ANNA MARIA – Fedora Campbell is one step closer to building her long-desired beachfront home at 105 Elm Ave.
During an emergency city commission meeting on July 21, the Anna Maria Commission voted 5-0 in favor of granting final city approval of the right of way use permit that will allow Gagne Construction to extend Elm Avenue at Campbell’s expense.
The unpaved extension of Elm Avenue will provide a driveway connection and utilities access to the three-story home to be built on Campbell’s property, but the city-issued permit must first be reviewed and approved by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).
On June 9, the city commission tentatively approved Campbell’s right-of-way use permit request with the stipulation that final commission approval would be contingent on additional drainage elements to be designed and installed in the city right of way at Campbell’s expense to address existing and future flooding concerns at that street end.
Several years ago, Elm Avenue was extended in a similar unpaved manner – minus the additional drainage components – to provide driveway access for the beachfront home built at 107 Elm Ave. The west end of the avenue currently ends near the driveway of the 107 Elm Ave. home that North Carolina residents Wendy and Robert Jordan purchased in 2021. There is also a beach access point and a walkover bridge at that street end.
During Thursday’s meeting, Gagne Construction Office Manager Madison Larkin presented the plans for the additional drainage components previously requested by the commission. Larkin said the proposed drainage elements resemble the vertical infiltration trenches the city recently had installed along Pine Avenue.
The right-of-way improvements will also include the installation of a 3-foot-wide beach access along the north side of the city right of way that will connect with a trail that now leads to the beach. The walkover bridge will be removed and replaced with sea oats and/or other FDEP-approved native vegetation.
“This is a fantastic site plan,” Commissioner Robert Kingan said after Larkin’s presentation. “I’ve seen thousands of site plans during my career and I really want to applaud you for this. The new access to the beach is going to be much narrower than what’s there now, so we’re going to have a net gain of natural vegetation.”
Kingan then noted there are other undeveloped beachfront properties that could potentially be developed in a similar manner.
“This is a great site plan – a great blueprint if ever we face this sort of situation again,” he said.
The west end of Elm Avenue currently ends near a beach access point and the driveway for the home at 107 Elm. – Joe Hendricks | Sun“This is a great site plan – a great blueprint if ever we face this sort of situation again,” he said.
Commissioner Mark Short asked if any of the city-owned rights of way would become privately-owned property during the street extension and right of way improvement process. City Planner Chad Minor said the improved right of way will remain city-owned and accessible to anyone.
Adjacent properties
Commissioner Jon Crane said he recently visited the Zillow website and saw the undeveloped property at 103 Elm listed for sale. Currently owned by the Jordans, the 103 Elm property is located directly seaward of Campbell’s property.
The Jordans purchased 103 Elm in April 2021, a few weeks after they purchased the home at 107 Elm. During that same timeframe, they were unsuccessful in their efforts to purchase Campbell’s undeveloped property at 105 Elm which would have preserved their mostly unobstructed view of the beach and the Gulf of Mexico.
Crane asked if the right of way permit being issued to Campbell for the extension of Elm Avenue would preclude future access to the 103 Elm property should a future owner wish to develop that property.
In response, Mayor Dan Murphy said he didn’t think that question could be addressed at this time because there hasn’t been a request to develop that property and because it has not yet been determined whether 103 Elm is considered to be a buildable or non-buildable lot according to city code.
“Those are questions that would have to be answered. Then we could discuss how that would be accessed,” Murphy said.
Regarding the impact of Campbell’s right-of-way permit, Murphy said, “This doesn’t preclude anything. It’s an improvement to city-owned property and it doesn’t address access to 103 at all. It only addresses 105. I don’t think we can take an official position on that one way or another and I think it’s a slippery slope if we do.”
The Zillow.com listing for 103 Elm says, “Unique opportunity to purchase the last remaining most seaward buildable lot at the prestigious north end of Anna Maria Island. 110 feet of white sand frontage with uninterrupted panoramic ocean views. Recent state and city precedents have opened up this site for an owner to creatively design a beautiful beach house, casita or something more contemporary.”
After a recent commission meeting, Wendy Jordan told The Sun that she and her husband would consider selling the home at 107 Elm if Campbell’s right of way permit was approved. That home is currently listed for sale at Zillow.com with a $6.3 million asking price. According to the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office, the Jordans purchased the home from Graham Hanson in April 2021 for $4 million. The Jordans purchased the vacant lot at 103 Elm from Steven Decker for $500,000 and the current Zillow listing for that property includes a $1.65 million asking price.
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