GULF SHORES, AL – It’s an easy assumption to make.

Surely that little parking lot east of Bahama Bob’s – all 14 or so spaces – belongs to the restaurant.

Finding a spot there, or in the area that holds five or six cars on the restaurant’s south side, which does belong to the business, is often hard to do at the popular beachfront spot.

But the larger of the two parking choices doesn’t belong to Bahama Bob’s. It is part of what the city calls the West Fifth Street Beach Access area. The city parking lot with 38 spots north of beach road is actually between West Fourth and West Fifth streets and Bahama Bob’s is directly south of this lot on the beach side.

Gulf Shores is proposing expanding its pay parking areas from the three currently used at the main public beach and the West Sixth Street Access. And increase the rates.

Under proposed changes rates will go from $5 a day from March 1 until Sept. 30 to $10 a day. From Oct. 1 to Feb. 28 fees were previously waived but will now be $5 a day.

There is an hourly option - $2 an hour for two hours in the peak season, $1 an hour in the off season – but if the spot is used for more than two hours the daily rate would apply.

Residents with hurricane stickers would receive free parking, like in the past. Seasonal passes would be available as well, $100 for the peak season and $50 for the rest of the year.

The parking proposal was discussed at length in Monday’s work session and should come up for a vote before the council in a regular session this upcoming Monday. With some tweaks brought on by the discussion.

A request from Bahama Bob’s to not charge a fee at the 14-spot lot next to the restaurant was one of the considerations to be discussed and possibly tweaked before the final product is voted on Monday. Other issues included possible parking validations for businesses in the area and charging fees for 24 hours on the beach side, but possibly just until 5 p.m. for those on the north side of the road.

Steve Spellman, one of the owners of Bahama Bob’s, said charging a few to park in the city-owned gravel lot of 14 spaces adjacent to the restaurant could hurt his business. Patrons to his business also use the lot with 38 spaces on the north side of beach road.

A lot Bahama Bob’s owners helped pay for.

“In 2008 there was an empty lot across the street that the city owned and we knew there was a need for parking for us and for everybody,” Spellman said. “We asked what would happen if we kicked in and paid for the parking? We paid for half of that parking lot. This was not to get extra parking spaces to meet any kind of code.”

 “We’re very, very concerned about it,” Spellman said. “We understand the city needs revenue, but at what expense? You’re going to impact some of your businesses severely and a year from now you might say ‘oops.”

Council members were sympathetic to Spellman’s parking situation.

“I think that is something we should strongly consider,” Mayor Robert Craft said. “If the 14 plus the five or six that you have on the south side basically satisfy the needs of the restaurant then I think that should be yours. I think we ought to protect that.”

And the business’ willingness to partner with the city on adding the parking lot in 2008 was not lost on council members.

 “To me they went above and beyond when they came back and offered to help pay for some of the 38 (parking spaces) on the north side,” Councilwoman Carolyn Doughty said.

Officials say parking fees collected now are pretty much a break-even proposition as funding for the city’s lifeguard program with the 350 spots at the public beach, 90 at the West Second Street access and 30 spots at West Sixth Street. About $450,000 was collected in 2014.

The city projects to collect between $743,000 to $1.2 million as it adds 341 spaces to the paid program, including for now the 14 next to Bahama Bob’s.

City Administrator Steve Griffin said the new revenues will help pay for the 15 new pay stations, the beach litter initiative and recycling program, the beach ranger program to enforce litter and tent laws at public beaches and for two Community Services Officers in the police department to monitor the lots and collect fees.

There are currently eight pay stations used at Gulf Place, Second Street West and Sixth Street West. The new plan will add 15 more at six city lots.

“When we introduced and adopted the beach litter program and the beach ranger program that added a little over $500,000 to the cost of our beach operations in addition to the lifeguard operations,” Griffin said.

New areas with parking fees include:

East First Street north of First Avenue, 44 spaces

East First Street south of First Avenue, 42 spaces

West First street north of First Avenue, 36 spaces

West First Street south of First Avenue, 40 spaces

West Second Street north of First Avenue, 26 spaces

West Second Street south of First Avenue, 25 spaces

West Fifth Street south of Alabama 182, 38 spaces

 West Fifth Street north of Alabama 182, 14 spaces (by Bahama Bob’s

 Lagoon Pass Park, 76 spaces