Hopping at the lodge. 16 Starry night. 14
Nesting on the beach. 24 APRIL 5, 2017 FREE
VOLUME 25, NO. 23
The Best News on Anna Maria Island Since 1992
www.islander.org
AsTheWorldTerns fight back. 6 State legislation targeting VROs advances in committee. 3 SR 789 improvements await DOT budget approval. 4 Holmes Beach seeks comments on bicycle, pedestrian plan. 4
Op-Ed
The Islander editorial, reader letters. 6
10-20 YEARS AGO
From the archives. 7
Meetings
On the government calendar. 8 BB planners finalize recommendations. 10
Happenings
Community announcements, activities. 12-13 Set the date. 14-15 AME walks for guide dogs group. 17 Looking for Tuna Street? 18-19
Gathering. 20
Obituaries. 20-21 Streetlife. 22 Tortoise tribute. 25 KRC golf champion. 26 Spring fishing results in rallies. 27
ISL BIZ
28-30 Classifieds. 31-34
Fighting nature
Manatee County workers, changing a light early in March at the county-maintained city tennis courts at 6200 Flotilla Drive in Holmes Beach, use a pole to defend against a pair of ospreys, which were protecting the nest atop the light pole. See story, page 3. Islander Photos: Courtesy John Tris
Homeowner wins HB-Bert Harris dismissal motion
By Kathy Prucnell Islander Reporter Twelfth Circuit Judge Brian Iten threw out the city of Holmes Beach’s attempt to dismiss the Bob and Ellen McCaffrey complaint under the Bert Harris Act. The March 28 hearing ended with Iten taking the motion under advisement but, two days later, he issued his decision. His three-page order denied the city’s dismissal motion and motion to strike the appraisal. It also orders the complainants, Bob and Ellen McCaffrey, to shore up allegations on how the city applied the living-ratio ordinance to their property at 7003 Holmes Blvd. The McCaffreys filed the complaint in January alleging $106,000 in damages under the Bert J. Harris Private Property Rights Protection Act. The 23-year residents also allege the city violated the Sunshine Law by failing to consider their claim at an open meeting. During the hearing, attorney John Schaefer, on behalf of the city, sought to convince the court the McCaffreys’ claims were legally insufficient. Attorney Fred Moore battled the dismissal motion for the McCaffreys. Schaefer, of Schaefer, Wirth & Wirth, of Safety Harbor, was retained by the Florida League of Cities, the insurer for Holmes
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Judge Brian Iten listens to arguments March 28 in the 12th Circuit Court Bert Harris case brought by Bob and Ellen McCaffrey as Holmes Beach Mayor Bob Johnson, left, looks on. Islander Photo: Kathy Prucnell Beach. The McCaffreys filed a claim in August 2016, alleging two ordinances adopted in 2013 and four in 2015 created “a dizzying array of new ordinances and building moratoriums which impacted the viability of their plans,” according to Moore. The plaintiffs allege the LAR reduces redevelopment of their property to 3,350 square feet from a pre-LAR limit of 5,800, as well as an aggregate burden from other new ordinances, including the joined duplexfooter prohibition, the 2015 moratorium, pool and deck setbacks, parking requirements and condo ownership restrictions. Schaefer argued the appraisal, required by the Harris Act, was based on a theoretical vacant lot and a mathematical calculation,
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without sales figures, market analysis and “no ultimate facts at all.” Moore countered the naked land valuation fit into the act and the appraisal was from a bona fide licensed appraiser. Schaefer emphasized the complaint was devoid of “ultimate facts” about how the city applied an ordinance to the property. According to the city, the McCaffreys submitted no development permit or application. But, argued Moore, the McCaffreys spent more than a year submitting plans to the city. When the city responded with “written comments” that the Holmes Boulevard property did not comply with city ordinances, the McCaffreys filed the claim. The judge’s decision requires the McCafPLEASE SEE HOMeOWNeR PAGE 2
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