HE STOOD UP FOR ALL OF US, NOW WE NEED TO STAND UP FOR HIM

I think many us have read with dismay the letter from Michael Barfield addressed to Commissioner Stoltzfus and P & Z board member Jim Connolly. Dismay that the witch hunt aimed primarily at Commissioner Stoltzfus could have reached such a low.
I hardly knew Harry and Cathy Stoltzfus before he decided to run for Commissioner. Sure we had occasionally passed the time of day at a baseball match at the Community Center when our kids were playing but I did not really ‘know’ them. The fact that someone had even stepped up to run I think had all our attention. Finally here was someone who was offering to be a voice for the residents of the City.
It sometimes feels like a lifetime has passed since November and not just a few months. In that time I have learned that the Stoltzfus’s are not just good people with a passion for their City but great people who are determined to follow through on the promise they made to the residents despite the personal cost to them.

Seeing Is Believing

By Bill Yanger

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

Good Morning…

Hey.
Well well, if it isn’t Mr. Mysterious.

Huh?

Had some big secret the other day, remember? Skipped coffee then had to grab your blackened Mahi to go.

Oh, yeah. No biggie.

No biggie…right…What’s the deal?

Not sure I wanna tell you yet.

Oh, give me a break you prima donna…gonna make me beg?

Don’t beg. I’ll tell you when I’m ready.

Whatever.

Anyway, you know anyone who can tow my house?

You mean your boat?

No. My house, mi casa, the place I eat, sleep and watch Dancing With The Stars.

Tow, as in put it on a trailer and move it?

What The Heck Is a Comp Plan and Why Should I Care?

A number of folks have expressed concerns that even with the amount of information (and misinformation) flying around from various sources, they still have a basic lack of understanding of the mechanics of state and local government as it relates to commercial development here in the City of Anna Maria. As a result they also have a basic lack of understanding as to why all of the recent noise in and around City Hall lately is necessary.

So below we have put together a short primer on the issues . As I have said before, I am not a land use attorney and I frankly have learned a great deal myself putting this piece together. The following is purely informational and should not be considered legal advice or a legal opinion. A special thanks and a bit of attribution goes to 1000 Friends of Florida for their treasure trove of information available to any interested citizen by clicking HERE. Also, as you read you can click on any of the highlighted underlined links for additional information on that issue. With no further ado, please click this link and read on...

On dovetailing with the community

This is the text of an email sent to our commissioners by Alistair McLeish, today (March 2). When he granted me permission to post it here, he added, "I don’t want to be partisan...and would want this to be as much directed at the forces for change as those defending it." Amen! (Due to its length, when you get to the "read more", click on it for the remainder of the piece.)

Dear Fellow residents,

There has been much made recently of changes in Anna Maria city.

Please may I  list why we fell in love with this wonderful Island and specifically AMC,  fourteen years ago and  why we so much appreciate the ambience and lifestyle prevailing there.

·         Its beauty and serenity

·         Its community and lifestyle

·         Its access to nearby  facilities and yet  their relative absence and consequent disruption  within this rather special city environment.

We have read with much interest the plethora of  comments from all sides over the last year. On the one hand we all have to accept that things change and nothing can remain static. However in the argument between commercial and residential it seems to us that one thing is very  clear. Historically Anna Maria city has not been a primarily commercially orientated locale and any commerce there has been to serve the interests  of the local community. It is also clear that  throughout the world there is renewed interest in understanding  how  the demographics   of communities  work and that to ensure their continued vigour, cognisance has to be take of how to preserve habitats and lifestyles for the  majority whilst allowing  reasonable evolvement. This is true of  urban , suburban and rural localities. I am told that this is now  the biggest area of research in understanding  land use planning and how communities work,  self regenerate and prosper.

Sidewalk Lunacy

February 27, 2010

In November, I suggested the City of Anna Maria had mistakenly approved site plans in the Residential/Office/Retail (ROR), based on this language in our Comp Plan: “. . . the City’s traffic circulation system shall emphasize safety and aesthetics . . . , separate pedestrian and vehicular traffic . . . , minimize direct access onto major roads”, and accommodate “bicycle and pedestrian traffic needs.” I maintained requiring vehicles to drive across the sidewalk to park, and then back out, sometimes blindly, through pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular traffic to re-enter the roadway, did not meet the above standards, and was inherently unsafe.

