With five appointments approved, Anna Maria has a historic preservation board.
After nearly a year of preparation on the board’s effects and study on its goals, the city is ready to designate historic properties.
Commissioners April 12 approved appointments suggested by Mayor Dan Murphy for the Anna Maria Historic Preservation Commission.
Sissy Quinn, former Commissioner Gene Aubry, Pat Copeland, Gary McMullen and Thomas Wagner comprise the board, which will evaluate and identify historical homes in Anna Maria before they can be added to the registry.
Quinn is president of the Anna Maria Island Preservation Trust, a nonprofit that advocates for the preservation of Anna Maria Island’s history.
Aubry is an architect and published author, including a book featuring historical homes in his former hometown of Galveston, Texas.
Copeland is co-founder of the Anna Maria Island Historical Society.
McMullen’s application states he was employed in the city’s parking and code enforcement department and plans to return to the paid position in September.
Wagner said in an email to commissioners he lives on the island five or six months of the year. He is a licensed architect with experience in historic preservation.
The city adopted a preservation ordinance in July 2017. At the time, Murphy said the board would begin when the city acquired five volunteer applicants.
The ordinance also allows the city to become a Florida Certified Local Government.
The FLCG program offers state grants related to property preservation, including developing educational materials, maintaining a registry and surveying the city for historical properties.
Recently, at the advice of Bradenton Beach city attorney Ricinda Perry, commissioners in the southernmost city on the island abandoned plans to pursue an ordinance similar to Anna Maria’s.
Perry said the proposed ordinance would be of no benefit to the city or the ratings for city and private owners’ property insurance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
She said homes that are exempt from FEMA standards would have little to no impact on the city’s rating, and the paperwork would be burdensome.
However, Anna Maria building official David Greenbaum said April 4 the system would preserve Anna Maria’s ratings.
“If you have a structure declared historic, then you aren’t penalized whatsoever for those historic structures,” Greenbaum said.