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Month: July 2023

State restricts local land use regulations

State restricts local land use regulations

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Anna Maria Island, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – The three city governments on Anna Maria Island are among the Florida cities now temporarily prohibited from adopting comprehensive plan or land development code amendments that are more restrictive or burdensome than their existing land use regulations.

On June 28, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into new law the committee substitute version of Senate Bill 250 and its matching companion bill, House Bill 7057. The temporary land use regulation restrictions created by the Florida Legislature and placed on local governments are just one component of the state legislation that provides approximately $61 million in state-supervised loans as part of Florida’s continuing recovery efforts from Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole.

In May in anticipation of the new state law, the Anna Maria City Commission discontinued the short-lived pursuit of an ordinance proposed by city staff that would have placed greater local restrictions on multiple non-conforming lots located on a single property. City Attorney Becky Vose advised the commission to withhold any further action on the proposed ordinance until the final fate of SB 250 was known.

She also advised the commission that the proposed ordinance would subject the city to Bert Harris claims filed by some or all of the 37 impacted residential property owners. The Bert J. Harris Jr. Private Property Protection Act provides relief, including financial relief, for property owners aggrieved or inordinately burdened by the actions of a state, county or local government.

The new law created by SB 250 is set forth in section 553.80 of Florida Statutes and says: “A county or municipality located entirely or partially within 100 miles of where either Hurricane Ian or Hurricane Nicole made landfall shall not propose or adopt any moratorium on construction, reconstruction or redevelopment of any property damaged by Hurricane Ian or Hurricane Nicole; propose or adopt more restrictive or burdensome amendments to its comprehensive plan or land development regulations; or propose or adopt more restrictive or burdensome procedures concerning review, approval or issuance of a site plan, development permit or development order before October 1, 2024. Any such moratorium or restrictive or burdensome comprehensive plan amendment, land development regulation or procedure shall be null and void ab initio. This applies retroactively to September 28, 2022.”

During that May discussion, Vose said she believes Anna Maria is located within 100 miles of where Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida in September 2022.

“Jurisdictions within that distance on both the east coast and the west coast have to put a pause on changes to their comp plan and land development regulations if they result in something more restrictive or burdensome,” Vose said.

Additional research conducted by Vose and Mayor Dan Murphy confirmed Anna Maria is located within 100 miles of Hurricane Ian’s landfall. Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach also fall within that 100-mile range.

The new state law still allows comp plan and land development code amendments pursued through a local government but initiated by a private property owner.

Inspection fees

The state law also addresses building inspection fees and says, “local governments located in areas designated in the Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster declarations for Hurricane Ian or Hurricane Nicole may not raise building inspection fees before Oct. 1, 2024. This expires June 30, 2025.”

According to Vose, the inspection fee restriction applies to all Florida cities because FEMA issued disaster declarations in every county in Florida because of Hurricane Ian or Hurricane Nicole.

Temporary shelter

The new state law declares a municipality may not prohibit the placement of one temporary shelter on a residential property for up to 36 months after the date of the declaration if the property’s permanent residential structure was damaged and rendered uninhabitable. The resident must make a good-faith effort to rebuild or renovate the damaged permanent residential structure. Additionally, the temporary shelter is required to be connected to water and electric utilities, must not present a safety threat and the resident must live in the temporary structure.

Island Players documentary premier a sellout

Island Players documentary premier a sellout

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Entertainment, Theater.

ANNA MARIA – Operating for 75 years, the Island Players is the oldest community theater group in Manatee County, but the history of their home dates back another 75 years.

How the theater got to its current location on the corner of Gulf Drive and Pine Avenue is one of the fascinating subjects featured in a new documentary film about the Players.

Tens of thousands of people have attended plays at the historic theater that is as much a part of Anna Maria Island as the sand and palm trees. But most who walk through the doors have no idea that if somebody had not decided to saw a mid-19th century home in half and float it down the Manatee River, the theater simply wouldn’t exist. The story had to be told and a local filmmaker decided to tell it with his documentary, “The Anna Maria Island Players,” which was accepted and featured at the 2023 Sarasota Film Festival.

“When I pitched this to the studio, I asked if anybody had heard of this little wooden theater that got cut in half and floated down the river,” Director Lucas Piety said. “They didn’t know what I was talking about, but that’s how it all started.”

Piety said without the resources of the Manatee County Clerk of Court and the Anna Maria Island Historical Society, this project would have been impossible.

