An Open Letter To The Islander

“We cannot make good news out of bad practice.” - Edward R. Murrow, CBS News

Dear Bonner:

Can I call you Bonner?

Your publication and its predecessors have been a part of my life since I first learned to read but, unfortunately, you and I have never met. The Islander of the 60’s was never far from our summer breakfast table and, I’ll confess, it often valiantly served a second life protecting that table during many a late night blue crab cleaning session. Throughout the 70’s my grandparents faithfully picked up the paper next to Ernie Cagnina’s front door on their way out of the IGA. I briefly flirted with working for Mr. Warren on the early 80’s Islander after graduating with a journalism degree but more schooling and youthful dreams of grandeur ended those thoughts. During the parking wars of late the 90’s and early 2000’s I periodically submitted opinion pieces or letters to the editor, that being you by then, but was never able to make your cut. And in the last few years I have developed a Tuesday morning habit of clicking on the paper’s website to get the latest word, at least your version, from my favorite place on earth.

So if a first name basis is too familiar, my apologies up front. I do not, however, apologize for what I am about to say. The Islander, as I have known and cherished it, has lost its way. It is a sad thing to watch and, well, to read. Your January 27th editorial entitled “Frenzy” is a confused and meandering jumble of bitterness and ironically, considering the charges you level, a feverish but clumsy attempt to settle scores. It does a disservice to your targets, your readers and your advertisers on so many levels it is difficult to choose where to begin. But I will give it my best shot.

Should voters decide what's best for their community?

I wanted to make the bloggers aware of an issue which will come before all Florida citizens and would result, if passed , in a change to our constitution. It is called Hometown Democracy and it would result in any changes to Comprehensive Plans being brought before the voters.

Quote from the site: "Each of us has a huge stake in growth decisions that can drastically alter our community's future for generations to come. Each community has adopted its own comprehensive plan: a long-term master plan for sensible growth. Currently, elected city and county commissioners have exclusive power to make changes to the plan. Rising taxes, falling home values, gridlocked roads, dwindling water supplies and Florida's disappearing beauty are just some of the devastating consequences of Florida politicians' habit of rubberstamping speculative plan changes.

With Amendment 4, your power to vote on growth will enable you to preserve your neighborhood and your community and protect the value of your home."

Please check out the Hometown Democracy Site at www.floridahometowndemocracy.com form your own opinions but to me this strikes right at the heart of what we have been faced with in Anna Maria. A few making lucrative pro-development decisions to line their and their friend's pockets at the expense of all of citizens who pay the majority of the taxes.

In Perspective

By Bill Yanger

Another in a continuing series of imagined conversations over coffee at, now, the Rod & Reel Pier. Any resemblance to persons or personalities, real or imagined, is entirely coincidental and mostly unintended.

Good morning.

It’s a wonderful morning actually.
Ahhh, a bit perky are we?

Just happy to be alive and healthy my friend. Bills are piling up, the car needs new tires, the house needs a coat of paint. Have you tried getting down an aisle at Publix lately? My mango tree is on life support, I gotta do my taxes, that Republican guy won in Massachusetts…Massachusetts for chrissakes!...oy…but you know what?
What?

We don’t live in Haiti. Poor souls…

Yeah, kinda puts things in perspective.

Right, perspective, good word. Here’s my perspective…my faucet gives me cool clean drinking water whenever I want it, my cabinet’s full of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle, Publix is a ten minute trolley ride and I can catch a trout blindfolded with one hand anytime I find the need. My roof is still above my head, not pancaked on my floor. My dog spends sunsets chasing ghost crabs not sniffing for the living and finding the dead. No hoodlum mobs looting that P&Z lady’s General Store on Pine. No aircraft carriers sitting off Bean Point waiting to deploy the 82nd Airborne into a Sandbar wed…er…unification ceremony by Reverend Charlie. Developers can still wrestle with city hall and city hall can still execute an effective arm-bar takedown of those developers when they need to. A citizen can exercise his rights and attend a commission meeting and a Commissioner can exercise his rights and schedule a commission meeting. How cool is that? I got lots of friends and I can’t name an enemy. Life is good in my world.
I hear you. We have a lot to be thankful for, that’s for sure.

Well, not to put a buzz-kill on our little feel good session, but you do know it could all end?
Huh?

We could be them.

Who?

