ANNA MARIA ISLAND – High water and short-term local flooding were common scenes on the Island Monday morning.

“The rain has been a little heavier this morning than it had been the last couple weeks,” said Bradenton Beach Public Works Director Tom Woodard.

“That, mixed with high tide, produced some pretty heavy flooding this morning. We set out some high water and slow speed signs in some of our neighborhoods, and I received one report that water was coming into someone’s ground level home,” Woodard said.

“It’s noon now, and the water’s pretty much receded,” he added.

Police Chief Sam Speciale said, “We have high water in our normal spots on Gulf Drive, but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before.”

In Holmes Beach, Police Chief Bill Tokajer said, “We had some flooding on Sixth Avenue and we closed it from Manatee Avenue to Gulf Drive. We also closed Holmes Boulevard between 67th and 70th, and we’ve got no wake signs up all over the place, but our main flooding was on Sixth Avenue.”

Anna Maria Public Works Director George McKay said he saw no major differences on Monday compared to past rain events, and he said most of the most of the high water and temporary flooding he was aware of occurred north of Pine Avenue.

ANNA MARIA – A second group has filed a lawsuit against the city’s vacation rental ordinance.

Pine Avenue Restoration, LLC, also known as PAR, filed suit July 28 asking for declaratory and injunctive relief from the ordinance.

The suit claims the ordinance is unlawful and “disturbs plaintiff’s vested property rights that were established through good faith reliance on the city’s prior approval of a development project.”

The project’s approval process included six separate development orders requiring a complicated application process that addressed most of the requirements in the vacation rental ordinance. It allowed owners of the properties to rent the living quarters above the shops on a short-term basis. The plaintiffs claim the city specifically gave the owners the right to rent short term.

The suit points out the buildings are zoned residential/office/retail (ROR and says PAR leases the commercial space and rents the residences above.

In 2007, the city commissioners amended the comprehensive plan to allow mixed-use development along Pine Avenue, removing language that they felt was too restrictive. The goal was to “ensure that the single-family residential character of the city of Anna Maria is maintained and protected while supporting commercial uses in the commercial and ROR land use categories.”

The suit asks the court to issue an order declaring the vacation rental ordinance invalid for failure to meet the statutory requirements for adoption, award the plaintiffs their costs and provide, “what other relief the court deems just and proper.”

PAR developer Micheal Coleman declined comment on the suit.

The attorney for the plaintiffs is Andrea Flynn Mogensen, of Sarasota.

BRADENTON BEACH – The city’s Planning and Zoning Board (P&Z) members support additional vacation rental regulations, but not at the expense of a costly legal battle.

At the request of new board member Frank Harrison, last week’s P&Z meeting included a discussion on the recently adopted Anna Maria vacation rental ordinance and the possibility of using it as a basis for a similar ordinance in Bradenton Beach.

The volunteer board members agreed that more could be done to address growing concerns about large rental homes being built in residential neighborhoods, but were divided in regard to how this might be accomplished.

City Planner Alan Garrett provided the board with a brief summary of the vacation rental ordinance he helped create in Anna Maria, which was based on a short-term rental ordinance adopted in Flagler County in February.

Garrett reminded the board that Florida cities and communities can regulate rentals to some extent, but cannot regulate the frequency of rentals or the duration of stay; nor can they prohibit short-term rentals.

He then explained that the Anna Maria ordinance incorporates an 8-person maximum occupancy limit and requires a representative of the property to be available 24 hours a day to respond in person within 30 minutes of a complaint being received.

The ordinance also places new restrictions on pool use and mandates an overnight quiet period.

“That’s where most of the complaints come from, from the neighbors complaining about the noise of the pool,” Garrett said.

“The rental unit has to be brought under the same standards as a hotel or motel,” he added.

“So, how’s it working?” board chair Dan DeBaun asked.

“It’s being challenged right now,” Garrett said, referring to a lawsuit filed in May by a group of plaintiffs that includes property “So, how’s it working?” board chair Dan DeBaun asked.

“It’s being challenged right now,” Garrett said, referring to a lawsuit filed in May by a group of plaintiffs that includes property owners, rental agents and members of the Anna Maria Island Vacation Property Association.

A second lawsuit challenging the ordinance was filed on July 28 by Pine Avenue Restoration LLC, (PAR), the group involved in the renovation and redevelopment of the Pine Avenue business district in Anna Maria. This suit claims the city’s ordinance is unlawful and “disturbs plaintiff’s vested property rights that were established through good faith reliance on the city’s prior approval of a development project.”

Anna Maria complaint

The first complaint filed against the city of Anna Maria states: “The ordinance includes restrictions on vacation rental property occupancy, use, building and fire code regulations, the content of rental contracts and their advertising. These restrictions apply to no other type of residential property in the city. The regulations contained in the ordinance are specifically and uniquely targeted to a single class of property owners.”

In regard to the 26-page ordinance unanimously approved by the Anna Maria Commission in April, the complaint says, “The ordinance creates an onerous regimen of city-issued licenses and approvals that must be obtained by the property owner. The ordinance then creates a series of restrictions and requirements that must be met in order for the property owner to obtain these city-issued licenses.”

