A Call For Your Support

Anna Maria is special.

Here many of the residents still walk to the Post Office to pick up their mail. Kids ride their bikes in the streets. Cathy, my wife, and I can work in our front yard for an hour in the evening, and count on one hand the number of cars that pass. Usually, I recognize the drivers. Neighbors walk by, some just out enjoying the cooler evening air, some walking their dogs. Several stop and chat. Cathy knows everybody. The work can wait.

Some days I walk to the Rod ‘n’ Reel to get the fishing report. Or fish there. Pretty good spot for mackerel, reds, and snook. Black drum. Sheepshead in the winter. I’m certain to meet people I know. I always talk to Bob or Tom, two of the guys who sell bait. Or Dave, the manager. Bob had heart surgery a few years back. Says he feels much better now. Tom always tries to remember Molly’s name. Often doesn’t. Dave always does. Molly’s our daughter.
If I really need to unwind, I hitch up my little trailer and bike, load my fishing gear, and head to Bean Point. Odds are I’ll run into Bill and Judy, or Steve and Joanne, or Red if he’s in town. Or Kenny. If it’s a weekend, I’ll probably see Charlie, unless he’s kayaking. Usually I’ll call Herb first. Michigan boy. Lives here half the year. Herb taught me how to catch pompano back about twelve years ago when I first came to Anna Maria. Helluva handyman. Cathy adores him. We all do. His wife Barb was a professional clown. Sweet lady. It’s easy to forget Herb and Barb are twenty-five years older than we.

I love living in Anna Maria. Even in the busiest months of the season, it’s a pretty quiet little town. Great water. Beautiful beaches. Super fishing. But mostly it’s the people. We’ve met a boatload of really nice people on this island.

Anna Maria is different.

In a state whose name is synonymous with overdevelopment, Anna Maria has remained a relatively undeveloped, often unknown, primarily residential community.

That is no accident. It didn’t just happen. Anna Maria remains unexploited because no one has been allowed to exploit it. Our island community remains a Paradise thanks to a long line of resident advocates and officeholders who committed themselves to preventing it from becoming just another overdeveloped, condo-ridden, commercialized, Florida barrier island resort town. I share their commitment.

To that end, I’m presenting myself as a candidate for Anna Maria City Commissioner. I’d like your support.

Most of us who transplanted to Anna Maria did so because we fell in love with this island Paradise. We all sing our individual songs, but the refrain is pretty much the same. We liked the beaches. We liked the quiet streets. We liked the sense of community. We liked the people.
Every now and again, someone arrives on the island with a plan to improve Anna Maria. As if it needed improving.

These days we’ve got a team of visionaries at work. Some pretty savvy investors on a mission to develop Pine Avenue. Their motive is the purest, most transparent motive of all: profit. Their pitch is a vibrant commercial district on Pine Avenue. It sounds charming enough, even romantic, evoking postcard images of old Florida, with boardwalks, one piece bathing suits, and ladies with parasols window shopping, Key West style buildings, offices, and residences lining the streets. A sort of linear St. Armands, I guess. I haven’t heard specifics about who the occupants of these new structures will be. A “build it and they will come” deal, maybe.

I first set foot in Anna Maria twelve years ago. Much has changed since then. The marina on Pine Avenue is gone. The big grocery store is gone. Ato’s, the Polynesian restaurant we frequented, is gone. My daughter ate so many of their Monte Cristos, when they printed the new menus one year, Ato renamed the sandwich the Molly Cristo. Sweet lady. I hear she’s catering now.

I miss them all: the grocery store, Ato’s, the marina. But I like what has replaced them as well. Jenny’s and Jane E’s is a vibrant neighborhood gathering place. Great coffee. Baked goods too. I can go to the Pine Avenue grocery for essentials. Waterfront replaced Ato’s. I’m a beer snob. Waterfront has great taps. I’m sure the four homes that have replaced the marina look good inside. The occupants certainly have a great view of the canal and the town. Nice location. Their dogs always run around on the docks when we take our boat by. Seem like nice people. They always wave. Wish one of them would sell beer, bait, and gas like the marina did. Miss seeing the charter boats there, too. And watching them clean their catches.

So it goes. We can’t turn back the clock.

This Pine Avenue thing is a done deal as well. Not much anybody can do about it, really. Reject any variances and make sure we contain it in the ROR. Keep an eye on the parking issues. Make sure they’re not causing any major drainage problems. Make sure those buildings don’t turn into boarding houses or de facto motels. Mitigate the conflicts between auto, pedestrian, and bike traffic by reviewing Policy 1.3.8 in the Comp Plan and minimize direct access onto major roads. There’s some gray area there, but I think we can tighten it up.

Recently, some local businesses have been networking, trying to cash in on the burgeoning wedding industry here in Anna Maria. Here’s to them. I preferred the “Florida’s Best Kept Secret” image we had, but if we’re going to be “Where to Get Married”, so be it. After all, it’s just image, not substance. Another trend. Like all trends, it will peak. At some point, getting married here won’t be so special. For now, all we can do is contain it. If all this wedding activity creates a parking or traffic nuisance, we’ll deal with it.

Under “Land Use Categories” in the city's Comprehensive Plan, is the declaration: “Although located on a barrier island, the City of Anna Maria has been able to avoid the development of a strong tourist attraction.” Later verbiage states this avoidance has resulted in our being predominately a single family community, and the stated objective of the Comp Plan is to continue this community character.

We’ve lost some ground there. Wedding traffic may not be tourist traffic, but lose the tuxes and the gowns, and there’s not much difference. Much of the current proposed development seems designed to attract more people to Anna Maria. The intent of the ROR district (Residential/Office/Retail) is to allow mixed use development “consistent with the single family residential character of the City.” The implied function of the mixed use designation is to service the present population, not add to it, but we don’t have intent declarations on our site plan applications, do we? Again, at this point, all we can do is contain it.

Until I know differently, I’m going to assume our present group of developers has no plans to go beyond the limits of the Comp Plan. But I’m not willing to assume they won’t in the future. And that is why I’d like to be your advocate on Anna Maria's City Commission.

It’s in every resident’s best interest to make sure no one stacks the deck. We’ve got to make sure we’ve always got at least three strong resident advocates on the commission, so there is no possibility of a super majority changing the Comp Plan. Three commissioners at a minimum. Four would be better. We must preserve the residential character of Anna Maria.

If elected to the Anna Maria City Commission, I pledge to:

1. Fulfill the public obligations of my office with transparency and integrity.

2. Oppose any effort or any proposed measure that would diminish the regulations now in place whose purpose is to preserve the residential character of Anna Maria.

3. Establish and maintain a dialogue between the residential and the business members of Anna Maria in order to foster a relationship in which all parties work toward minimizing the negative impact of a vibrant business community on surrounding residences.

4. Never ask you to read anything this long again.

Thanks for listening.

Harry Stoltzfus
Email: harry@harconcorp.com