Anna Maria city commissioners voted 3-2 to settle 24 Bert Harris Act claims valued at $6,869,000 by offering alternative regulations for the number of allowed guests in a vacation home.
The settlement was recommended by city attorney Becky Vose, who said the selected claims were reasonable and difficult for the city to challenge in court.
Commissioners Chuck Webb and Nancy Yetter voted against the settlements.
“I don’t want to see the city in jeopardy, but we owe it to the residents to do something more than what we’re doing,” Yetter said.
The Bert Harris Jr. Private Property Protection Act of 1995 allows property owners to seek monetary relief if they can prove a government action lowered the value of their property. The city has 150 days to respond upon receiving a claim.
The claims have been delivered to the city starting in late April, following the enactment of the vacation rental ordinance, which limited the number of guests in a vacation rental home to eight. Claims ranging from $100,000 to more than $1 million were filed.
The city settlement offers amount to an increase in the number of guests allowed for the accommodations in the vacation rental ordinance.
If they accept, the claimants with single-family homes and duplexes will see an increase from the limit of eight guests in the VRO to two guests per bedroom plus two guests.
The city is offering a claimant with a triplex a settlement limited to two guests per bedroom.
If the claimants reject the offers, the city has the option of returning with a counteroffer or the claimant can take the city to court.
“Then the court can decide, but we can show the court that we made a bona fide offer,” said city clerk Diane Percycoe.
“Historically, the Florida Legislature did a great disservice to cities like Anna Maria by passing legislation that prevented regulation of vacation rentals,” Vose said. “We have to deal with cards that we’ve been dealt and unfortunately those cards … are frankly really lousy cards.”
“This is probably the worst day so far of me being a commissioner,” Commissioner Doug Copeland said. “I understand Nancy’s feeling that maybe we’re failing our citizens.”
City attorney Becky Vose proposed settlements for the 24 Bert Harris Act claims filed against the city listed below along with a guideline for the allowed number of guests per bedroom. Individual settlement offers differ based on factors that include size of the bedrooms and size of the house.
| Address | Owner | Total Bedrooms/Guests |
| 109 Palm Avenue | Dr. Kurt and Laura Nisi | 4 bedrooms/10 guests |
| 207 Sycamore Avenue | Matthew and Lynn Ward | 4 bedrooms/10 guests |
| 790 North Shore Drive | John Minnebo and Beatrice Guinsbourg | 4 bedrooms/8 guests |
| 812 North Shore Drive | Rysal Enterprises, LLC | 5 bedrooms/12 guests |
| 861 North Shore Drive | Rysal Enterprises, LLC | 5 bedrooms/ 12 guests |
| 209 Magnolia Avenue | DSB RE Holdings, LLC | 5 bedrooms/12 guests |
| 305 Hardin Avenue | Richard and Cynthia Eason | 4 bedrooms/10 guests |
| 749 Jacaranda Road | John and Carol Hinton | 5 bedrooms/10 guests |
| 891 North Shore Drive | Andrea Jones and Daniel Scanlan | 4 bedrooms/10 guests |
| 205 Palm Avenue | Joern and Kathin Stock | 6 bedrooms/14 guests |
| 212 Oak Avenue | Michael Hapke and Terry-Lyn Mason | 5 bedrooms/12 guests |
| 318 Tarpon Avenue | Michael Hapke and Terry-Lyn Mason | 4 bedrooms/10 guests |
| 214 Spring Avenue | Twenty-One Properties, LLC | 6 bedrooms/12 guests |
| 320 Tarpon Avenue | Terry-Lyn Mason and Michael McAleer | 4 bedrooms/10 guests |
| 807 North Shore Drive | Green Sea Turtle Real Estate, LLLP | 5 bedrooms/10 guests |
| 115 Mangrove Avenue | By The Shore Investments II, LLC | 6 bedrooms/12 guests |
| 76 North Shore Drive | Wolverine Partners, LLC | 4 bedrooms/12 guests |
| 93 North Shore Drive | Michelle and Jeffery Laade | 5 bedrooms/11 guests |
| 780 Jacaranda Road | Seven Emeralds, LLC | 5 bedrooms/14 guests |
| 404 Alamanda Road | Seven Emeralds, LLC | 4 bedrooms/12 guests |
| 607 Fern Street | Robert Moberger | 4 bedrooms/12 guests |
| 610 Rose Street | Robert Moberger | 4 bedrooms/12 guests |
| 611 Fern Street | Robert Moberger | 4 bedrooms/12 guests |
| 114 Oak Avenue | Gerald and Jeane Pitcher | 6 bedrooms/12 guests |
Compromise is a very difficult thing to find when you are a commissioner elected by a local population of property owners fighting to keep what remains of its once peaceful, quiet, community. Unfortunately, those who seek to develop more rentals and cause disturbances have rights too no matter how much we don’t like it. Seeking balance and fairness between the two groups will continue to be a hard line to toe. I congratulate all the commissioners in Anna Maria who walk this tightrope with good intentions and dedication to everyone’s constitutional rights of property ownership. Unfortunately, it really is just a few inconsiderate and ill informed louts who spoil the peace for us and the wildlife while the cumulative effect of development automatically comes with more traffic and greater disturbances. The commissioners are focused on saving our community by finding compromise amid dissension. I hope everyone can appreciate how difficult their job is and offer them some support and recognition instead of what seems to be a lot of name calling and complaining with no real solution or compromise.