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Rules of the road decals to be placed in rented golf carts

Rules of the road decals to be placed in rented golf carts

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

ANNA MARIA – Three companies that rent out golf carts within the city of Anna Maria have agreed to place decals in their carts reminding drivers and passengers of four state laws that apply when traveling on public streets.

The decals are an attempt to help alleviate growing concerns about the illegal behavior of those who use the rented golf carts to get around while vacationing in Anna Maria and elsewhere on the Island. The three participating rental companies are Beach Bums, Robinhood Rentals and Lazy Turtle Beach Rentals.

Rules of the road decals to be placed in rented golf carts
Decals that reference four state laws will be placed inside golf carts rented in Anna Maria. – City of Anna Maria | Submitted

To be printed at the city’s expense and then voluntarily placed in the rented golf carts, the 3-inch by 5-inch decals will include as attention-getters the logos of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and the Anna Maria Code and Parking Enforcement Department.

The decals will include a header that says, “City of Anna Maria Rules of the Road.”

The decals will include the following warning: “State of Florida laws are strictly enforced.”

The decals will address four state laws that will be more stringently enforced within the city limits.

  • “Only licensed drivers may operate this vehicle.”
  • “All passengers must wear seat belts.”
  • “Children 5 & under in a child restraint device.”
  • “Do not exceed the seating capacity of this vehicle.”

The decals do not address the speed at which a golf cart should travel when operating on a public street.

Murphy first proposed the golf cart decals on Aug. 18 when providing the commission with a recap of his private meeting with the three business owners.

During the Aug. 26 meeting, Murphy said a commission vote was not required to move forward with the proposed action, but he did want the commission’s input before doing so.

“You could put more on here, but we felt we wanted to keep it simple, clean and easy to read. These are the four types of violations that seem to be the most prominent. This is not intended to be a total solution for the issue of golf carts. It’s intended to be a step to see if we can’t improve the behavior of the golf carts within our city,” Murphy told the commission.

“We will pick up the tab because it’s something we’re asking them to do,” he added. “It’s a couple hundred dollars. It’s a good investment for the city.”

Murphy said the three business owners had no objections to the proposed decal design.

“They like it. They didn’t recommend any changes at all,” he said.

He noted the decals are voluntary and are not something the city can mandate business owners to do.

Murphy said he also reviewed the decal language with Sgt. Brett Getman, who leads the Anna Maria Unit of the Sheriff’s Office.

“We felt it was important to mention the State of Florida laws,” Murphy said.

Commissioner Mark Short asked the mayor who receives the citation if one is given for a violation of one or more of the state laws referenced on the decal. Murphy said the operator of the vehicle would receive the ticket for a violation of state law. The mayor said city-issued parking tickets are issued to the owner of the vehicle – which would be the rental company if the parking violation involves a rented golf cart.

Commission Chair Carol Carter suggested the decals also be placed in rented, three-wheeled scoot coupes. Murphy said that could also be accomplished. He said he also hopes to have the city’s rules of the road presented to vacation rental guests when they check into their accommodations.

“Hopefully this helps. There’s no silver bullet. There’s no one thing you can do to help with this golf cart dilemma that we’ve got,” the mayor said. “I hope this will be a start in the right direction. The next step after this is to go to the companies that are bringing carts in and get the same type of agreement. These rules apply to all three cities on the Island. Those are State of Florida laws.”

Castles in the Sand

The always-evolving real estate market

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

Not everyone wants to own a home of their own. Those of us who have always owned rather than rented understand the challenges faced in ownership, whether you’re in a single-family home or a condo. I know the feeling; there have been many days when I wished I didn’t have the responsibility of home ownership, and an interesting concept floating around the country may be right up my alley.

There are high-end rental communities being built by top single-home builders catering to individuals who do not feel they need to buy a home. This trend is increasing and appealing to a variety of people ranging from young professionals who have not been able to fight their way into the housing market to empty-nesters who are taking their equity and opting for a turn-key lifestyle.

