Bradenton Beach commissioners Jan. 4 snubbed a request to operate a houseboat as a short-term vacation rental at 2399 Ave. A on the bayfront end of 23rd Street North.
Commissioners did not vote on the issue but found previous determinations by the city’s building official based on city zoning laws prohibit such use.
The applicant, Greg Winsper, owns the property under Green Slip Realty LLC. He was proposing docking a houseboat to rent on a weekly or weekend basis, according to a Nov. 21, 2023, application to the city.
Commissioners, after consideration, declined the request based on previous findings by Steve Gilbert, the city’s building official until his retirement in December 2023.
“This is quite a bit different from anything we’ve ever done before,” Mayor John Chappie said of the request.
City Attorney Ricinda Perry said she had contacted Gilbert, who said he had determined city code did not allow for a commercial rental from a residential dock.
Perry said that Gilbert had at least twice rejected Winsper’s request and advised him that zoning codes did not allow the type of rental he sought.
She said she agreed with Gilbert’s determination for the property, which is zoned Residential-1 single-family.
“The zoning does not accommodate a liveaboard, especially a liveaboard that is commercial in nature,” Perry added. “It is all prohibited as it stands right now in the zoning because this is a dock that is attached to upland residential property. It is prohibited under city codes.”
Winsper could challenge the building official’s determination in an appeal to a special master, according to Perry.
If Bradenton Beach commissioners had greenlighted a short-term live-aboard boat rental for residential docks, they would have set a precedent.
Winsper, who attended the meeting, asked the commission whether he could anchor in Sarasota Bay and rent his houseboat.
“If you were out in the water, we really don’t have any say out there,” Chappie said.