My assertions were labeled “monkey wrench” issues. Opponents said we’ve never had a fatality on Pine Avenue, so there is no safety issue. Some said “changing the rules in the middle of the game” was a taking of developer property rights.

My contention was then, and is now; the rules are already in place. They’ve simply not been consistently applied.

From our Land Development Regulations (LDR): “All off-street parking areas, including all areas for maneuvering, shall be located solely on the subject property, shall not use public rights-of-way, . . . and shall be designed to provide safe and convenient circulation.” “Maneuver”, when describing a vehicle, means “steer”.

Restated, every developed lot shall have a driveway; vehicles must enter the subject property to park.

Those who cried “you can’t change the rules” have now proposed the biggest parking rule change in the history of Anna Maria. They’ve asked the City to cede the City-owned right-of-way for parking and allow property owners to determine where to position the sidewalk. Instead of lining Pine Avenue with trees, they wish to line it with cars. It screams “Commercial District!”

It’s a half-access solution. Vehicles will still back into bicycle and vehicle traffic. Property owners will still need driveways to accommodate loading zones. And our sidewalks will weave back and forth the length of Pine, sometimes in the city right-of-way, sometimes on private property, depending on whether or not the owner volunteers to move the sidewalk.

At issue: what do we want the Anna Maria of our future to look like? Do we change the LDR and the Comp Plan to accommodate the wishes of a few, thereby allowing larger buildings and greater commercial intensity in our ROR? Or do we clarify the existing language in the LDR, carrying out our Comp Plan’s goals which are: “to protect the single family residential character of the City within the Residential/Office/Retail Land Use Category, . . . preserve the unique, historic cottage type housing . . .” and “encourage property owners to build less than the maximum size buildings.”

If you care about the outcome of this discussion, you should go to City Hall Thursday, March 4, at 6:00 for the Joint Session of P&Z and the Commission and voice your opinion. Or email the City for city-wide distribution: amclerk@cityofannamaria.com

Thanks for listening.

Harry Stoltzfus

Anna Maria City Commissioner

Beauty vs. The Beast

Take a moment to read this thought provoking piece entitled Beauty vs. The Beast by Julie Hauserman in today's (Feb. 28th) Tampa Tribune. The coming storm facing the City of Anna Maria is not new to Florida. For the most part, this city has been able to escape developer influence in the last 50 years. But this week will be a watershed moment in our history and our future. The November election ushered in new energy and new ideas and new initiatives which have appeared to set us on a proper course and to some extent have provided a false sense of security. But do not be fooled and do not be complacent. The votes we have taken for granted are slipping and the direction in which our elected officials choose to take us is dependent upon your voice being heard. Let each of the City Commissioners and the Mayor know how you feel and do it today. Emails for each of the Commssioners can be found HERE or by simply clicking their respective emails below:

Fran Barford - ammayor@cityofannamaria.com

John Quam - amcommquam@cityofannamaria.com

JoAnn Mattick - amcommmattick@cityofannamaria.com

Harry Stoltzfus - amcommstoltzfus@cityofannamaria.com

Chuck Webb - amcommwebb@cityofannamaria.com

Dale Woodland - amcommwoodland@cityofannamaria.com

As always, thanks for reading. And come back, often.

Oh yes, show up at City Hall this Thursday March 4th. It is only the most important meeting this City has seen in 40 years. Really, it is.

Bill Yanger

Alert – ‘Proposed 2030 Traffic and Parking Plan For The Pine Avenue Corridor’

There is a ‘Proposed 2030 Traffic and Parking Plan For The Pine Avenue Corridor’ that is steamrolling along. It was unexpectedly presently at this week’s P&Z meeting and it will be presented at the City meeting on March 4, 2010. Please be there!

This is it folks! This is a huge issue for anyone who doesn’t want to see the commercial area intensified anymore than currently is allowed. Many see this is as an enormous threat to the charm and laid-back nature of our beach town just like the hotel issue was last year. I agree!