“The Anna Maria Island Historical Society has a museum right down the street,” Piety said. “If you’re interested in learning more about the history of the Island, I strongly encourage you to go visit it and learn more about the Island. I learned that a lot of money that went into the early years of this Island came from the creator of Fig Newtons; I had no idea.”

Piety said that he feels that Florida history doesn’t get the same attention as other states to the north and he wants to change that. He said it’s important that the history of Florida is shared with the world and, although this film may be a small contribution in the grand scheme, it’s a start, and he hopes more of the same will follow.

There will be no spoilers here, but, fortunately, the film is now online and can be viewed for free online.

Curtain, please!

Solid Rock, Luxury Service remain undefeated

Written by Monica Simpson on . Posted in Football, Sports.

ANNA MARIA – The Island-area tweens and teens took to the indoor soccer pitch in The Center’s gymnasium for week three action. With the standings in the 11- to 13-year-old league close, the four teams all went into this week’s play with the final week of play in view.

Due to a forfeit by Moss Builders, only one game was played last Monday night. Island Vacation Properties lost the game against Solid Rock Construction 5-4. The win was the first for the Solid Rock team in the oldest youth league.

Goals by Chandler McRae, Jimmie Melichar and Alonso Valle for Island Vacation Properties kept the squad in the game. Solid Rock’s offense was just a little too much for their opponent’s defense.

With seven saves each, Island Vacation Properties’ goalies McRae and Valle worked hard to protect their net. Solid Rock’s keeper Austin Guess was solid in his position, making 10 stops.

Renan and Ryk Kesten each scored a goal for Solid Rock in addition to a hat trick by Wes Saxon for the win.

The ballers in the 8- to 10-year-old league played two nights in a row to get their schedule back on track. After playing last Tuesday, team Intentional Resilient Intuitive had a hard loss against the Progressive Cabinetry team.

Winning the game 11-2, Max Mcmaster had five points in the game. Mcmaster’s teammates, Wesley Bekkerus, Rafa Price and Kason Price contributed with goals of their own.

  1. Price worked his magic in the keeper position making six defensive stops. Adding to the save count for Progressive, Vincent Gollamudi had five saves in the statistics for the game.

On the other side of the line, Paul ten Haaf scored the only two goals for the Intentional squad. Ten Haaf, playing as goalkeeper, made six saves in the match. Teammate Luke Willing shared the duties, making six stops as well.

The youngest Solid Rock Construction team earned the win against AMI Dolphin Tours, winning by three goals. Parker Svoboda scored the solo goal for AMI Dolphin Tours.

Sharing the scoring credits, Matthew Darak and Samuel Raulerson each got the soccer ball past the AMI Dolphin Tours’ keepers.

The four goalkeepers in the game were kept busy with a total of 22 saves. With eight saves each, Isaac Roadman for Solid Rock and Gunnar Maize for AMI Dolphin Tours set the pace, while teammates Darak and Maize each helped with big saves of their own for their teams.

Wrapping up week three sports at The Center, the adult co-ed flag football league played under the big lights for four games.

In a high-scoring game, the Cortez Deep Sea Fishing team beat Gulf Drive Café by two points, winning 41-39. Team Salty Printing had an easy time of it against The Banks Home Lending Team with the final score 39-18.

Playing without their team captain, Ryan Moss, Moss Builders was shut out by Sandbar Seafood & Spirits. Sandbar scored 29 points in the third game of the night last Thursday.

Winning and remaining undefeated, Luxury Services won their third game of the season against Solid Rock Construction. Solid Rock kept the game close the entire two halves of play, losing only by two points.

Heading into the mid-point of the season for all the leagues, the championship games are in sight and all of the teams remain strong contenders.

 

 

Sun Scoreboard

June 26

11- to 13-year-old league
Week 3

 

Solid Rock Construction (1-1-1) 5

Island Vacation Properties (1-2-0) 4

 

Coastline West Team/Wagner Realty (2-0-1) Winner by forfeit

Moss Builders (1-2-0) L

 

June 27

Youth Indoor Soccer
8- to 10-year-old league

 

Progressive Cabinetry 6

AMI Dolphin Tours 0

 

Solid Rock Construction 7

Intentional Resilient Intuitive 4

 

June 28

Youth Indoor Soccer
8- to 10-year-old league

 

Progressive Cabinetry (2-1-0) 11

Intentional Resilient Intuitive (0-2-1) 2

 

