ANNA MARIA – City commissioners are still considering six charter amendments recently proposed by the charter review committee.
On April 25, the commission engaged in its second informal discussion on the proposed charter amendments presented on April 11. No decisions have been made regarding any of the proposed amendments to the city charter that establishes how the city is structured and governed.
The commission will eventually formally vote to reject, accept or modify each of the proposed amendments and any additional amendments proposed by the commission.
The commission-supported amendments will be placed before Anna Maria voters in the upcoming general election. The city charter can only be amended with the majority support of the city’s registered voters.
HOME RULE
Much of the April 25 discussion pertained to the proposed insertion of charter language that would address the desire to preserve Anna Maria’s home rule rights and residential character.
The committee proposes the following language be inserted into the charter: “The city of Anna Maria will ensure that the single-family detached residential character and home rule of the city is maintained and protected while supporting commercial uses within the commercial and ROR land use categories, while maximizing the enjoyment of natural and man-made resources by the citizens and minimizing the threat to health, safety and welfare posed by hazards, nuisances, incompatible land uses and environmental degradation.”
As he did on April 11, Commissioner Jon Crane again questioned the use of the word “ensure” and the city’s ability to do so.
“I think this is aspirational change and not an action change. It’s a nice statement, but I don’t think it should be something we put before the electorate,” Crane said.
Commissioner Charlie Salem disagreed and said, “I actually like this statement, especially given the time we’re in, where home rule is under threat. I think this is the type of thing that would be good for the electorate to weigh in on.”
Commissioner Gary McMullen agreed with Crane and said, “What do we do to ensure it?”
Regarding the ongoing OPPAGA consolidation study requested by state legislators, McMullen said, “We can’t control our destiny. We’ve got no control over OPPAGA.”
Commissioner Mark Short addressed the potential legal ramifications of the proposed statement.
“Does this put the city at some type of legal risk if say we’re going to ensure these things and then something happens and we can’t?” he asked. “We continue to be attacked at the state level for home rule. Unfortunately, we don’t control our own destiny as well as we used to.”
Short suggested eliminating the word “ensure” and inserting language that says the city will strive to protect home rule and the city’s residential character.
Salem asked City Attorney Becky Vose if there’s any legal benefit to placing such a statement in the charter.
In response, Vose said, “I don’t know how something like this would be viewed by the electorate. As a very practical matter, more than half of the residential structures in Anna Maria are vacation rentals, so in some respect the ship has sailed.”
Mayor Dan Murphy has previously stated more than 70% of Anna Maria’s residential structures are short-term vacation rentals.
BUILDING HEIGHTS
Anna Maria’s comp plan and building codes already restrict building heights to three stories but the comp plan and the building code could be easily amended by a simple majority vote of the city commission.
The charter review committee recommends building heights be limited to 37 feet at the highest point of the structure. The proposed charter language also lists several exceptions for air conditioning equipment, elevator shafts and other elements and accessories. The commissioners tentatively support the 37-foot height limit but agree that more discussion and specific details are needed.
Other proposed charter amendments pertain to the sale or long-term lease of city properties, clarifying who’s considered an officer of the city, residency requirements for elected officials while in office and who can schedule a special city commission meeting. The committee also recommends replacing gender-specific pronouns with non-gender-specific nouns.
More charter discussion is expected on Thursday, May 9.
Related coverage: Commission receives proposed charter amendments
