Gulf Breeze Harbortown Parking Access Remains Blocked Despite City Removal Order

Gulf Breeze officials say this fence must be removed, or the city will take it down and bill the owner.

Gulf Breeze, FL (Newsradio 92.3) -- If you've tried to park at Harbourtown in Gulf Breeze lately and found yourself blocked by a fence that wasn't there before — you're not imagining things. A property owner recently fenced off a key parking access point serving the popular small business corridor near the Pensacola Beach curve, and as of Sunday evening it was still standing despite a city order to take it down.

City leaders say the fence went up in violation of an approved site plan that showed the ingress and egress point open to the public — cutting off a critical access route for customers trying to reach the shops and businesses that call Harbourtown home.

Gulf Breeze City Manager Sam Abel says the city attorney reviewed the situation and confirmed a legal easement exists at the location — meaning the property owner is legally required to keep that access open. Abel says the owner was formally notified that the fence must come down within 15 days or the city will remove it and send the owner the bill.

Abel says conversations with the property owner have been productive and she expects the matter to be resolved — but made clear the city has both the authority and the intention to act if the deadline passes without compliance.

The issue drew a packed room at a recent Gulf Breeze city council workshop — with nearly every seat filled by Harbourtown business owners demanding the city step in. Abel says the city is also already thinking beyond the immediate dispute — beginning conversations about longer term solutions for the access corridor to make sure the situation doesn't repeat itself even after the fence comes down.