said. And it's not free access — residents already pay for this in their property taxes.
"People are hurting and anything that we can do to make sure that they don't get double-taxed and pay twice for the same service, I'm going to be for and support," said Brower, who has been advocating for residents to drive on the beach at no extra cost since 2021.
During his closing comments at the meeting, Kent thanked the council to "take a leap" on eliminating beach toll fees for residents.
"I think that it's going to pay dividends in the future and we did a wonderful thing for our residents," Kent said.
Reinhart said he wanted to see the program succeed.
"This idea has passed," he said. "We will reevaluate in November (2025), and I hope that it will pass and you'll have my support. I'll never talk negative about it."
