HOLMES BEACH – Anna Maria Island’s biggest city was home to some of the Island’s biggest issues in 2021.
The year began in the same manner as some previous years, with city leaders facing off in legal battles with the owners of the two-story beachfront treehouse at Angelino’s Sea Lodge. With legal issues still pending in Manatee County Circuit Court, tree house owners Lynn Tran-Hazen and Richard Hazen getting no relief on fines from the Holmes Beach special magistrate during hearings, the fate of the treehouse is still up in the air after almost a decade of legal battles. At the beginning of 2022, the treehouse is still right where it was a year ago – aloft in its beachfront perch with its future undecided, though Tran-Hazen did state in mid-2021 that if once all legal options are exhausted, the court decides in the city’s favor, the couple will have the treehouse removed.
The relationship between Holmes Beach city leaders and Manatee County commissioners also took a hit in 2021 over public beach parking. To resolve issues from the overcrowding of vehicles in residential areas, city leaders enacted a permit parking program, allowing public parking on some city streets near beach accesses only after 5 p.m. daily. Starting with the Memorial Day holiday weekend in 2021, Manatee County commissioners pushed back, demanding that Holmes Beach leaders reopen all residential streets to public parking to allow for more beachgoers to park in those areas. City leaders held firm to their stance and the argument is continuing in 2022, with a meeting planned to be held between the two parties to discuss issues in the coming months.
In good news, the city’s multiple Bert Harris lawsuits were concluded in the fall of 2021 with a global settlement option. In exchange for the owners to be able to develop three properties in the city to sizes beyond what is allowed by Holmes Beach building codes, all of the outstanding Bert Harris Jr. Act lawsuits against the city were dismissed. This brought more than three years of litigation to a close, though the residential neighbors of one of the properties weren’t too happy about a large vacation rental being allowed to be constructed in their neighborhood.
Golf cart and low-speed vehicle safety and regulations were a topic among commissioners and business owners all year. With a six-month moratorium stopping the establishment of golf cart and LSV brick-and-mortar rental companies in Holmes Beach set to expire in February, commissioners ended 2021 still discussing how to best regulate businesses and the booming use of the vehicles by visitors and residents in the city. While the discussion moving into 2022 is still on safety, commissioners have largely decided that preventing a business from opening up shop in Holmes Beach won’t stop the influx of the vehicles in the Island city as they can simply be trucked in from another location. To address safety issues, commissioners are considering lowering the speed limit city-wide to 25 miles per hour, requiring every seat on the vehicles to have a seat belt and looking at insurance concerns.
The Nov. 2, 2021 election brought a familiar face back to the city commission dais as Commissioner Pat Morton was re-elected after losing his seat in 2020 to newcomer Commissioner Jayne Christenson. Also re-elected for additional two-year terms were Commissioners Terry Schaefer and Carol Soustek. This year’s election brought out more than one challenger for the incumbents as residents Renee Ferguson and John Monetti also tossed their hats in the ring for one of the three seats up for grabs on the city commission. Incumbent Commissioner Jim Kihm opted to not run for an additional term.