Member concerns

“I saw a broker today who said the big houses are moving to Bradenton Beach because they’re squeezing them up there,” said planning board member John Metz.

Metz supports additional regulations, but cautioned against an ordinance that would subject Bradenton Beach to a lawsuit.

“This is a very complex issue. My gut feeling is limiting it to eight people is not constitutional,” the former attorney said, while noting that he himself operates a weekly rental.

Metz suggested creating a parking ordinance based on proposed land development code revisions that would establish a parking ratio based on the square footage of air conditioned space.

“I think we should seek an ordinance on the parking per square footage because that will be enforced in the building department. To build a house this big, they’re going to have to have the parking. This is something we could do in a month,” he said.

In regard to a broader ordinance, Metz said, “This city doesn’t like attorney’s fees. There is a ton of money behind this, and this city is not capable of a staunch legal defense. You’re talking about a couple hundred thousand dollars, and this city does not have that kind of money. I’m not against the ordinance, but I think what we ought to do is recommend to the commission that they get a legal opinion on this.”

When discussing the Anna Maria ordinance, Metz said, “So many parts of this ordinance can be attacked. I don’t think there’s ever going to be a resolution, and at some time it’s probably going to die down and there’s going to be some kind of accord taken.”

Board suggestions

Board member Jim Lynch supports additional regulation, but suggested city officials continue monitoring the Anna Maria lawsuit and let that serve as a test case before adopting similar legislation.

Harrison said he has lived in Bradenton Beach for 41 years and he is concerned that his home on 11th Street South will soon be the only non-rental property on the street. He sees this taking place elsewhere in the city and believes the city commission should act and not be intimidated by a potential lawsuit.

Board member Fawzy Makar favors additional regulations and would like to see parking permits required for Island visitors, but expressed his opinion that the court will likely rule against the Anna Maria ordinance, in part because of the resources available to those who oppose it.

DeBaun said he is in favor of the planning board using its authority to help create some type of ordinance and obtaining legal advice as that process moves forward.

The board made no formal recommendations during last week’s meeting, but plans to continue this discussion at its Aug. 26 meeting, after receiving an update from Garrett on the Anna Maria case.

HOLMES BEACH – The Florida District Court of Appeals (DCA) has denied a motion filed by tree house attorney David Levin.

On behalf of tree house owners Lynn Tran and Richard Hazen, Levin filed for a written opinion regarding a court decision to deny an appeal of a judge’s ruling. The ruling upheld the Code Enforcement Board’s 2013 order to remove the violations or demolish the tree house in front of Angelino’s Sea Lodge at 103 29th St.

City Attorney Patricia Petruff told city commissioners at last Tuesday’s meeting that “the code enforcement case is finished in the court system. The judge has set aside an order imposing a fine, but the code enforcement process needs to move forward.”

In September 2013, Code Enforcement Board members imposed a fine of $100 per day on Tran and Hazen for failure to comply. The couple appealed and in March 2014, they were granted a stay from the code enforcement board’s order imposing the fine.

Petruff said the city special master, Michael Connolly, couldn’t hear the case because he served as the code board’s attorney during the original case. She said she has contacted another attorney to hear the case.

“We need to have a special master hearing on whether to issue an order imposing a fine,” she explained.

Levin reply

On Thursday, Levin filed a motion seeking a rehearing en banc before the DCA because “this honorable court must have overlooked or misapprehended points of law and facts.” En banc means the case is heard before all the judges of a court.

Levin maintained, “The uncontroverted evidence before the lower tribunal demonstrated that petitioners (1) relied in good faith; (2) upon acts or omissions of the city of Holmes Beach; (3) and incurred such extensive expenses that it would be highly inequitable and unjust to destroy the rights petitioners have acquired.”

He said a rehearing is necessary “to maintain uniformity in this court’s decisions, and a written opinion would provide a legitimate basis for supreme court review.

Other court actions

Petruff said there are two other actions regarding the case. The first is an initiative petition filed by the property owners to put an ordinance on the ballot for voters to decide if the tree house is legal, which the city has challenged.

Petruff has maintained that a 2013 amendment of Florida statute prohibits the use of the initiative process with regard to any development order and that the proposed ordinance is a development order. She filed a declaratory action to seek a court ruling on the issue. The case is in hiatus until the court makes a decision.

In the second, Petruff said, “Mr. Levin challenged the zoning code itself indicating he thought it was vague and preempted state law. We’ll be looking at that to determine if that would be appropriate for a motion for summary judgment.”

According to City Treasurer Lori Hill, the city has spent approximately $42,000 on the case.

In honor of the little cat that stole everyone’s heart, Holmes Beach city commissioners agreed to name the pocket park on 52nd Street after him calling it Prince Park. Prince was recently attacked and killed by a wild animal.

Chair Judy Titsworth brought the idea to commissioners at last week’s commission meeting and said Steve Bark of Bark Realty would raise the money for a sign and a cat sculpture for the park.

MANATEE COUNTY – The July 29 passing of Manatee County Clerk of Circuit Court and Comptroller R.B. “Chips” Shore was felt throughout the county, including in Cortez, where he served for many years on the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH) board of directors.

