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Anna Maria taking new approach to noise violations

Anna Maria taking new approach to noise violations

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

ANNA MARIA – City officials are working on an amended noise ordinance that if adopted on final reading next month will result in $35 citations being issued for a first noise ordinance violation.

Repeat noise violations will result in significantly higher fines. If the noise violations occur at a vacation rental, the property owner and the property manager or rental agent will be notified and may be subject to future fines.

As a followup to the Anna Maria commission’s Aug. 8 discussion, these proposed changes were discussed in greater detail at the Thursday, Aug. 22 meeting.

When the amended ordinance is adopted on second reading next month, deputies from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Anna Maria Unit will no longer issue warnings if they determine a noise ordinance violation has occurred. They will instead issue a $35 ticket.

“It’s similar to parking tickets. We don’t give warnings on parking tickets. That option is taken away. If in fact, you decide it’s a violation, we want you to issue a $35 citation,” Mayor Dan Murphy told the commission.

If the violator is a vacation rental guest, the property owner and the property manager or rental will be notified.

Anna Maria noise ordinance
Sheriff’s deputies recently responded to a noise complaint at this vacation rental at 820 North Shore Drive – Submitted

If the same guest commits a second noise violation, a citation carrying a $200 fine will be issued, and similar $200 citations could be issued to the property owner and the property manager or rental agent.

If a third violation occurs, the violator would be issued a citation carrying a $500 fine, and similar citations would be issued to the property owner and the property manager or rental agent.

The current noise ordinance includes a $500 fine for the first violation. City Attorney Becky Vose has expressed her opinion that a $500 fine for a first offense makes deputies reluctant to issue citations.

The new fine amounts will be addressed in a yet-to-be-adopted city resolution because they can be more easily adjusted, as needed, than fines set forth in an ordinance.

Fining multiple parties

Regarding the city’s ability to fine property owners, property managers and rental agents, Vose said he spoke to Holmes Beach City Attorney Patricia Petruff about this.

The Holmes Beach commission previously considered fining a property owner for the actions of his vacation rental guests, but it was determined that wasn’t legal because the property owner wasn’t aware of his guests’ actions.

Vose said notifying property owners, manager and rental agents of a guests’ first noise ordinance citation will put them on notice and subject them to potential citations and fines as well.

“If these same renters do the same thing over again, I think it might very well be appropriate to also fine the owner because the owner obviously was not strong enough with the renter. And that would be particularly true with a third violation,” Vose said.

Vose said the enforcement cycle will begin again with each new set of guests.

At the Aug. 8 meeting, Vose said a property cited three times for a violation could be deemed a public nuisance. She’s previously stated a property deemed a public nuisance could lose its ability to function as a vacation rental.

Sheriff’s Office support

Sgt. Mike Jones previously told the commission most of the city’s noise complaints are resolved with a warning, but last week he said he supports this new approach.

“I think the $35 fine is a good way to start the process. I like the idea. I support it,” he told the commission.

Jones said this also will make it easier to track where the noise violations occur.

Commissioner Doug Copeland asked if deputies would still have some discretion as to what constitutes a violation.

Jones said kids playing in a swimming pool at 5 p.m. would probably not rise to the level of a noise violation, but people jumping off the balcony at 10:30 p.m. probably would.

The reports included in last week’s meeting packet noted deputies issued verbal warnings for noise complaints made at 804, 819 and 820 North Shore Drive, 228 Willow Ave., 420 and 422 Magnolia Drive, 207 and 214 Spring Ave. and 204 Oak Ave. All but one of those properties are vacation rentals.

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

ANNA MARIA – City officials are searching for ways to better address vacation rental-related noise ordinance violations, with a focus on vacation rentals that produce repeat noise complaints.

During the Thursday, Aug. 8, city commission meeting, Mayor Dan Murphy proposed lowering the city’s current $500 fine for a cited noise ordinance violation. He said the current fine is onerous, excessive and the highest in Manatee County.

Murphy noted that the owner of a family home on North Shore Drive has not yet paid a $500 noise violation by a family member in March.

City Attorney Becky Vose said the additional $150 administrative fee levied by Special Magistrate Karla Owens at the appeals hearing in April also remains unpaid. During that hearing, Deputy Matthew Kenyan said the Sheriff’s Office previously responded to noise complaints and issued verbal warnings at that same address – 60 North Shore Drive – in 2015 and in 2017.

Commissioner Doug Copeland asked Vose if the city could put more teeth in its ordinance regarding the failure to pay noise ordinance fines and appeal fees. He said not doing so leaves the city “holding the bag” for those fines and fees.

Vose said the city uses a collection agency to collect on unpaid parking tickets and might consider that for noise ordinance citations too.

Murphy said the city also needs to clarify who gets fined when repeat noise citations are issued for the same address.

Possible solutions

Vose said deputies may be hesitant to issue a $500 citation to a vacationing family. She said warnings are not given before parking tickets are issued and she suggested issuing $35 citations for a deputy’s first noise-related visit. The fines would then increase significantly for additional offenses.

Copeland questioned whether some people might simply consider $35 a reasonable fee to pay in exchange for being noisy.

Vose raised the possibility of also fining the property owner and the property manager. She said this might incentivize owners and managers to avoid noisy guests.

