ANNA MARIA – In addition to her unregistered Airbnb ruling, Special Magistrate Karla Owens ruled in favor of the city Anna Maria on three additional cases addressed during the April 30 code enforcement and appeals hearings. One of the hearings held at city hall pertained to a noise ordinance violation citation and two pertained to parking violations.
Noise violation
Owens ordered college student Conor Lynch to pay a $500 fine for the noise ordinance violation citation he received on March 15 while staying at his parents’ second home at 60 North Shore Drive. The citation lists a Tampa address as Lynch’s primary residence. Owens also ordered Lynch to pay an additional $150 administrative fee to help cover the appeals hearing costs.
Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Deputies Matthew Kenyan and Robert Desch responded to the initial noise complaint at approximately 2 a.m. According to Kenyan, they witnessed people on the balcony screaming and talking loudly. Lynch was asked to quiet things down and warned that a repeat visit would result in a $500 citation.
Approximately 45 minutes later, the deputies returned in response to a second complaint. When standing at various distances from the house the deputies could still hear loud talking and low-end bass sounds coming from inside the house. At this point, the citation was issued.
Kenyan told Owens deputies responded to prior noise complaints and issued verbal warnings at that address in 2015 and 2017.
Lynch’s father, Fred Lynch, attended the hearing. He said his son couldn’t attend because he was taking exams. Fred Lynch said he was not there to represent his son or challenge the citation, but he did want to express his concerns as a concerned citizen.
An email Fred Lynch sent the city was included in the hearing packet. It expressed concerns about harassment by a neighbor and the way the deputies handled this situation. During the hearing, Lynch claimed the deputies used words that were “inappropriate.”
Using a tablet and a portable speaker, Lynch showed Owens a video he shot later that he felt disproved the deputies’ claims regarding the loud bass noises being audible at the stated distances.
Owens said she would allow Lynch the courtesy of showing the video he recorded from various distances with the TV audio system turned all the way up, but it was not relevant to the case being discussed.
Parking violations
Owens ordered Bradenton resident Kathy Brooks-Rock to pay a $50 fine for parking her Volvo alongside Rose Street in the opposite direction of the traffic flow while visiting vacationing friends.
The apologetic citation recipient told Owens this was her first traffic ticket, and she didn’t know Anna Maria and other Florida cities prohibit parking in the wrong direction.
Owens ordered Bradenton resident Stephen Ierardi to pay a $50 fine and an additional $150 administrative fee for parking his BMW within 20 feet of the crosswalk at the intersection of Gulf Drive and Palm Avenue.
Ierardi told Owens he not aware of this law and there was no warning sign.
In both parking cases, Owens said ignorance of the law is no excuse. It was also noted that a warning sign has now been placed where Ierardi received his ticket.
Addy said Tuesday’s code enforcement hearings were the first scheduled during her time as city clerk and future hearings would be scheduled once a month as needed.
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