HOLMES BEACH – A grassroots movement to bring awareness to Florida legislators’ efforts to consolidate or eliminate the three Anna Maria Island cities drew about 300 people to its first event, a peaceful protest on the sand.
The crowd gathered just north of Manatee Beach on April 13 for a Hands Across the Sand event held by Save Florida Home Rule, a group of residents, vacationers and property owners who want to stop the overreach of state government. Members of the group are vocally against the consolidation or elimination of the three Island cities as well as the construction of a parking garage at Manatee Beach.
Joining hands, the group shouted, “Protect paradise” and “Keep your hands off our Island cities” as messages to Manatee County and Florida state lawmakers to stop governmental overreach and allow local municipalities to govern their own cities.
The parking garage bill passed the Legislature without protest in 2023. The bill allows for Manatee County commissioners to construct a garage at the beach property against city of Holmes Beach land development regulations and zoning codes. The garage bill was protested by residents, visitors, property owners and city elected officials, but those protests were ignored at the county and state levels. Resident and one of Save Florida Home Rule’s organizers, Barbara Ehren, wants to make sure that doesn’t happen again with the elimination of the cities.
“There is a group of people who are gathering together to save Anna Maria Island because we are very concerned about the move afoot in the Florida Legislature to either consolidate the cities or disband them and put them under either Bradenton or (unincorporated) Manatee County,” Ehren said. “We do not want to see that happen because we suspect, and I believe it’s more than a suspicion, that what would happen under those circumstances is we would lose our zoning and get lots of high-rises. And then lovely Anna Maria Island that everyone adores would become Miami Beach. The visitors don’t want that and those of us who live here don’t want that to happen.”
The group was joined by Holmes Beach Commissioners Pat Morton, Terry Schaefer and Carol Soustek, who all participated in the event.
“This is the community,” Morton said, gesturing to the gathered residents, visitors and other concerned individuals. “I’m going to go out here to see if I can find some beach people to come and join us. This beach is for them too, it’s not just us. We’re trying to open up some people’s minds to what’s going on. A lot of people in Bradenton, over in Manatee County they think ‘Oh, it’s your problem.’ No, it’s your problem over there too. They don’t realize this is going to affect them too.”
“This is a citizens’ generated event today and that’s certainly what’s going to be most helpful in making everyone in our area, not just on our Island, aware of the threat of dissolution of our Island, our cities,” Schaefer said. “This is a first step in kind of igniting interest community-wide and getting people out physically to the beach to determine and show that there is a line of defense in supporting and maintaining our way of life and quality of life.”
Soustek joined other volunteers in helping to gather signatures on letters protesting the elimination of the three Island cities prior to the start of the event from participants. She said the letters are to be sent to state Rep. Will Robinson Jr. and Sen. Jim Boyd. The two are members of the Manatee County state legislative delegation and both support the parking garage and the state-sponsored Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability study looking at the possibility of eliminating the cities. The OPPAGA study is the first step toward a special act of the state Legislature eliminating or consolidating the three cities.
The study is looking at four possibilities – consolidating the three cities into one new city, eliminating the cities and putting the Island under the jurisdiction of unincorporated Manatee County or the city of Bradenton, or leaving the cities as is. On a recent visit to Holmes Beach, Mayor Judy Titsworth said OPPAGA representatives were looking at eliminating the cities and putting them under the jurisdiction of unincorporated Manatee County, meaning that the county commissioners would decide all matters of government for the Island. The majority of county commissioners live east of I-75 and only one, at-large Commissioner George Kruse, frequently visits the Island to speak with residents and local elected officials. District Three Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge is the county’s largest supporter of the removal of the existing historic cafe building at Manatee Beach and installing a three-story parking garage there. Building the garage would also mean that beach parking in all three Island cities would largely be paid parking instead of free for the public. Currently, Holmes Beach is the only Island city that does not allow paid parking.
To keep up and get involved in the ongoing effort to preserve the Island cities, visit www.facebook.com/savefloridahomerule or email savefloridahomerule@gmail.com. The group also has T-shirts, baseball caps and other items to help raise awareness for sale at the Anna Maria Island Historical Society Museum at 402 Pine Ave. in Anna Maria.
