Skip to main content

Tag: Anna Maria Beach Resort

Illuminated sign vote on hold

Illuminated sign vote on hold

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

HOLMES BEACH – Commissioners are skipping a vote on the city’s new sign ordinance, at least for the time being, while they make allowances for suggested changes by city staff and get legal advice on the settlement of a lawsuit.

During an April 13 meeting, Holmes Beach city commissioners were scheduled to take the first of two votes on an ordinance limiting the use of signs in the A1 and R4 residential districts. Under the proposed ordinance, the use of backlit illuminated signs in the districts would be prohibited with three existing signs required to be brought into compliance with new regulations within six months and another to have a five-year sunset period. The new regulations would allow for a sign with a single spotlight to light the sign from above or below, requiring a retrofit of the four backlit signs.

While a permit was given to the sign at the Anna Maria Beach Resort by a previous building official, it was given in error, resulting in the consideration of a five-year sunset clause for that sign. After that, the sign would have to be retrofitted to meet city regulations for the district. The reason for the sunset clause was to allow the resort’s owners to recoup some of the cost for the installation of the sign, about $40,000. Because the roadside sign, LED board and neon lettered sign on the portico were permitted by the city, though erroneously, they are the subject of an ongoing lawsuit between the resort’s ownership and the city.

The sign that started commissioners’ review of the city’s sign ordinance is one of the reasons for the delay in a vote on a new sign ordinance. – Submitted | Google Maps

Resort owners’ attorney, Aaron Thomas, said the proposed five-year sunset period was not enough time for his clients to recoup their investment in the sign. Rather than continue litigation, Thomas proposed a settlement agreement to commissioners.

In the settlement proposal, Thomas said that the sign on the portico would remain and remain in use. The LED board on the roadside sign would remain on the sign but not be used unless requested by the city for public address, such as an evacuation notice. The roadside sign itself would remain lit daily but be turned off at 11 p.m. and illuminated to only 25% of its maximum light output capacity.

Commissioners said they would need to review the proposed settlement agreement with their legal counsel handling the lawsuit before responding to Thomas’s offer. Thomas warned that if the settlement agreement is not accepted, his clients would continue with the litigation against the city.

City Planner Bill Brisson recommended several changes to the proposed ordinance, enough that it may have to be significantly modified and readvertised for a first reading and public hearing at a future meeting.

Upon further research into the issue, Brisson said there were several things he couldn’t identify, including if the three other backlit signs in the A-1 and R-4 district were ever permitted by the city, how long they’d been there, when the city had prohibited illuminated signs in a residential district and when the A-1 district was incorporated as a residential district.

Due to the confusing nature of the appearance of the other three signs, he suggested that if commissioners approve a five-year sunset period it should extend to the other three backlit signs while prohibiting any more from being constructed. He also suggested commissioners consider allowing signs to be double-sided and lit with a single spotlight on both sides.

Commissioners took a vote and agreed to incorporate both of those suggestions in the proposed ordinance. They also agreed on some wording changes to the ordinance to make the new regulations clearer.

Due to the pending ordinance changes and the proposed lawsuit settlement, City Attorney Patricia Petruff recommended commissioners delay the first vote on the sign ordinance until the document could be amended and commissioners receive appropriate legal advice.

Related coverage

 

Commissioners close in on illuminated sign regulations

 

Special magistrate rules on seven code issues

 

Lighting up the neighborhood

Commissioners close in on illuminated sign regulations

Commissioners close in on illuminated sign regulations

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

HOLMES BEACH – Backlit signs in the residential and A-1 district along Gulf Drive may have to be replaced under new regulations being considered by the city.

Commissioners discussed the changes to city sign restrictions during a Feb. 23 work session. City Planner Bill Brisson reported that there are four backlit signs in the district along Gulf Drive, but only one has a city permit. And that one, he added, was permitted by mistake.

Brisson said the four signs are at Resort Sixty-Six, the White Sands Beach Resort, Cedar Cove and the Anna Maria Beach Resort. The one at the Anna Maria Beach Resort is the one approved and granted a permit by former Building Official Jim McGuinness. However, no backlit illuminated signs are currently allowed outside of commercial districts, according to city codes.

Commissioners said they are not considering allowing illuminated signs in the residential district where the Anna Maria Beach Resort is located on Gulf Drive. However, they are considering offering the owners a sunset clause period where the sign can be used to help recoup the expense of installing the sign.

During the meeting, commissioners agreed to a five-year sunset period for that sign. The other backlit signs will have six months to either be replaced or have the backlit capabilities removed. Illumination would then be allowed only by a single spotlight.

There was no discussion on allowing the owners of the Anna Maria Beach Resort to use an LED board on their sign during the sunset clause period if approved by two commission votes during public hearings.

And though signs are being allowed for property identification purposes, commissioners agreed that they prefer the low, often wooden signs lit by a single spotlight used by many properties in the area instead of the more commercial-looking backlit signs.

Brisson said he would talk with a lighting expert to determine appropriate brightness, lumen output, and sign size before the issue comes back before commissioners at a future work session. The ordinance will have to pass two public hearings and votes by commissioners before it can be enforced.

Related coverage

 

Special magistrate rules on seven code issues

 

Lighting up the neighborhood

Turtle Watch, resort working to improve lighting

Turtle Watch, resort working to improve lighting

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Outdoors, Sea turtles.