These “build-to-rent” single-home communities are designed exclusively for rentals with high-end finishes and amenities that are geared to appeal to the luxury market. Rents in the $2,500 to $3,000 range can make sense for people with good incomes who may not be worried about accruing wealth in their homes. It’s kind of the perfect arrangement for seniors who aren’t dependent upon building equity and want a fresh high-end home to live in.

And so far, it appears this is not going away. The build-to-rent segment of the real estate market is growing. In 2020, 60,000 build-to-rent homes were constructed, and in 2021 it is expected that the number will increase to 80,000. Renting is looking better and better to a large segment of the population, allowing for a quick relocation for job or family responsibilities.

Before we go over the June sales statistics, I thought I would share yet another “best place” report recently published by Southern Living Magazine. This one is America’s best beach towns for retirement. Thankfully, Bradenton and Anna Maria Island were not on this list; however, five other Florida cities were, three of them on the west coast – Naples, which came in number one, Sarasota, Venice, Vero Beach and Stuart. And let’s give recognition to our neighbor Lakewood Ranch for being named the best-selling community in the country with 1,535 new home sales through the end of June.

Here are the June Manatee County sales statistics reported by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee.

Closed single-family homes were up 24.3% from last year; cash sales were up 129.9%; the median sale price was $405,305, up 24.7%; the average sale price was $576,522, up 37.5% and the median time to contract was five days.

Condos closed 38.8% more this June compared to last June; cash sales were up 61%; the median sale price was $280,000, up 30.7%; the average sale price was $331,691, up 39% and the median time to contract was six days.

Available inventory continues to be low; about a six-month supply for both single-family homes and condos. Sarasota County is also experiencing higher sales prices every month and low inventory as well. Also impressive is the percentage of cash sales from last year for single-family properties, up just under 130%.

Obviously, it’s still a great seller’s market, but don’t assume the market and personal family issues can’t change on a dime, making renting very attractive to some. The real estate market continues to evolve, offering more and more lifestyle options. In an ever-changing world, it’s always nice to leave your options open.

Rentals

Some vacation rentals reverting to residences

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Business, Tourism.

HOLMES BEACH – Anna Maria Island has seen many changes in recent years, including a decrease in permanent residents and a sharp increase in weekly rentals. This inclination has brought on changes such as new parking regulations and noise ordinances, which have sparked debate among residents split on how they feel about these issues. However, there are exceptions, and some neighborhoods are seeing the opposite of what appears to be an Island-wide trend.

“On my street, a few of the duplexes that have been weekly or monthly rentals have transformed back to single-family homes; they’re not renting them out,” said Connie Camboni, a resident of Holmes Beach. Camboni has been coming to the Island for more than 50 years and made the permeant move seven years ago. She noted how much the Island has changed in the last decade with more and more weekly visitors compared to even a few years ago.

“The Chief said Holmes Beach had 31,000 cars come through on Memorial Day. Where do they all park?” she asked.

“I know it’s hard for the tourists, but I’m so happy they no longer allow them to park in front of my house in a residential neighborhood,” Camboni said, referring to recent parking regulation changes in Holmes Beach. “There has to be some kind of balance.”

A Bradenton Beach rental owner, who asked that only his first name – Tom – be used for this story, said he changed some of his units from weekly to annual rentals.

“I didn’t want to give up the revenue that was coming in from renting weekly, but I decided to go ahead and let a couple of my condos go annual,” he said, adding that  he could make up to $8,000 a month for a weekly rental but was growing tired of the hassle involved in managing multiple weekly units. “It’s just easier, but still profitable to have some of both; but I know for a fact this is unusual on the Island at this time. It’s just too profitable for owners to give up that weekly money.”

City commission meetings are once again open to the public, and anyone wishing to speak about parking, noise concerns, or any other issue is welcome to attend and be heard by commissioners. Camboni stressed that getting involved is the only way to affect change, regardless of which side of the issue one is on.