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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.

Coast Lines: Happy Earth Day from Anna Maria Island

Coast Lines: Happy Earth Day from Anna Maria Island

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Coast Lines, Outdoors.

As the COVID-19 pandemic progresses, the Florida Department of Health is no longer monitoring water quality at local beaches because they are closed. Likewise, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is reducing its water testing for red tide.Coast Lines logo

But local waters have been unusually clear this month, a great reason to get outside and celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on Wednesday, April 22.

One Florida event is #GetTrashed, a challenge to take a walk outside with gloves and a plastic bag and pick up enough trash to fill a bag. But wear your mask and stay at least 6 feet from anyone else. Check out more events here.

Arbor Day is also still being celebrated on Friday, April 24. Organizers suggest virtual celebrations, like live-streaming a reading of the poem, “Trees,” by Joyce Kilmer on your Facebook page. Check out more virtual celebration suggestions.

And if you do nothing else environmental this week, resolve to learn enough about federal oil spill policy to help you decide whom to vote for in the next presidential election, in honor of the 11 people killed in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which happened 10 years ago April 20.

The spill poisoned the Gulf of Mexico and its marine life with 200 million gallons of oil for nearly three months, some washing up on beaches from Texas to Florida.

The Washington, D.C.-based environmental group Oceana says that the federal government’s proposal to expand offshore drilling to nearly all U.S. waters will result in more spills.

“Offshore drilling is still as dirty and dangerous as it was 10 years ago,” said Diane Hoskins, Oceana campaign director. “If anything, another disaster is more likely today as the oil industry drills deeper and farther offshore… When they drill, they spill. The BP disaster devastated the Gulf, and we cannot afford to repeat it. Protecting our environment has never been more important than it is today. President Trump’s plan is still a preventable disaster if we stand together to protect our coasts.”

In a recent report, Oceana found the Gulf coast suffered significant economic losses following the Deepwater Horizon disaster:

  • The recreation industry lost more than $500 million, and more than 10 million user-days of beach, fishing and boating activity.
  • Fisheries closed and demand for Gulf seafood plummeted, costing the seafood industry nearly $1 billion.
  • Housing markets across the region experienced a decline in prices between 4% and 8% that lasted for at least five years.

Oceana also found the environmental impact of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf was unprecedented:

  • For five years, more than 75% of all dolphin pregnancies failed in the oiled area.
  • Bryde’s whales, one of the most endangered whales in the world, decreased by about 22%.
  • As many as 800,000 birds died, including up to 32% of laughing gulls and 12% of brown pelicans.
  • Up to 170,000 sea turtles were killed by the spill.
  • About 8.3 million oysters were killed, and certain populations of fish, shrimp and squid decreased by as much as 85%.

See Oceana’s full report here.

Then turn off your computer, go outside and celebrate the Earth.

Hands Across the Sand oil protest

U.S. House opposes oil drilling

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News, Manatee County.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed two bills banning oil drilling off the Gulf Coast of Florida and in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans on Sept. 11.

The Protecting and Securing Florida’s Coastline Act (H.R. 205) amends the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 to permanently block offshore oil and gas leasing off Florida’s Gulf Coast. The current moratorium, which protects waters up to 235 miles off the coast in the eastern Gulf, is set to expire in June 2022.

The Coastal and Marine Economies Protection Act (H.R. 1941) protects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the Florida Straits.

“Representatives (Joe) Cunningham (D-S.C.), (Francis) Rooney (R-Fla.) and (Kathy) Castor (D-Fla.) should be applauded for putting politics aside and coming together to protect our coasts from offshore drilling,” said Diane Hoskins, campaign director at Oceana, an international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation.

Oceana representatives visited supporters in Holmes Beach last week, the day before the vote. The Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Gulf Coast Business Coalition and Oceana drew dozens of supporters to the Protect Our Coast Happy Hour at Waterline Marina Resort and Beach Club in Holmes Beach on Sept. 10.

“Write letters to your newspaper,” Robin Miller, president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce and Chair of the Florida Gulf Coast Business Coalition told the group, urging them to join the coalition at https://www.protectthegulfcoast.org/.

More than 90% of U.S. waters, including Florida waters, are in the federal programs slated for oil and gas drilling and leasing, Hunter Miller, Oceana campaign organizer for the Florida Gulf Coast, told the group, adding that the Florida delegation is united against the practice.

The cities of Anna Maria, Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach, as well as the Manatee County Commission, have expressed their opposition to plans to expand offshore drilling by passing resolutions, joining nearly 100 cities and towns across Florida.

Oceana is now calling on the Senate to make the legislation a reality and permanently protect U.S. coasts from the threat of expanded offshore drilling activities.

The “vote to permanently ban offshore drilling underscores the strength of bipartisan opposition to President Trump’s radical drilling plan. Opening nearly all our waters to dirty and dangerous drilling is out of touch with every East and West coast governor,” Hoskins said in a press release.

“Offshore drilling threatens our fishing, tourism and recreation industries and everyone who calls the coast home. But the fight is not over, and we must not give up until permanent protections are established or President Trump’s plan is officially off the table.”

“I have consistently opposed drilling off the coast of Florida and was a co-sponsor of the bill that passed permanently banning all drilling off the Gulf Coast,” Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) said in a press release.

“This bill also included my amendment to restore critical safety regulations adopted in response to Deepwater Horizon. As Floridians know all too well, an oil spill can devastate a regional economy and inflict long-term environmental damage. Southwest Florida is blessed with some of the world’s greatest natural treasures. We cannot allow our beaches, wildlife and way of life to be threatened by another oil spill.”

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Oil drilling prohibited in Florida waters

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