Anna Maria noise violations
An occupant of this home on North Shore Drive was fined $500 for a noise ordinance violation and that fine remains unpaid. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

During public comment, it was noted that fining a property owner for a guest’s violation was previously considered in Holmes Beach but discarded due to concerns about the legality of fining an owner or agent for the actions of a guest. Vose said she would research that.

“I think the owner and the property manager have an obligation to make sure the vacation renters understand what’s allowed and what is not allowed. If they don’t do a good job on that, then they should be hit pretty hard,” Commissioner Dale Woodland said. “I don’t want to penalize the visitor that wasn’t informed, but I damn sure want to put a lot of responsibility on the property manager and/or owner.”

Commissioner Chair Brian Seymour disagreed with Woodland’s assertion that local rental and property management companies are not emphasizing noise ordinance compliance.

“I know most of the intermediate management companies and they are all over it,” Seymour said.

Seymour believes the local companies have stepped up their efforts to inform guests that the Island is a quiet place at night. He also said some guests falsely claim ignorance when confronted with a noise complaint.

Commissioner Carol Carter supports a tiered fine structure for properties that receive repeat noise complaints.

Vose said the city could utilize a “three strikes and you’re out” policy that results in a property being declared a nuisance after three cited offenses – but she’s not aware of any rental properties that have received three $500 noise citations.

Commissioner Amy Tripp asked Sgt. Mike Jones how many noise complaints are resolved with a warning.

“The majority comply once we have a talk with them,” Jones said.

Tripp said she wants to maintain the warning-first approach that seems to be working. She doesn’t like the idea of fining a family $35 for their kids making noise in the pool and she supports lowering the current $500 fine.

Woodland disagreed with Tripp about warnings and fines. He said those who live next to problematic vacation rentals are repeatedly subjected to noise issues that go unpenalized because it’s different guests each week.

“We don’t have a huge problem, but we have a lot of repeat problems at the same addresses,” Woodland said.

Copeland said the incident reports included in the commissioners’ meeting packets indicate many noise complaints pertain to people talking when gathered around a swimming pool at night. The reports indicate most complaints were resolved with a warning.

“I don’t know how draconian we want to get,” Copeland said.

Vose said she would continue to research the possibilities discussed and she was asked to draft proposed noise ordinance language to discuss at the commission’s Thursday, Aug. 22, meeting.

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

ANNA MARIA – In addition to her unregistered Airbnb ruling, Special Magistrate Karla Owens ruled in favor of the city Anna Maria on three additional cases addressed during the April 30 code enforcement and appeals hearings. One of the hearings held at city hall pertained to a noise ordinance violation citation and two pertained to parking violations.

Noise violation

Owens ordered college student Conor Lynch to pay a $500 fine for the noise ordinance violation citation he received on March 15 while staying at his parents’ second home at 60 North Shore Drive. The citation lists a Tampa address as Lynch’s primary residence. Owens also ordered Lynch to pay an additional $150 administrative fee to help cover the appeals hearing costs.

Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Deputies Matthew Kenyan and Robert Desch responded to the initial noise complaint at approximately 2 a.m. According to Kenyan, they witnessed people on the balcony screaming and talking loudly. Lynch was asked to quiet things down and warned that a repeat visit would result in a $500 citation.

Approximately 45 minutes later, the deputies returned in response to a second complaint. When standing at various distances from the house the deputies could still hear loud talking and low-end bass sounds coming from inside the house. At this point, the citation was issued.

Kenyan told Owens deputies responded to prior noise complaints and issued verbal warnings at that address in 2015 and 2017.

Lynch’s father, Fred Lynch, attended the hearing. He said his son couldn’t attend because he was taking exams. Fred Lynch said he was not there to represent his son or challenge the citation, but he did want to express his concerns as a concerned citizen.

An email Fred Lynch sent the city was included in the hearing packet. It expressed concerns about harassment by a neighbor and the way the deputies handled this situation. During the hearing, Lynch claimed the deputies used words that were “inappropriate.”

Using a tablet and a portable speaker, Lynch showed Owens a video he shot later that he felt disproved the deputies’ claims regarding the loud bass noises being audible at the stated distances.

Owens said she would allow Lynch the courtesy of showing the video he recorded from various distances with the TV audio system turned all the way up, but it was not relevant to the case being discussed.

Parking violations

Owens ordered Bradenton resident Kathy Brooks-Rock to pay a $50 fine for parking her Volvo alongside Rose Street in the opposite direction of the traffic flow while visiting vacationing friends.

The apologetic citation recipient told Owens this was her first traffic ticket, and she didn’t know Anna Maria and other Florida cities prohibit parking in the wrong direction.

Owens ordered Bradenton resident Stephen Ierardi to pay a $50 fine and an additional $150 administrative fee for parking his BMW within 20 feet of the crosswalk at the intersection of Gulf Drive and Palm Avenue.

Ierardi told Owens he not aware of this law and there was no warning sign.

In both parking cases, Owens said ignorance of the law is no excuse. It was also noted that a warning sign has now been placed where Ierardi received his ticket.

Addy said Tuesday’s code enforcement hearings were the first scheduled during her time as city clerk and future hearings would be scheduled once a month as needed.

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