Most people enjoy an Anna Maria Island vacation.
But when “vacation” refers to a city vacating a street to a private entity, there can be unintended consequences that hinder enjoyment.
Such might be the case with the 2008 vacation of 27th Street North along the Sandpiper Resort at the boundary between Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach.
The Sandpiper has a permit to build a fence along 27th Street on the east side of Gulf Drive between the resort and the Holmes Beach city limit. As the street is the dividing line between the two cities, Holmes Beach Commissioner John Monetti said Aug. 9 that the fence might restrict access to the beach for Holmes Beach residents in that area.
That’s not the case according to Sandpiper Resort office manager Tracy Moon of Lighthouse Management LLC.
“The fence won’t change anyone’s access,” she said. “Pedestrians will have a gate to access 27th Street and the resort,” and open access will remain.
Fences with pedestrian access from Holmes Beach to the resort have been in place for years. The new fence will extend from Gulf Drive eastward along 27th Street and unlocked gates will be placed at the Holmes Beach accesses. The gates will require anyone on a Segway or other small vehicle to open the gate to reach 27th Street and the resort, Moon said.
Sandpiper’s board of directors agreed to put up the gates and extend the fence after receiving complaints that at least one intoxicated person on an unlicensed motorized vehicle used the pedestrian accesses to the resort from Holmes Beach, Moon said.
Another resort resident reported seeing the same person drive around the fence on the motorized vehicle to reach 27th Street.
The extended fence and gates will require people to open the gate before proceeding, Moon said.
“We’re good neighbors. We’ve always allowed people to use the street to walk to the beach, Gulf Drive or visit people in the resort. The fences are not new, just the gates,” Moon said.
Holmes Beach city attorney Patricia Petruff had argued unsuccessfully against the vacation to the Bradenton Beach commission when it began discussing the street vacation in 2008, Monetti said.
“This is a good reason why you never give away property,” Monetti said during last week’s commission meeting in Holmes Beach. “It’s like us trying to give away Gulf Drive. Bradenton Beach took a public road and gave it to private citizens.”
Holmes Beach commissioners agreed to have Petruff write a letter of complaint to Bradenton Beach officials and to note the street should never have been vacated.
In other business Aug. 9, Commissioner David Zaccagnino said he wanted clarification on where unlicensed golf carts can be used in the city. He said some people living south of Mike Norman Realty, 3101 Gulf Drive, told him police said they can’t use an unlicensed golf cart anywhere in the city.
“I’ve got people freaking out that they might have to license their golf carts,” he said.
Haas-Martens said that didn’t sound right to her. Several years ago, she said, the city passed an ordinance allowing unlicensed golf carts, but only on streets with a 25 mph or less speed limit. Additionally, those carts weren’t allowed to cross Gulf Drive/State Road 789 except at the intersection by Mike Norman’s office.
Petruff said that also is her recollection of the ordinance, but said she would investigate the ordinance and report to the commission. She said it was her understanding there was still an issue with the Florida Department of Transportation about unlicensed golf carts crossing State Road 789 at Norman’s office.
Mayor Rich Bohnenberger said police have been on the lookout for unlicensed golf carts because of complaints that some drivers are under age 14, the legal age to drive the carts.
Commissioners also discussed Manatee County’s new fertilizer ordinance and agreed there was no need for the city to adopt its own as the county ordinance includes municipalities. The problem, Bohnenberger said, is one of enforcement, and the city already has enough code enforcement issues.
County officials will hold a series of public workshops to educate the public, lawn-care providers and retailers about the ordinance, which limits the use of phosphate fertilizers and the number of times a lawn can be fertilized during the year.
“I’m satisfied we’re not going to have a problem with the ordinance,” the mayor said. Manatee County will be “reactive” in enforcement and the city is not going to go around searching for violations.
Commissioners also approved the first reading of an ordinance that designates the Grassy Point and Kingfish Boat Ramp areas as conservation zones, rather than their current residential classification.
The mayor reported there were 26 complaints to the code enforcement officer last week about trash left out on days when there is no pickup by Waste Management Inc., the city’s contracted trash and waste hauling service.
The “trash police” are going around looking for curbside waste left out on non-pickup days, Bohnenberger said, suggesting there are citizens seeking out and reporting violations.
Commissioner Pat Morton said the problem involves vacationers who leave on a Saturday or Monday and put their trash curbside days before a scheduled pickup. He said rental agents must inform renters about placement of trash or pay Waste Management the fee for rear-door pickup service.
The trash problem is caused by a “lack of information and education,” Morton said, adding that WM trash collection starts around 8 a.m. on Mondays and Fridays in Holmes Beach.