Solid Rock Construction (3-0-0) 4

AMI Dolphin Tours (0-2-1) 1

 

June 22

Adult Co-Ed Flag Football
Week 2

 

Cortez Deep Sea Fishing (1-2-0) 41

Gulf Drive Café (1-2-0) 39

 

Salty Printing (2-1-0) 39

The Banks Home Lending Team (0-3-0) 18

 

Sandbar Seafood & Spirits (2-1-0) 29

Moss Builders (2-1-0) 0

 

Luxury Services (3-0-0) 21

Solid Rock Construction (1-2-0) 19

City leaders continue to fight parking garage

City leaders continue to fight parking garage

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Gov. Ron DeSantis may have signed off on a beachfront parking garage, but that doesn’t mean that city leaders are giving up the fight to stop the garage from being built just yet.

“We’re committed to fighting this thing. We’re not going to stop until there are shovels in the ground,” Commissioner Terry Schaefer said, with his fellow commissioners echoing the statement.

The garage that commissioners are vowing to fight is planned as a three-story parking structure with 1,500 or more spaces at Manatee Beach. While parking garages are not an allowable land use in any of the three Anna Maria Island cities, they are allowed in Holmes Beach by special exception. Feeling that city officials would never approve the garage, Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge said he opted to circumvent the special exception process in Holmes Beach by encouraging state Rep. Will Robinson to introduce HB 947, a bill to allow for the garage to be built without requiring any input or approvals from the city. Despite public outcry against the bill, it received unanimous support from the local state delegation, the Florida House and Senate, and, ultimately, from the governor.

The garage is estimated to cost $45 million to build, $400,000 a year to maintain and take at least two years to build, during which facilities and parking at Manatee Beach would be unavailable. The existing concession building with a retail store, restrooms and the Anna Maria Island Beach Café would be torn down to make way for the parking garage. Once built, the garage is expected to house new restroom and concession facilities.

City Attorney Erica Augello said that the legal battle is now underway to try and stop the garage from being built. While she said she’s just beginning to work on the city’s legal defense against the parking structure, she said she’s aware that at least two groups of residents and other interested parties have sprung up locally to fight against the garage. Augello said that if either or both groups decide to retain an attorney to pursue legal action she would like the attorneys to contact her to coordinate legal efforts.

Castles in the Sand

Is having two homes too much?

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

This column is all about being careful what you wish for. Some people love their childhood home and long for the day they will inherit it from their parents. Others know if they just had that beach house their life would be complete. Well, I’m here to tell you that both dreams do not come as easy as you might think.

Inheriting the family home has been a tradition in the country for a century. It made a lot of sense to children who needed the space and location where they grew up for their new families. It wasn’t uncommon for siblings to make arrangements to buy out other siblings who wanted the property and, mostly, it was a good idea and worked.

Now, however, the family home may be worth a lot more than anyone in the family anticipated. Higher mortgage rates can make it impossible or impractical for any of the heirs to maintain the property or buy it outright. In addition, tax liabilities need to be calculated by a professional to determine if or when the best time to sell is.

If keeping the family home is a viable option for the heirs, then it might be a good option to use this windfall as a second vacation or investment home. Owning a second home comes with a long list of pros and cons, just ask any owner on Anna Maria Island. But, if you’re starting with a property that is inherited, you’re at least starting at the top of the pro list.

The biggest expense in owning a second home is financing it. Financing costs are typically higher for vacation homes with higher interest rates and larger down payments generally required. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have also raised fees for second home loans recently. If this is an inherited home, financing is not the issue, but there are plenty of other issues.

Coastal Florida, in case you haven’t noticed, is experiencing insurance premiums that are rising with shrinking options. The closer you are to the water, the greater your risk of flooding and wind damage in a storm, especially for older homes that may not have been built to current code. It’s certainly not impossible to get insurance on older properties but insurance companies are looking for new roofs at a minimum. In fact, you don’t even need to have a waterfront home for insurance companies to require a new roof before they will write insurance or give you a deadline for when that new roof needs to be installed.

Maintenance of a second home is always an issue, especially if the owner resides several hours or several states away. Maintenance companies will maintain issues in the home and check on it regularly if no one is there, but these services all come with a price. Renting a second home certainly is an option, but at the end of the rental, the property needs to be cleaned and checked for repairs. It’s a lot of work for owners and it’s not unusual for second homeowners to decide at some point it’s too much work for the time they use the property.