Shore, who was 74, recently filed to run for a 10th term in office. Gov. Rick Scott will now select Shore’s successor, and Angelina Colonneso has been appointed to serve as interim clerk and comptroller.

“Mr. Shore was responsible for many technological advances such as e-filing, public access to court records and Smart Bench, a judicial application for judges to access court records,” said Manatee County Information Outreach Manager Nick Azzara in an e-mail.

“He was a visionary who understood the importance of using technology to improve government transparency and accessibility. I will truly miss him,” said County Administrator Ed Hunzeker in an e-mail.

Shore also created the Manatee County Historical Resources Department and recently celebrated the reopening of the Historic Courtroom in the Manatee County Courthouse.

“He stood up and brought historic preservation to the forefront. If not for him, we would not have moved as far as we have to preserve our history,” said County Commissioner Carol Whitmore. “Chips was a professional and kind man, and he will be missed in this county.”

Florida Maritime Museum Supervisor Amara Nash said, “Mr. Shore cared about the community he served and tried to keep everyone’s best interests in mind at all times. His passion for preserving local history and education is certain to be a lasting legacy. We felt lucky to have had him as a boss and we hope to honor his memory by carrying on the good work he initiated.”

Manatee County Director of Historical Resources Cathy Slusser worked closely with Shore and also assisted him with his duties as FISH secretary.

“I cannot say enough about what Mr. Shore has done to promote the preservation of our community’s history and heritage. He believed strongly in its importance and worked hard to make it a priority on the county level. He was so happy at the reopening of the Historic Courtroom. It had been a dream of his since he first became clerk in 1977,” she said.

In the wake of Shore’s passing, Slusser, who is not a FISH board member, informed the board that Monday, Aug. 3, would be her last meeting.

FISH board members Jane von Hahmann, John Stevely and Karen Bell are among the many who expressed appreciation for Shore’s contributions to Cortez.

“There wasn’t any person in a significant governmental position who had a better understanding or love for this village. Chips did everything he could to support Cortez and FISH, even during our trying times as an organization. He will be missed by the board and the village,” von Hahmann said.

“Chips was a man of honor and principle and FISH has been struck a heavy loss with his passing and losing Cathy,” she added.

“Chips leaves a huge legacy. He has been a champion for the community of Cortez and Manatee County, and he was a huge positive influence in my life,” said Stevely.

“What made Chips so special to me and so many others was that he actually listened and cared when others spoke. And it didn't stop there; he would take that information and act on it if there was something he could do,” said Bell.

“Sometimes there would be controversy, but he would always rise above it and do what he thought was the best for Cortez and Manatee County. I will miss his calming effect and voice of reason,” she added.

A public visitation will be held Saturday, Aug. 8, from 10 a.m. until noon in the Historic Courtroom at the Manatee County Courthouse, with a memorial service to follow at the Bradenton Auditorium at 2 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, Shore’s family is asking that donations be made to the Florida Maritime Museum in his honor.

HOLMES BEACH – City officials have agreed to grant an extension on a notice of code violation for Jose Vivero regarding trimming sea grapes on the beach in the 4300 block of Second Avenue.

In May, Vivero hired a tree service to trim the sea grape trees located along the beach access and the neighboring property across the street from his property without permission from the city or the neighboring property owner.

Vivero’s attorney, Greg Hogipan made the request in an e-mail to City Attorney Patricia Petruff stating, “As you are aware, we are working diligently with the DEP (Florida Department of Environmental Protection) and the State Attorney’s office in conjunction with the city of Holmes Beach to bring this matter to an amicable resolution.

“We are awaiting the final consent order from DEP, which will likely contain similar lighting requirements as your code violation. Therefore it is our request that you grant us an extension to respond to the code violation until we receive the proposed consent order from DEP.”

Petruff recommended that the extension be granted, and Police Chief Bill Tokajer said, “I approved the extension because they are working with us, the DEP and the State Attorney’s office to come into compliance.”

City action

The code violation, which was posted on the property July 21, lists the violations as lighting issues because the trimming left the beach, a turtle nesting area, vulnerable to lighting intrusion.

According to the notice of violation, “Pursuant to Sections 66-45 and 66-46, all exterior lighting must be replaced with turtle friendly bulbs and fully shielded from the nesting area.”

In a July 29 letter to Assistant State Attorney Heather Doyle, Mayor Bob Johnson said the city would like her office to enter into a pre-trial intervention agreement with Vivero that includes:

• Reimbursement for the purchase and installation of replacement sea grape trees at a cost of $1,000 for the trees and $1,653 for installation;
• Retrofitting of lighting on Vivero’s property to comply with the city’s turtle ordinance;
• Payment by Vivero for an arborist to monitor the cut sea grapes for two years;
• Reimbursement by Vivero of $788 for the cost of the investigation and $1,800 for the cost of the city attorney;
• Reimbursement of $694 to the neighbor, who was damaged by Vivero’s actions.

Johnson said if all the items were agreed upon, the city would not pursue any further code violations against Vivero for this incident.