Four proposed property tax reforms are now up to Florida voters to decide in November.

The Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission voted last week to place the Constitutional amendment proposals on the November 2008 presidential ballot.

The most controversial would replace property taxes allocated to schools with an increase in the state sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent. It passed the commission 18-7, one vote more than required to make the ballot.

The proposal could keep budget conscious tourists from visiting Anna Maria Island, according to Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Mary Ann Brockman.

But proponents, including commission member John McKay, a former Senate president from Bradenton, said the plan will boost the economy, especially in housing, home financing and construction.

A second amendment would require that commercial fishing facilities, marinas, boat storage and launch facilities and marine manufacturing plants be assessed on their use instead of their potential market value.

A third would allow the Legislature to reduce property taxes for homeowners who make home improvements that increase storm resistance or use renewable energy.

Another would exempt private land held in perpetuity for conservation purposes from property taxes.

60 percent of voters are required to pass amendments in November.

The commission was created to meet this year, then every 20 years to reform the state’s tax and budget laws.

ANNA MARIA – Two threatened snowy plover chicks newly hatched on Anna Maria Island have more than just their parents watching out for them – and they need every friend they can get.

The snowy plover parents are one of only about 45 pairs on the southwest Florida coast. The species, whose nesting season begins in early February, is listed as threatened in the state, one notch under endangered.

Least terns, also threatened, and black skimmers, a species of special concern, began nesting in early April on the Island.

"The is one of the rarest sights in Florida," whispers Nancy Douglass, a regional non-game wildlife biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, as she stakes out the nesting area to keep people away.

A bird lover has already made a fence of sticks and rocks around the nest to alert people to avoid the area, but the fence is far too small, she says, and may actually alert predators to the nest. The birds need more space between them and people because once spooked, the parents do not return to hatch their eggs, and after hatching, the chicks can easily be trampled by beachgoers.

Life is not easy for these tiny birds, which blend into the sand so well you can’t see them unless they move.

They nest right on the ground - in this case, on a sandspur plant, possibly a defense mechanism – and must contend not only with people, but with predators of their own kind, especially black crows, seagulls and herons.

Plover ploy

As Douglass stakes out the area, a pair of great blue herons swoops down, casting a large shadow over the nest. The parents immediately put a classic plover ploy into action.

One races away from the nest on foot towards the Gulf of Mexico to lure a heron away, its parental instinct overcoming its survival instinct as it ventures from relative safety among the sea oats to vulnerability on the open beach.

Douglass stands by, prepared to jump in and scare the herons. Herons have to eat, too, but after all, they aren’t threatened, and they aren’t babies.

Going the opposite direction, the other parent is staging an Oscar-winning performance.

Pretending to have a broken wing, it drags itself along the sand away from the nest, stopping every so often to flail around as if in distress, an exhibition sure to catch the eye of the hungry heron.

The team effort works. The herons fly away without eating either chicks or parents.

"It takes so much energy for the parents to do that," Douglass says, adding that they’re already tired from hatching the chicks and finding food.

So anything people can do to make it easier on the birds is much appreciated.

How to help

Lots of people are watching out for birds’ nests on the beach.

Sometimes it’s hard, searching for sandy areas that have been scratched, or eggs that blend in with the sand. Sometimes it’s easy, when the birds "poop and swoop" on people who get too close to the nests.

Birdwatchers from the Audubon Society and volunteers from the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch also look for bird nests, helping to stake them out, since Douglass’ office has only two people to cover 13 counties.

The beach raker has been notified to stop temporarily to avoid accidentally running over nests and hatchlings.

Most importantly, people should steer clear of the posted areas and avoid chasing the birds that venture outside the nesting areas, or risk violating state and federal laws, she says.

And please report any problems, she requests, adding that two years ago, vandals removed the twine roping off the nesting area, entangling two black skimmers that later died. A different material is being used to reduce the possibility of tampering.

To report nesting activity or problems at nesting sites, call Douglass at 863-648-3200 or email her at shorebird@myfwc.com.

BRADENTON BEACH – For years, the city’s alleys have shrunk as people extended landscaping and other structures into the rights of way behind their homes.