The flip side of this is the income that can be realized from second homes. Just look at the rental prices on Anna Maria Island. Again, consult your tax professional if you plan to use the property for both personal and business use. Every owner’s situation is different based on their personal use, the amount that can be written off and income.

There is no one answer for everyone. Owning a beachfront property or a ski-in, ski-out chalet may be your dream. Just be careful what you wish for.

Legislation imperils local waters

Reel Time: Legislation imperils local waters

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Fishing, Outdoors, Reel Time.

At a time when the need to move water quality issues in a positive direction should be crystal clear, decisionmakers (and, by default, the citizens who elected them) are weakening protections that are the basis of the region’s economy. After several years of record harmful algae blooms (red tide, lyngbya, blue-green algae) and the unprecedented mega release of toxic effluent from the Piney Point disaster, it’s almost unbelievable that newly enacted state laws are making it harder to protect critical waters.

A bill that was recently signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis prohibits local governments from “adopting or amending a fertilizer management ordinance” during the 2023-24 budget year. The legislation restricts the ability of local municipalities and counties to restrict fertilizer use during the rainy season (May 15 to Oct. 3). Instead, they are now required to depend on less restrictive regulations developed by the University of Florida and supported by the state’s phosphate industry, the producers of fertilizer. It’s another nod to industry over the common good. The bill, which was quietly tucked into the budget without comment from the public, is defended by proponents since it only lasts for a year while the university studies the impact of the revised rule. This move appears to be nothing more than a gift to the fertilizer industry that has been losing revenue since 2000. Before the law was enacted, Gil Smart, executive director of advocacy group VoteWater, stated, “Fertilizer control is a key tool for local governments grappling with water quality problems. If this stands, it just opens the door to even more nutrients in our waterways and more problems. It’s unconscionable.” (Mary Allen Klas, Tampa Bay Times, May 2, 2022)

When I contacted Smart about the newly-enacted bill, he added, “I can also say this fertilizer study is an obvious precursor to legislative attempts to weaken fertilizer ordinances across Florida. I’d expect to see legislation to that effect as early as next session.”

Local anglers see first-hand what devastation excess nutrients from a myriad of sources, including fertilizer, wreak on the waters of Anna Maria Sound. Capt. Justin Moore understands the issue firsthand. Moore fishes over 200 days a year and sees the changes happening before his eyes.

“I have lots of customers who love to fish and have young children,” he said. “If they want their kids able to fish, we need to address this issue at the ballot box. What I’m seeing makes me afraid that we’re close to losing it all if we’re not careful. New and existing businesses on the Island and beyond need to know that a catastrophic red tide bloom (scientifically linked to excess nutrients) could devastate their business.”

If this wasn’t a big enough blow to efforts to protect water quality and vital marine habitat, Senate Bill 540 might signal the final nail in the coffin of common-sense reform. According to Samantha Wassmer, marketing and communications specialist for Suncoast Waterkeeper, “Along with the new restriction on fertilizer, the state Legislature delivered Senate Bill 540 and Senate Bill 1258/House Bill 1191 to the governor’s desk. Senate Bill 540 threatens ordinary Floridians with financial ruin for exercising their right to legally challenge bad development decisions. Specifically, citizens who challenge comprehensive plan amendments would be forced to pay the attorney fees and costs of the prevailing local government and developers if they lose their challenge. Senate Bill 1258 approves the use of radioactive waste called phosphogypsum in road construction, giving a free pass for industry to produce even more fertilizer that ultimately flushes into and pollutes our local waterways. Gov. DeSantis signed SB 540 on May 24, 2023, and has yet to take any action on SB 1258 which, as a result, automatically went into effect on July 1.”

Dave Tomasko, executive director of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, has a broader viewpoint as a scientist and brings another perspective to the issue.

“Municipalities are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to clean up Sarasota Bay and isotopic signatures show the presence of fertilizer-derived nitrogen in bay waters. Since there are no agricultural sources of nitrogen in the adjacent watershed it’s an indication that the nitrogen is from residential sources. If you want a bright green lawn, you must be willing to accept a bright green bay,” Tomasko said. “Since no one wants that, every citizen in the watershed must step up and do their part.”

In the end, the message seems clear to this advocate. If we are to protect this special place we love, it will require the voters to elect lawmakers who represent the people. Our state legislators and the governor have failed us to date.