HOLMES BEACH – City leaders opted to end the moratorium stopping vacation rentals to tourists in the city more than two weeks before it was scheduled to end.
Commissioners voted unanimously at the urging of the public, Mayor Judy Titsworth and city staff to end the moratorium early with an effective date of Nov. 2, 16 days before it was scheduled to expire.
During discussion at the Oct. 29 special meeting, Titsworth said that she expected the first pass of debris removal in Holmes Beach to be completed by Nov. 2, one of the benchmarks in hurricane recovery after Helene and Milton that she wanted to reach before inviting guests back to the city. She said she wanted the moratorium to be lifted as quickly as possible, noting that it’s up to property owners to determine if their rentals are safe and ready to rent.
“I think we did a good job,” she said of the moratorium, which was enacted on Oct. 2 in response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, both of which caused widespread devastation in the city. “It took guts to do what we did.”
Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer agreed, stating that he felt it was time for the government to take a step back and allow property owners and rental agents to do their own due diligence. Tokajer said that if the city is safe enough to reopen Anna Maria Elementary School on Nov. 4, he feels that it’s safe enough to welcome vacationers to return.
Holmes Beach was the only one of the three Anna Maria Island cities to enact a vacation rental moratorium in the wake of the two hurricanes.
Vacation rental owner Nicole Kaleta thanked commissioners for their efforts and hard work to help the city recover after the storms. She said that her business has made the choice to not take reservations until mid-November, but wanted the moratorium revoked because with it in place, she said rental agents’ hands were tied legally regarding already-booked reservations. She said her company lost 20% of its annual revenue due to the storm and had to pay out of pocket for refunded processing fees.
Restaurateur Sean Murphy also thanked city leaders for their hard work and dedication to helping the city cleanup after the storms passed. He also asked that the moratorium be rescinded to help businesses recover.
