On Thursday October 8, 2009 at 7 p.m. The City Commission will be having a work session meeting. Residents, come to this meeting at 7 p.m. as the first agenda item will be:
Commercial Uses in Residential District – Weddings, presented by Planner Alan Garrett
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Tuesday, October 6, 2009
City Commission Meeting – Thurs.Oct.8, 2009, at 7 p.m. Commercial Uses in Residential District – Weddings!!!
8 comments:
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The City Commissioners should take the position that residential rental homes in the Residential district are not to be used as wedding reception sites. While it doesn’t seem likely that we can prevent wedding guests from using rental homes as accommodations, it is certainly doable to prohibit residential homes from being used for the wedding ceremonies & receptions (with caterers, music, etc.). The ceremony & reception, which is the commercial part of the wedding, must not be held in the Residential district! (Perhaps a special exception could be made for homesteaded residents who wish to have a wedding for their daughter or son at their own home.)
ReplyDeleteWe should watch this item. Residents do not want the commercial wedding reception use beside their homes. If this were to happen it would be a prime example of commercial encroachment into the Residential district. A code can certainly be amended to prohibit this.
Residents are encouraged to attend the Thursday October 8th meeting at 7 p.m. – it will be the first agenda item. Public comment may or may not be heard as this is a work session meeting, not a voting meeting.
Who has requested the city planner bring such a request before the commission? In very recent memory, I believe this is at least the third item brought by the city planner to the commission that completely contradicts what is in our master plan/vision.
ReplyDeleteThis is most certainly a use of a residential property that is inappropriate to our residential community and character.
Good question - who has requested this agenda item? Why?
ReplyDeleteSo far we only know that the agenda item is:
"Commercial Uses in Residential District(Weddings) - A Garrett."
We don't know what Garrett will present. He may actually say we should keep this use out of the Residential district or... who knows?
It really helps for the residents to be tuned into what is going on with an issue at the beginning stages (like this Thursday's Oct 8th work session meeting at 7 p.m.).
I suspect we can all hazard a few guesses as to where this suggestion has come from - no doubt a number of sources but a few in particular spring to mind.
ReplyDeleteI understand that a local wedding planner is very busy organizing weddings at the Gulf front property at the end of 75th Street, Holmes Beach. If you look at the rental portfolio (link below) you will see that the same owner has a number of properties in Anna Maria City which would likely make ideal wedding and reception venues - all of which are located in in our residential zone. They already have a section promoting weddings on their website.
http://www.pineapplefish.com/
On a separate note -
Some time ago I was led to believe that Commissioner Tollette is/was involved in the wedding industry. If this is the case- and hopefully Commissioner Tollette can enlighten us at the meeting - I would hope that she will recuse herself from the 'wedding' discussion on Thursday evening.
There was an article in the paper that the Community Center has a nice facility for wedding receptions. Why not use this? It would benefit the center and also the wedding reception.
ReplyDeleteOK if the community center did a few for the members and residents once in a while. That’s not what they’re talking about. They want to run it like a big business all the time. They’re talking receptions for 200 to 400 people, advertising big wedding receptions. Not so great for the residents around the center. Are they going to bus in all those people in? IMHO it’s way too commercial for a community center.
ReplyDeleteComment to Cracker Jack. It is better held there than at private residences. Go to the workshop Thursday night and see what the proposal is by Mr. Garrett. Is it going to be to allow weddings at the private residences regardless of whether it is a rental or is it a homesteaded property?
ReplyDeleteConcerned Citiazen
I am opposed to both residences and the Community Center being used for wedding receptions.
ReplyDeleteResidential is residential and that should not be open for discussion. Of course, if you held a family wedding that would be a rare occurrence and have little impact on the quality of living for your neighbors. But a constant stream of weddings in your neighborhood would be a nuisance.
Interesting that there is a discussion on commercial properties needing to have enough parking to support any additions, how does this reconcile with permitting private residences to be used for commercial enterprises?
We'll see what it is really about.
On another note, I do live right near the CC, it is not a wedding hall and if we had ever thought it was going to be we most certainly would have never invested our savings into a home near it. Permitting weddings to be held week in and week out will destroy our quality of life.
Soccer and baseball games are well over by 9:00, most people walk or car-pool so the impact of the center at this time is nil and in fact makes it feel like a community. But a mega wedding hall, no way this should not be permitted. Once again, where is the parking for this new use? Are they going to let people park on the ball fields and destroy them? How are they going to be permitted to serve alcohol? They are not a bar.
This is not even a matter of NIMBY, we knew a Community Center was in our "front yard" and saw no problem but we would never have moved next to a dance hall or a bar, this is a matter of changing the stated function of a facility sitting right in a residential zone.
I am sorry the CC is having funding problems but destroying our property values is not going to win the hearts and minds of the community.
The Island Wedding industry is fine but some of the things being done in the interest of the Wedding Frenzy is not for the greater good and benefits very few which makes it all the more important that we support candidates that take a broader view of exactly who their constituents really are, the ~1,500 residents, not the wedding industry.