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Beach access remains closed

Beach access remains closed

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

MANATEE COUNTY – The battle between neighbors for beach access on 78th Street in Holmes Beach came to a close when a judge ruled against granting a temporary injunction to reopen the path to the sand.

“It’s a really unfortunate situation,” Manatee County Circuit Court Judge Charles Sniffen said. “Someone’s property rights are going to be affected by what I decide.”

After hearing two days of testimony from current and former property owners as well as county Commissioner Carol Whitmore and others, Sniffen said the arguments boiled down to a technicality. In order for a temporary injunction to be granted, he said the plaintiffs, a group of 78th Street property owners, would have to meet four criteria – prove the historic use of the path, irreparable harm, that the injunction is in the public interest and that the use of the path by the neighbors and public is adverse to property owners Travis Resmondo and the Oceana Condominium Association’s use of the path.

Resmondo closed the beach path, which begins on his property, after crowds over Easter weekend overwhelmed him by blocking his driveway, using his property as a parking lot, using his private facilities as their own and leaving behind trash at his beachfront home, something he said had been a problem for months. He closed the path without notice, and neighbors who had used it for decades argued in court that the closure caused them to be unable to easily access the beach and to lose some rental bookings at their properties due to lack of beach access.

Sniffen said there were two areas where the plaintiffs’ arguments failed. The first was to show irreparable harm, though due to the medical conditions of some of the neighbors who would have a difficult time accessing a path on 79th and 80th Streets to the beach, he said an argument could be made for irreparable harm. The second, and the one he hinged his ruling on, was adverse use.

After hearing all of the arguments and testimony as well as reviewing documentation provided by both sides, Sniffen said the issue is that up until Resmondo closed the path to neighbors and the public in April, the path was harmoniously used by everyone. Resmondo and the four owners of units at Oceana own the two pieces of property on which the path extends from the end of 78th Street to the beach. Both testified that they knew of the neighbors and their guests using the path and had no issues with it until recently. Sniffen said the testimony implied the property owners’ consent to use the path, meaning that its past use was not adverse to the owners.

While the case is open for appeal, it’s unlikely neighbors will seek a permanent injunction against closing the path since the temporary injunction was not granted by the court.

Beach access hearing continues Friday

Beach access hearing continues Friday

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

HOLMES BEACH – A case about beach access is set to go to trial in the coming weeks, but nearby residents are hoping to regain use of a path leading from the end of 78th Street to the sand before then.

Manatee County Circuit Court Judge Charles Sniffen heard testimony on Aug. 18 from witnesses for the plaintiffs, a group of property owners led by Linda Carmon. Testimony from witnesses for the defense, property owners Travis Resmondo and the Ocean Condominium Association, as well as arguments from both sides, were continued to a hearing later this week due to time constraints.

The case centers around a beach access path that winds through private property owned by both Resmondo and the condo association before reaching the sand and the Gulf of Mexico. The Aug. 18 hearing was for Sniffen to hear a case on behalf of the property owners to stop Resmondo from restricting access to the beach path, which they argue has been in use by local property owners for at least 70 years.

Attorney John Goldsmith, speaking on behalf of Resmondo, who was present for the hearing, said his client closed the path to the public and neighbors after more than 150 people used the path over the Easter weekend in April. Goldsmith said in addition to a large number of people traversing a little-used path, Resmondo also had issues with people trespassing on his property, littering, blocking access to his home and using his private driveway for beach parking, he said.

After the weekend, Resmondo had large plants placed across the path along with no trespassing signs, prompting his neighbors to start a court battle.

The hearing on the request to temporarily reopen the path until the matter is decided at trial was expected to take one day to complete, but the large numbers of witnesses on both sides of the issue prompted Sniffen to continue the case until Friday, Aug. 26 at 9 a.m.

No date has been set for the anticipated trial.

Beachgoers unite, sue for access

Beachgoers unite, sue for access

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

HOLMES BEACH – With beachgoers filing a lawsuit Friday against the property owners on 78th Street who closed a beach access point, the Real Island Podcast team took to the airwaves Sunday in hopes of helping both sides find an amicable solution.

Podcast hosts Abigail Nunn, Dick Gordon and Brian Blaine hosted a special live broadcast from the beach at 78th Street, just in front of the now-closed access path, to give people on both sides of the issue a platform to have their concerns addressed.

Though no solutions to the dispute are on the horizon, area residents and representatives of the property owners did get to air their grievances in a neutral environment.

Matthew Carmon, whose family owns 103 and 105 78th St., said his mother, Linda, purchased her home because of its proximity to a beach access point. With his mother on full-time oxygen therapy, Carmon said the closure of the path has greatly reduced her ability to enjoy the beach and that walking to another street to get to the sand isn’t an option for her.