City of Anna Maria Commission topics

I've chosen to exercise the right given me by the City Charter to schedule a special session of the City Commission.
I urge all who care about the future of our City to attend the next series of Commission meetings and make sure your opinion is heard. We've got a lot of ground to cover.
Harry Stoltzfus
City of Anna Maria Commissioner

CITY OF ANNA MARIA
CITY COMMISSION
SPECIAL MEETING

JANUARY 21, 2010
11:00 AM

AGENDA

1. COMP PLAN CONSISTENCY IN THE LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS

2. DRIVEWAYS, CURB CUTS, AND SAFETY

3. FUTURE LAND USE ELEMENT POLICY 1.2.1

4. SITE PLAN REVIEW BY CITY COMMISSION


Public Comment on agenda items
Press Comment
Adjournment

216 Pine Avenue Site Plan Public Hearing to be Continued

The City of Anna Maria’s January 19, 2010 Public Hearing to consider the preliminary/final Site Plan approval in the ROR zone district at 216 Pine Avenue (Lots 1 & 2, Block 46), Anna Maria Beach Subdivision, Third Addition has been continued. The Planning & Zoning (P&Z) Board members unanimously voted ‘yes’ on a motion to continue the hearing on February 23, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. The applicant (Pine Avenue Restoration, LLC (PAR)) is required to bring, to the Feb. 23rd hearing meeting, a revised site plan showing the buildings separated by 6 feet, one building on each lot (to comply with Comp Plan policy that says one residential unit per lot), a height of 27 feet, a revised number of required parking spaces based upon 2 parking spaces per residential unit, the density (units per gross acre). I am not clear on the stipulations regarding parking design.

Before the above motion was passed, another motion had been made. P&Z Board member Sandy Mattick had made a motion that the site plan be approved with stipulations. Those stipulations were that the buildings be separated by 6 feet, one parking space was to be added to meet the two parking spaces per residential unit requirement, and the structure was to be limited to 27 feet. P&Z Board member Mike Yetter seconded the motion. Bob Barlow, Sandy Mattick and Mike Yetter voted ‘yes’ to approve the site plan with those stipulations but Jim Conoly, Chair Frank Pytel, Margaret Jenkins, Randall Stover voted ‘no’. Prior to this motion, Chair Pytel expressed that they were not just tweaking, that it was a major ‘redo’ with space between the buildings and new setbacks. Mr. Stover said that it was most important that an exact plan of the buildings and the setback line be brought to the board.

(Please note: My summary above was written from notes I took during the hearing. It is not a verbatim account and details of the stipulations may not be described perfectly. However, I am sure of who voted for and against the motion for ‘approval with stipulations’ and for the motion for 'continuance of the hearing to a date certain'.)

To read more, click on ‘comments’.

216 Pine Avenue P&Z hearing Jan 19, 2010

I've asked the Administration to reschedule this hearing, because the Administrative compliance review has been conducted improperly and the P&Z hearing has been scheduled improperly.

The facts that need to be put forth concerning these irregularities are:

1. The City is required to issue a written compliance review on any site plan applications. That review must state in writing a recommendation a site plan is approved, approved with conditions, or denied.

2. After that review has been completed, the City must schedule a hearing with the P&Z or the City Commission, depending on the particulars of the site plan.

3. The developer must publicly advertise at least 10 days before the date of the hearing, and notify by certificate of mail at least 30 days before the hearing, all neighbors within 500 ft. of the subject property. Both of these notices must take place after the site plan compliance recommendation is made by the Administration.

4. In early November, I expressed concern at a Commission meeting that PAR was trying to beat the system by submitting three site plans simultaneously. I suggested to the Mayor the system needed to respond. Chairman Quam suggested a moratorium on site plans may be desirable. Our City Attorney said that may be problematic. He stated that all issues in flux could be considered during the site plan review process and changes in the codes could be applied even if those changes were made after the date of the site plan submittal. He also recommended the City continue to process site plans in the normal manner, not expediting, and not deliberately slowing down the procedure.

5. The Administration has expedited the process. They scheduled the hearing with P&Z for 216 Pine before the compliance review was completed. That’s improper, therefore the hearing is illegitimate.

6. PAR has already mailed the notice letters to neighbors, and the hearing time and date has already been advertised in the Bradenton Herald.

7. For this to be done properly, the City must issue a signed, dated review of 216 Pine that includes a determination of approved, approved with conditions, or denied. The process needs to begin again, from that point. The advertising was done prematurely. The mailing was done prematurely.
Both should be redone.

8. Generally, it should be noted, the whole process regarding the site plan for 216 is unprofessional in the extreme. There are documents in the 216 file that are signed but not dated. The compliance review has a heading suggested it was done in January, but it also is not dated. There is correspondence between the developer and City staff not included in the file.