HOLMES BEACH – Outdoor lighting at the Anna Maria Beach Resort is expected to become more turtle-friendly and safer for people after discussions following a code compliance hearing last week.

Lights from the former Blue Water Beach Resort, 6306 Gulf Drive, were among those that disoriented a loggerhead sea turtle nest during Fourth of July festivities, with some hatchlings dying and Holmes Beach police rescuing about 40, said Suzi Fox, director of Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring.

Holmes Beach code officers brought the resort to task before a special magistrate on July 31.

The city’s turtle lighting ordinance is designed to keep nesting and hatching turtles from seeing any lights from the beach to prevent them from being temporarily blinded as they seek the Gulf of Mexico.

City Code Compliance Supervisor James Thomas reported that the resort had been notified that its lighting was out of compliance with the city code on May 31. The resort changed to turtle-friendly bulbs just two days before the hearing, bringing the property into compliance with city law, he said.

But Fox remained concerned about the resort’s stairwell lighting, which she said could disorient hatchlings in another 16 nests on the beach – containing up to 100 turtle hatchlings each – including a nest laid by Bortie Too, satellite-tagged in June by the Sea Turtle Conservancy.

Resort attorney Aaron Thomas said that resort owners are concerned with “significant life safety issues” such as accidents or crime if all lighting on the beach-facing side of the property is dimmed.

After discussions following the hearing with resort representatives, the resort “is willing to go the extra mile” to keep turtles and people safe, even though it is officially in compliance with city code, Fox said. “We are going to work with them to get better lighting in the stairways to keep people safe and keep turtles happy.”

Turtle Watch will contact the Sea Turtle Conservancy for help to obtain more turtle-friendly light bulbs that also provide adequate lighting for people, Fox said. Turtle Watch already has donated 18 turtle-friendly bulbs to the city for free distribution, one to a customer, with additional bulbs available at cost for $22 each from Turtle Watch. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-approved bulbs also are available at retailers.

Amber bulbs made for turtle beach applications are preferable to red bulbs, she said, because they give out more light while remaining turtle friendly; however, “bug” bulbs painted amber do not work. Downward-facing fixtures are preferred to keep light from being visible on the beach.

Beachfront property owners anywhere on the Island with questions about getting turtle-friendly bulbs may call Fox at 941-778-5638.

First hatchlings of season disoriented on Fourth

First hatchlings of season disoriented on Fourth

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Featured, Outdoors, Sea turtles.

HOLMES BEACH – Sea turtle hatchlings whose dash to freedom on Independence Day was spoiled by lights got a police escort to the Gulf of Mexico.

The loggerhead turtles – the first nest to hatch this season on Anna Maria Island – were disoriented by lights on the first floor at the Anna Maria Beach Resort, 6306 Gulf Drive, and further hampered by fireworks and fireworks debris, tents on the beach, holes dug in the sand and beach litter, according to the Holmes Beach Police Department report.

A group of people gathered on the beach for fireworks flagged down Officer Alex Hurt, patrolling the beach in a police four-wheeler, and told him about the hatchlings, which were “going in every direction other than towards the water,” according to the report.

Turtle talks continue

Get the scoop on sea turtles at Turtle Talks, presented by Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring volunteers.

The 30-minute program of videos, photos and stories about the sea turtles that nest and hatch on the Island from May through October includes a description of how they survey for nesting turtles on the beaches.

Attendees will be the first to know the dates, times and locations of upcoming nest excavations, where volunteers dig into hatched nests to count the eggshells and determine the number of hatchlings produced.

Free gifts, including temporary turtle tattoos, will be distributed, and official AMITW T-shirts, stickers and ball caps will be available for a donation.

Schedule:

Tuesday, July 16, 10 a.m., CrossPointe Fellowship, 8605 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach

Tuesday, July 23, 10 a.m., CrossPointe Fellowship, 8605 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach

Tuesday, July 30, 10 a.m., CrossPointe Fellowship, 8605 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach

“The baby turtles were along the building, some falling in the landscaping planters,” according to Officer Adam DeSantis’ report.

“I located one baby turtle that had fallen off the edge of the sidewalk, in the landscaping, flipped on its back unable to flip back over,” he wrote. “I gathered up approximately 10 baby turtles from the Anna Maria Beach Resort property. The baby turtles were transported safely to the water’s edge, where they were released. The baby turtles found their way into the water safely.”

Other hatchlings trapped in the sea oats between the beach and the resort also were rescued and released, bringing the total saved to about 40, according to the report.

First hatchlings of season disoriented on 4th
Sea turtle season continues through Oct. 31. – Cindy Lane | Sun

The city’s code compliance department has given the resort a directive to fix the lighting and appear before a special magistrate, Police Chief Bill Tokajer said, adding that the resort lighting will be checked nightly for compliance.

Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring Director Suzi Fox also contacted the resort about replacing its adjustable outdoor lighting system, which is out of compliance with the local turtle lighting ordinance.

The adjustable feature leads to lights being turned on during turtle season – May 1 to Oct. 31 – either intentionally or because people forget to change the settings, she said, adding that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission does not approve adjustable lighting for beachfront applications.

Disorientations are historically common in the area, Fox said.

“The police did a fine job photographing and helping pick up hatchlings,” she said, suggesting that hatchlings should be released in the water where it’s dark, “or they may come right back up out of the water.”

Tokajer estimates that 10,000 people were on the beach as late as 11 p.m. on the Fourth of July.