A recent ruling on six lawsuits in Holmes Beach might change the calculations in the city’s 2020-21 budget.
Twelfth Circuit Judge Charles Sniffen granted Aug. 5 the city’s motion for summary judgment and denied a motion of partial summary judgment filed against the city by the owners of six vacation rental properties.
Sniffin heard arguments in three of the cases Dec. 4, 2019. The other three cases shared similar occupancy complaints.
All six were filed against the city under the Bert J. Harris Jr. Private Property Rights Protection Act, which allows demands for compensation due to government regulations diminishing the value of private property.
The property owners claimed their rights were violated when the city enacted regulations in May 2016 to enforce a two-person per bedroom rule for vacation rentals approved in September 2015.
The city established the vacation rental program in 2016 to help resolve complaints of parking, noise, garbage and other quality-of-life issues attributed to high occupancy in short-term rentals.
Before the adopted ordinance, there was no limit on occupancy.
In his ruling, Sniffen stated that the Bert Harris Act did not apply, as the passage of the ordinance was a “general action” of the city, rather than a “specific action” targeting a particular property or set of properties.
He also wrote that the city-imposed occupancy limit did not present an “inordinate burden” to the plaintiffs.
Twelfth Circuit Judge Ed Nicholas rendered a similar ruling Jan. 8, granting the city partial summary judgment and denying three vacation rental property owners who also argued that the city’s occupancy limits violated the Bert Harris Act.
Those cases are under appeal.
Louis Najmy of the Najmy Thompson law firm in Bradenton, representing the plaintiffs, said he was not surprised by Sniffen’s ruling.
“Given Judge Nicholas’ prior similar decision, we expected this decision, too, since generally speaking, the penalties for the city on these cases would be so high, it would be hard for any local judge to rule against the city,” he said Aug.
14. “We strongly believe we will be successful on appeal, as we’ve analyzed many appellate decisions on other complex Bert Harris cases. And it appears to us that the appellate courts get it right regardless of which side brings the appeal.”
Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth said Aug. 13 that diminished legal expenses could help slim the proposed 2020-21 city budget.
The city had budgeted an additional $250,000 for lawsuits for the new fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
“If we don’t have to continue padding our legal fees to pay for these lawsuits, then we can keep the millage rate and not increase taxes,” Titsworth said Aug. 13.
“In my opinion, they will not be able to convince any judge of an inordinate burden by our occupancy limits of two people per bedroom.”