If, for some reason, the Administration should deny my request for rescheduling, I believe the Mayor has, once again. left us open to litigation.

Harry Stoltzfus

City of Anna Maria Commissioner

The City Pier and Transportation Enhancement Grant Plans

Some time ago Commissioner Mattick spearheaded the application for and obtained a grant of approximately $300,000 from the State of Florida's Department of Transportation. Over the past year, the Transportation Enhancement Grant Committee (TEG), headed by Mattick, has been debating use of the funds. The preliminary plans call for a boardwalk along the shoreline fronting the City Pier.

Several people have expressed concerns of late over the proposed development of the property fronting the City Pier. Their concerns are that a boardwalk and benches approach could detract from the historic view so many have enjoyed at that location over the years. Others say that the proposed improvements will make the area more inviting and a nice place to visit. And one even said, "Let's don't mess with the Pier entrance at all; if we can't use it somewhere else in the city, then let them [the State] keep their money."

A corollary issue is the maintenance baggage that can come with such grants. It's great to spend a $300,000 grant on something, yet another to maintain it over the coming years at taxpayer (resident) expense.

The State of Florida has strict controls over how the funds are used. For instance, we can't use it to fix the decaying Pier structure. The funds must be used to "enhance transportation."

TEG spent much time and effort arriving at their decision, looking at numerous proposals. Particular attention has been devoted by TEG in their planning to environmental concerns.

On Tuesday, January 19, at 4:00 p.m., there will be a joint meeting between TEG and the Florida Department of Transportation to review the site and disucss the details. If this is a matter you are interested in, this meeting is one you should plan to attend. It starts at the Pier, then proceeds to City Hall.

How do you feel about it? Hit comment below to express your views.

Epilogue and Entertainment

The Epilogue

At the January 14 joint meeting of the Planning and Zoning Board and the City Commission, Commissioner JoAnn Mattick, her daughter and Planning and Zoning member Sandy Mattick, and Mayor Barford's Planning and Zoning Board appointee Bob Barlow, voted against the obvious, appropriate, and sensible outcome of the deliberations. (Yes, it's the same Bob Barlow that declared in an October 30, 2009 email: This blog [Our Anna Maria], whose stock in trade was (sic) false logic, character assassination and misinformation has since been thoroughly discredited and is now all but defunct.) 

Rhetorical as these may be, here are some obvious questions: When are they going to finally get the message that there is no future in persistent efforts to mess with our city? Didn't the November Landslide send any message to them, whatsoever?

The Entertainment

Below is a link to the minutes of a City Commission Work Session, July 12, 2007. It's the meeting where the city was first introduced to Pine Avenue Restoration, and the very same meeting where the final i's were dotted and t's crossed on the ordinance that was reversed last night. Here is the link: City Commission Work Session, July 12, 2007

Stranger Things Have Happened

By Bill Yanger

Another in a continuing series of imagined conversations over coffee at, now, the Rod & Reel Pier. Any resemblance to persons or personalities, real or imagined, is entirely coincidental and mostly unintended.

Good morning.

Uh, no, it’s another friggin’ frigid morning, pal. That is not a good morning in our sunny town, at least not in my book.

Didn’t you enjoy your brisk little walk down here to the Rod & Reel? Sure woke me up. Check out that view…Egmont…Ft. Desoto…the Skyway. And those dolphins…wow…love this place.

I love this place too but look at these…I had to wear socks with my flip flops. Socks! It’s a sin! And my yard, my poor yard. My crotons are brown, the seagrape is dropping leaves and my impatiens have gone to that great flowerbed in the sky.

Why didn’t you cover them?

Cover them? Plants aren’t supposed to freeze in Anna Maria.

Stranger things have happened. And apparently did.

Well, I’ve been too busy anyway.

Busy?

Yeah, busy with plans for my new newspaper.

Last week it was a site plan. Now it’s a newspaper plan. You’re just a regular entrepreneurial planner…uh, hey… what are you doing with that little flip notepad.

Taking notes, genius.

Obviously. Why?

IMPORTANT Joint Meeting of P&Z & Commission, Jan 14, 6:00 p.m.

There's a critical joint meeting of the Planning & Zoning Board and the City Commission at City Hall Thursday, January 14, at 6:00 p.m.  Here is the background:

Right now site plans for commercial developments in the ROR and C-1 districts are being heard and decided upon by just the P&Z Board and not by the City Commission. Prior to July 26, 2007, this was not the case -- the Commission decided on such final approvals after the P&Z Board analyzed and provided a recommendation to the Commission. 


