MANATEE COUNTY – Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth is celebrating after receiving six judgments from Manatee County Circuit Court Judge Charles Sniffen ruling in favor of the city in the Bert Harris Jr. Act cases.
The six cases all involve occupancy arguments with property owners arguing that the city’s limitation on vacation rental occupancy – two per bedroom or six people total – devalue their property. In all six cases, Sniffen ruled against the property owners, stating in the rulings that the first application requirement of the Bert Harris Jr. Act was not met.
The Bert Harris Jr. Private Property Act was enacted in 1995 by the State of Florida to provide a way for private property owners to resolve disputes between themselves and a government entity they believe has inordinately burdened the use of their property. In these cases, Sniffen ruled that the property owners were not inordinately burdened by the city’s occupancy restrictions.
The property owners are Shawn Kaleta at 204 72nd St., Shawn Kaleta d/b/a 302 55th LLC at 302 55th St., Brian Wien at 111 81st St., Shawn Kaleta d/b/a 307 66th LLC at 307 66th St., R. Carlile Roberts at 6422 Gulf Drive, Unit 5 and Robert and Michele Carl at 118 50th St., Unit A.
Without property owners applying to the city for a variance or some other relief from the occupancy limitation and receiving a formal denial of a written request, the first application requirement was not met.
The rulings bring all six cases to a close unless there is an appeal filed by attorneys on behalf of the property owners.
Titsworth said that she is very happy with the rulings and hopes to soon see an end to the Bert Harris cases which have cast a shadow over city hall since 2017.
While the six cases mark a win for the city, Holmes Beach city leaders are not out of the woods yet.
Cases brought against the city by property owners Mojito Splash LLC, Coral Escapes of Holmes Beach LLC and AMI Breeze LLC have been filed with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida for an appeal of the Manatee County ruling against their cases earlier in 2020 by Judge Edward Nicholas. No hearings have yet been set for these appeals.
More than a dozen Bert Harris cases are still pending in Manatee County Circuit Court with several having motions for more time to provide answers to the city’s discovery queries heard during an Aug. 31 hearing. Several other cases were given a similar extension in July with an Aug. 10 deadline. No further hearings have yet been set in those cases.
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