Linda Carmon is one of three named plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the property owners at 100 and 101 78th St. which alleges that neighbors and the public have a right to use the path. The other plaintiffs are 107 78th Street Investments LLC and Minh N. Vu.

The issue arose in late April when a long-used path to the beach at the end of the street was closed to public use without notice. Residents who had been using the path for beach access were met by no trespassing signs and an off-duty Holmes Beach police officer at the street side entrance to the path. When they protested the sudden change, city leaders looked into the issue and discovered that the beach access path is located on privately owned property, leaving Mayor Judy Titsworth and city commissioners unable to reopen the path to the public.

While there was once an easement on the property for a walkway, as of 2014, the easement had disappeared from the deed for the property at 101 78th St., owned by Travis Resmondo and Bryce Raub. After consulting City Attorney Erica Augello, Titsworth said that the easement that was on previous deeds for the property did not specify who the easement benefited, making it possible for the owners to close it to the public.

In the lawsuit filed May 20 in Manatee County Circuit Court, the plaintiffs allege that the closure of the beach access path is in violation of two existing 10-foot walkway easements on the properties at 98 and 99 78th St. The two lots are unbuildable with dunes and other native vegetation. The property at 98 78th St. is owned by the Oceana Condo Association while the 99 78th St. lot is owned by Resmondo. Attorney Fred Moore, representing the plaintiffs, notes that the beach access path starts on Resmondo’s property before traversing the condo association’s property and ending on the beach.

Plaintiffs allege that the closure of the beach path has adversely affected their enjoyment of their properties as well as devalued their properties. All three plaintiffs note that their properties are used for vacation rentals and that rentals of their properties have also been adversely affected.

In addition to starting a petition on Change.org to restore the beach path to public use, which had garnered more than 700 signatures as of press time for The Sun, neighbors have set up a GoFundMe page for donations for legal fees. For more information on the neighborhood movement, visit www.savethebeachaccess.com. To view a recording of the podcast, visit www.facebook.com/realislandpodcast.

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Battle for beach access continues

 

Neighbors clash over beach access path

Battle for beach access continues

Battle for beach access continues

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

HOLMES BEACH – As residents on 78th Street fight beachfront property owners for the right to walk a path to the beach, city leaders say that because the path is located on private property, they can’t get involved.

Commissioners addressed the issues broiling between neighbors during comments at their April 26 meeting, where Mayor Judy Titsworth and city attorney Erica Augello gave an update on the situation.

Titsworth said that while a Holmes Beach police officer was stationed at the disputed beach access over the April 22-24 weekend, the officer was off-duty and working privately for property owners Bryce Raub and Travis Resmond at 101 78th St., despite being in uniform and using an HBPD vehicle. She added that she discussed the issue with Chief Bill Tokajer and the two decided it would be more beneficial for residents and visitors alike to have a local officer with jurisdiction in the city to guard the path against trespassing instead of a security guard unfamiliar with Holmes Beach. Titsworth said she felt an HBPD officer might have more compassion toward members of the public trying to use the path.

Battle for beach access continues
Workers install plants April 23 to block access to a beach path on 78th Street. Chief Bill Tokajer and Mayor Judy Titsworth said the plants were not installed by city workers. – Submitted | Rose Mary Patterson

The fight between neighbors started in mid-April when Raub and Resmond closed a long-used access path which stretches along their property from the end of 78th Street to the beach. While an easement was recorded on the property for the path, Augello said that the easement language doesn’t specify who it benefits, giving the property owners the right to close the path to the public, including their neighbors, some of whom have stated they’ve used the access path for decades.

While neighbors are protesting that they have a right to use the path due to how many years it has been open to the public, city leaders say they can’t get involved in the dispute, though they are keeping up with the issue as it develops.

Resident Nancy Gilchrist, who lives on 78th Street, says she feels the issue is larger than just one street. If private property owners are allowed to close a beach access path on one street, she asked commissioners what was keeping other owners from doing the same on their streets

Looking at Holmes Beach street design records, she said 78th Street, which was platted in 1946, was shown on the plans to end at the western edge of the beachfront properties at 100 and 101 78th St. For some reason, she said the street was stopped at the eastern edge of the properties, resulting in the beach access path being on private property instead of located in a city right of way.

Gilchrist also questioned the ownership of two westward platted lots, 98 and 99 78th St. She said she was unable to locate any records identifying who owns those lots, located fully on the sand on the beach, and asked commissioners to look into the issue.

Commissioner Carol Soustek agreed to have Augello look into the ownership of those two properties as well as the right of way issue.

While Gilchrist acknowledged that Raub and Resmond, who are not full-time residents of Holmes Beach, have issues with vagrants and the public trespassing on their property, she said she doesn’t feel that those issues are substantial enough to warrant closing the beach access path to everyone.

Augello maintained that the city “has no dog in this fight. This truly is a dispute between private property owners.”

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Neighbors clash over beach access path