This drew the attention of city officials who met last Thursday to discuss the future of those alleys. The answer may lead to an extensive project that will take care of some of the drainage problems that plague the residential areas in the northern section of this city.

City commissioners voted to have the public works director begin to develop a plan leading to a request for proposals to improve the alleys, in hopes that it would attract grants to concurrently fix the drainage problems.

Building official Stephen Gilbert prepared the commissioners with a compilation of previous studies and recommendations regarding the alleys, which were originally set aside in the plat maps that originated the Ilexhurst subdivision at the beginning of the 20th century. They are not easements for utilities, as some studies hinted. They were not designed as public streets or thoroughfares. Only 10 feet was allowed for the width of they alleys.

According to Gilbert, they were intended for private use by the landowners adjacent to them. However, over time, they were used as paths for utilities, garbage pickup and limited parking. Most are shelled, but at least one is paved. There was also a question about Canasta, which physically resembles an alley because it runs behind homes that front the bay, but it was given a name and the other alleys were not.

Gilbert pointed out that the city’s land development code and federal guidelines for emergency services dictate how they may be used. The adjacent residences must have addresses and entrances on the street side, not entirely on the alley side. They may not be used for emergency ingress and egress. Garbage cannot be picked up from alleys. In the past, the crews have done damage to trucks and residences trying to enter and exit the alleys.

Gilbert pointed out, however, that some properties facing Gulf Drive, a state highway, require property owners to back onto the highway with their cars and could benefit from using the alley for parking. Gilbert recommended designating alleys immediately east of Gulf Drive as primary alternate vehicular access for rear-loaded parking for those properties fronting Gulf Drive.

Options, according to Gilbert, include calling the alleys public ways and opening them to all traffic or calling them private access for limited secondary access by property owners only with utility placement. He said they could call the alleys stormwater improvement features and drew a map showing how if they get a surveyor to mark the middle of each alley at both ends of the block, they could incorporate stormwater management features.

The commissioners liked that idea, opting to start work on surveying the alleys and seeking stormwater improvement grants, which are more plentiful, to improve drainage.

BRADENTON – The Palma Sola Scenic Highway Corridor Management Entity celebrated National Arbor Day on Friday with a ribbon cutting ceremony at the causeway pavilion and the planting of four sabal palms.

The event marked the completion of beautification efforts along the 4.5-mile corridor that included planting native trees and removing most non-native trees, including Australian pines and Brazilian peppers, painting a rest room and trash cans and installing a modular newsrack.

Two final improvements are nearly completed - installing a public boat ramp on the southwest corner of the Palma Sola Causeway and completing the installation of bollards to separate vehicles from people. The causeway is a popular place for sunbathing and enjoying personal watercraft, and allows dogs.

Palma Sola Scenic Highway Corridor Management Entity members past and present were recognized for their contributions, including Mark Alderson, Ken Crayton, Michael Doll, Joe Duennes, Joan Dunn, Barbara Elliott, Rick Fawley, Gene Gallo, Michael Guy, Sandy Haas-Martens, Jane von Hahmann, Bob Herrington, Michael Howe, Kathleen King, Seth Kohn, Susan King, Manon Lavoie, Darenda Marvin, Molly McCartney, Ingrid McClellan, John Ormando, RS&H Project Managers, Carmen Chronister and Myra Monreal.

Also recognized for their roles in management, beach renourishment, exotic species removal, landscaping and bollards, environmental murals, boat ramp construction, a modular newsrack, pet waste stations and two bus shelters were Keep Manatee Beautiful, the City of Bradenton, Manatee County, the Florida Department of Transportation, Earthworks Land Development, Foristall Enterprises, Woodruff and Sons, Florida Power and Light, the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, WilsonMiller, Balfour Beatty Construction, Bongo’s, Burdette and Associates, the Florida Division of Forestry, J.C. Tree and Landscape, Turner Tree and Landscape, Marina Adair, Art Target, the Art Council of Manatee, Faith Keller, Kiwanis Club of Bradenton, Manatee School for the Arts, Jon Odon, Sherwin-Williams, The Trophy Case, Seaway Marine Contractors, the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Manatee County Area Transit and The Anna Maria Island Sun.