Anna Maria Island Vacation Rental Ordinance update
Anna Maria City: We continue to be on the docket for Mid November for the entire ordinance to be heard by the honorable Judge Smith of Manatee County. It is expected the court hearing will be 1-2 days and we expect a ruling on the validity of the ordinance after that hearing. The possible outcome are; the ordinance stays as it is, the ordinance must be modified or the ordinance is unlawful and needs to be scratched entirely. The Judge was very forthright with both parties that Jury trials will take precedence for the tentative November hearing. At this point we are still tentatively scheduled however we could be pushed to late January depending on the level of jury trials required. The late January is a more reliable date due to the fact the judge has officially schedule the court date in the Manatee County court calendar.
Anna Maria City Letter: Most of you are receiving a letter from Dan Murphy explaining the current vacation rental ordinance may impede your existing property rights. The letter goes on to explain through the Bert Harris, Jr, Private Property Rights Protection Act you may have a right to file a fiscal claim against the City of Anna Maria. Bert Harris litigation is not easy and with any litigation, is expensive. We suggest prior to acting you consult your property manager as well as consider our current litigation attempting to reverse the current vacation rental ordinance. If the association litigation is successful then the Vacation Rental Ordinance will be overturned and there will be no need to file a Bert Harris claim against Anna Maria City.
Holmes Beach City: Holmes Beach continues to work through the vacation rental ordinance. They are meeting with stake holders and diligently understanding the issues as well as potential solutions. We don’t suspect the Holmes Beach Vacation rental ordinance will provide significant problems for rental owners in Holmes Beach as thus far the discussion has been reasonable and grandfathering language continues to remain in the discussion. Here is the agenda used for the Holmes Beach Workshop held in late September.
Bradenton Beach: The City has began to consider a building moratorium. In addition, they are appear to be considering guidelines for vacation rentals. Bradenton Beach is very early in the process and has many months to go to work out all the details if they deem the discussion should continue.