HOLMES BEACH – After hours of discussion spread across several meetings, city commissioners have made a decision – the proposed land swap with two Holmes Beach residents is going to the voters to be approved or denied.
The property at 104 34th St. is owned by Jonathan and Jessica Cooper. Their beachfront parcel is bisected by a 50-by-100-foot city right of way that was originally platted to be an extension of Fourth Avenue. Now, however, that extension would just be a road to nowhere as a section of that right of way has already been given to the McGuinness family, which owns a property neighboring the Cooper parcel. In exchange for a 25- by-100-foot section of the right of way to expand their buildable area on their lot, the Coopers, represented by attorney Maggie Mooney, offered the city a 2,911-square-foot trapezoid section of beachfront property to align the city’s interests on the beachfront with the property swapped in the McGuinness deal. Mooney said the couple would also be willing to pay up to $10,000 for dune restoration at a nearby beach access point or donate $10,000 to the city to be used for an environmental project of city leaders’ choosing.
Mooney added that the Coopers do not plan to rent the property but to use it exclusively for their personal use, along with friends and family. To sweeten the deal, Mooney said if the land swap goes through, the couple would be willing to agree that the property will not be rented for a period of 10 years, an agreement that would go with the property if it is sold within the 10-year period.
A 2019 amendment to the city’s charter requires that for a land swap or other transfer of city property to take place, it has to first be approved by a supermajority of commissioners to be placed on the ballot for the next regular election. It then must be approved by a majority of Holmes Beach voters and then it goes back to city commissioners for final ordinance approval. The Cooper land swap will be the first time the charter amendment is tested with voters.
Commissioner Jayne Christenson voted against putting the item on the Nov. 2 ballot for voters. In a presentation to her fellow commissioners, she said her concerns stem from the value the Coopers are getting with an increased lot size of buildable property versus what the city would be getting in exchange. She added that if the Coopers are committed to not renting the property, she would like to see the beachfront lot rezoned to R-1, which only allows rentals of 30 days or more.
Commissioner Kim Rash echoed some of Christenson’s concerns but said that on something this important, he feels the decision should be placed in the hands of the city’s voters. He added that it would be up to the Coopers and their representatives to convince voters that the land swap is a good decision to make for the city.
Mayor Judy Titsworth said she feels the measure should go through, noting that if they wanted to, the Coopers could build a garage on the beachfront side of their property and pave the right of way for their personal use to access their property, giving the city nothing in exchange. This way, she said at least the city would benefit in some way from the proposed land swap.
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