HOLMES BEACH – Anna Maria Island has seen many changes in recent years, including a decrease in permanent residents and a sharp increase in weekly rentals. This inclination has brought on changes such as new parking regulations and noise ordinances, which have sparked debate among residents split on how they feel about these issues. However, there are exceptions, and some neighborhoods are seeing the opposite of what appears to be an Island-wide trend.
“On my street, a few of the duplexes that have been weekly or monthly rentals have transformed back to single-family homes; they’re not renting them out,” said Connie Camboni, a resident of Holmes Beach. Camboni has been coming to the Island for more than 50 years and made the permeant move seven years ago. She noted how much the Island has changed in the last decade with more and more weekly visitors compared to even a few years ago.
“The Chief said Holmes Beach had 31,000 cars come through on Memorial Day. Where do they all park?” she asked.
“I know it’s hard for the tourists, but I’m so happy they no longer allow them to park in front of my house in a residential neighborhood,” Camboni said, referring to recent parking regulation changes in Holmes Beach. “There has to be some kind of balance.”
A Bradenton Beach rental owner, who asked that only his first name – Tom – be used for this story, said he changed some of his units from weekly to annual rentals.
“I didn’t want to give up the revenue that was coming in from renting weekly, but I decided to go ahead and let a couple of my condos go annual,” he said, adding that he could make up to $8,000 a month for a weekly rental but was growing tired of the hassle involved in managing multiple weekly units. “It’s just easier, but still profitable to have some of both; but I know for a fact this is unusual on the Island at this time. It’s just too profitable for owners to give up that weekly money.”
City commission meetings are once again open to the public, and anyone wishing to speak about parking, noise concerns, or any other issue is welcome to attend and be heard by commissioners. Camboni stressed that getting involved is the only way to affect change, regardless of which side of the issue one is on.
