Since the beginning of July, more than $5 million in new Bert Harris Act claims have been filed against the city of Anna Maria, bringing the total value for 59 claims to $19,749,000.
Florida’s Bert Harris Jr. Private Property Protection Act of 1995 enables property owners to seek monetary relief if they can prove government actions devalued their property.
Once a claim is submitted, a municipality has 150 days to pay the lost value, provide an exemption for the property or dispute the claim.
The claims were prompted by a vacation rental ordinance that went into effect April 1. The ordinance limits the legal occupancy of vacation rentals to no more than eight guests for rental periods of less than a month.
Following the ordinance, the first claims were filed against Anna Maria April 27 — no response to any Bert Harris claim is required until Sept. 24.
On July 12, five claims were filed, totaling more than $4 million in claimed damages, including three claims totaling more than $1 million.
A claim submitted for 205 S. Bay Blvd. on behalf of AMI Bayfront LLC maintains the eight-bedroom, single-family home could accommodate 21 guests but was restricted to eight by the ordinance.
According to Bass and Associates Inc., which conducted appraisals for the claimant, the lost value is $1,030,000.
A claim for Gulf View Retreat LLC said an eight-bedroom, 20-person house was reduced to eight guests by the city, which caused a loss of $1,030,000 in property value.
The most expensive claim was for 201 S. Bay Blvd. on behalf of AMI Bayfront LLC. It exerts the home experienced a loss in value of $1,350,000 after the city reduced the number of guests allowed from 34 to eight.
The claims submitted in July came from attorney Aaron Thomas of Najmy/Thompson in Bradenton. Thomas has submitted 33 of 59 claims.
The city is reviewing the claims.
The ordinance included an application to be grandfathered into the new law, which allows vacation rentals who were renting earlier than Nov. 19, 2015, to allow two occupants per bedrooms without an eight-person limit. — Bianca Benedí