On July 26, 2007, in a well-intentioned action, the Commission at the time, amended Sec. 74 in or order to streamline the site plan review process. However, the amendment appears to have gone too far and major commercial developments ARE NOT BEING HEARD by the elected Commissioners. 


The purpose of the joint meeting is to determine if Article XIII Development Review Procedures Section 74 should be amended now to return the decision for final site plans (other than plans for single and two family dwellings) to the elected City Commissioners following the P&Z Board recommendations.


It is important that this change back to the way it used to be be made immediately. 


It has nothing to do with the make-up of the P&Z Board. They are upstanding, concerned, dedicated citizens who spend an inordinate amount of time doing a job few want to take on. And they're good at it. However, this is a situation where the intent to streamline your city government puts our future in jeopardy. 


The P&Z Board should function as they always have, in a fact-finding/advisory capacity, with recommendations to the Commission. Why? Because the future of our city is fragile at best, and recent events certainly prove that to be true. It is critical that the future of our city be the purview of elected officials. It is they who should have the ultimate authority over development decisions. 


Your support of this is critical. Send an email now with your views to amclerk@city@cityofannamaria.com. At the top of the email, in all caps, put PLEASE DISTRIBUTE IMMEDIATELY TO ALL COMMISSIONERS, P&Z MEMBERS, AND THE MAYOR. Tell them you want the future of our city decided by elected, not appointed, officials, and that Procedures Section 74 should be amended now to return the decision for final site plans to the elected City Commissioners following the P&Z Board recommendations.  


Note: No voting can be done at this meeting. The issue must go before a regular commission meeting and the necessary public hearings to change the ordinance. But, it is important that people who care attend the meeting. You can bet those few in favor of keeping it the way it is now will be there in full force. It is important to them to keep the control out of the hands of the people you elected to protect our community.  

Meandering Sidewalks

I guess the majority realized when the second parking second committee was formed by the Mayor which direction it was heading. Essentially there are 3 members of PAR on it - Mr Aubry who designed the original PAR buildings, Mr Aposporos
who has already confessed to working for PAR and Mr Coleman himself a principal in PAR.
The description of the meeting in this weeks’ Islander further points to the Mayors’ and PAR’s plan to railroad their way through this problem. Move the sidewalks. And now apparently the sidewalks are going to meander!. This is absolutely ludicrous. And it will not alleviate the safety issues. People will walk from A to B in the most direct line they can so they are not going to follow a sidewalk which meanders all over the place.
And this is only addressing pedestrians - what about vehicle and bicycle safety?
Has anyone seriously considered what the logistics let alone the cost of moving the City sidewalk would be. As I see it owners of property on Pine Avenue and I presume eventually Gulf Drive (if this goes ahead) are going to be asked to swap a portion of their land for sidewalk. Who is going to own the sidewalk? It will be a public sidewalk. What about public liability if it is privately owned? How are you going to insist that property owners on these streets sign over their land for sidewalks - who is going to bear the legal cost of that? Never mind the changes that will need to be made to the Comprehensive Plan to accommodate this. And the monetary cost of moving the sidewalk??? I presume that PAR are going to pick up the tab for all of this as they appear to be the only people who actually need the sidewalks moved because they don’t want to follow the codes already in place.
And the big question is WHY do we need to move the sidewalks?
Safety measures are clearly addressed in the Comprehensive Plan and the LDR‘s - problem is until Commissioner Stoltzfus came along nobody had followed these safety measures. Our Comprehensive Plan states clearly that the emphasis must be on safety and aesthetics. There is no way of addressing the aesthetics if the sidewalks are moved. The parking safety committee has admitted there is an safety issue so now really all that remains is to follow the Comprehensive Plan and LDR’s.
The result of following the codes that are already in place would be smaller developments on the ROR lots. I guess that is why nobody is talking about that but instead trying to find an alternative which incidentally looks like it is going to cost the taxpayers of this City a small fortune.
This is fast heading in the same direction as the hotel/motel issue - let's just hope the residents step up in the same way.
　
　
　
　
　

Commissioners We Elected Need Your Help

"Chapman" asked that this be posted:

Hello Fellow bloggers, neighbors and friends of bloggers, lurkers.

Once again it is time for those of us who care about Anna Maria to gather, this time at City Hall on Thursday, January 14, @ 6 p.m. for the joint meeting of P and Z and Commissioners. We need to support our recently elected officials. The battle did not end November 3, 2009. Lets fill the room.

Chapman