Please let the Commissioners know what you think and please come to the meeting on March 4, 2010!

The proposed plan, as depicted in a drawing by retired architect Gene Aubry and mentioned in this week’s, Feb. 24th Sun edition, p.24-25, shows approximately 160 angled parking spaces using the right-of-way on both sides of Pine Avenue. This proposed plan design has the 160 cars backing out onto Pine Avenue and has sidewalks placed on the private commercial properties. It is a poor traffic design with cars backing out onto one of our narrow main commercial roads. Can you visualize the increased traffic stopping and starting as cars pull in and out of all these spaces with the whole scene compounded by a trolley, which has no place to pull over, coming through twice every 20 minutes? (Click on ‘read more’…)

Do You Have Any Idea What’s In That Hot Dog?

By Bill Yanger

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

Good morning.

Hey buddy.

Feeling better? You were pretty blue the other day.

Oh I’m over it. Just trying to focus on things that…you know…things that make me smile.

That make you smile…okay…Like Bean Point?

Yes, actually…took your advise. Right at sunrise. That place always seems to right me when I’m listing. Even caught a couple mackerel with my favorite little feather jig. Walked home and fried one up for breakfast with some cheese grits. Sliced a fat-daddy Ruskin tomato, splashed it with a little balsamic vinegar. Squeezed a glass of tangerine juice…nothing better. Back at the helm.

Love your cheese grits. Some reason you wanted to meet later for lunch today instead of coffee?

Not really, just had some things to do this morning.

Like what?

OLYMPIC MEETING OF THE P&Z BOARD

In keeping with Olympic theme of the days:

The gold medal goes to Mr. Alberts for providing new and compelling factual testimony to help the P&Z board understand why they had approved previous PAR plans (with regard to parking only) but should not approve 216 Pine Avenue. After careful analyses of the regulations that were in force, prior to the original PAR applications, he determined they had been amended to remove ambiguous language that was interpreted to allow the frontage to serve as one large driveway. This was a win-win, the city did not do anything wrong before and it was not bound by precedent now.

The Silver Medal goes to Mr. Pytel who was tenacious as a terrier in trying to make others understand the concept of density and how it had been derived. He was supported by an expert witness, an attorney and ironically the P&Z Board Chairperson who had the same recollections, yet failed to support him.

The Bronze Medal goes to Ms. Jenkins who spunkily put Dye in his place by saying (paraphrase) How could they be telling me something when I just told you they were asking me questions, they didn't know anything. I told them to come to the meeting.

On a more serious note there are some important points from this meeting:

- With Mr. Stover at the helm of P&Z it is ever more important that the City Commissioners take over approval of major site plans. He lost control of the meeting and the applicant's attorney took full advantage of this, interjecting at will. Not sure how many years he has sat on the board but he appeared to have no grasp of the procedures or protocol.

- The applicant's attorney told the board they did not have to listen to the testimony from the citizen's since it had no "weight" she then discounted a citizen's expert witness saying he says he's a planner or something. Important to note: Mr. Dye woke up from his stupor and did his job by noting that the citizen's testimony did have weight as long as they were entering facts into evidence not opinions. Every citizen who spoke entered facts into evidence, several did interject opinion but it was easy to tell the difference. If you were listening!

-The applicant's 2nd seat attorney who claimed to specialize in Comp Plans told Mr. Pytel that it is her strongly held opinion / position that density was by region not by lot because of how she parsed the language. She cited no case law to show how courts looked at comp plan language when it was so constructed, so it must be her opinion.

The Booby Prize is a tie between Mr. Stover for his total inability to manage the meeting and his fixation on a plan that was not in evidence and has no traction in the community. He did not listen to a thing that was said.

OR

Ms Mattick who said, more than once, it doesn't matter if we're wrong about the density then the developer has to tear it down, it doesn't affect us. Tony Arrant told us about this big case where they had to tear down an apartment building. If you don't care if you are wrong and will not consider fact you need to resign.

Randall Stover Elected P&Z Board Chair; Sandy Mattick Elected P&Z Board Vice-Chair

The first item on the February 23, 2010 Planning and Zoning Board meeting agenda was ‘Election of Officers’.

Quickly out of the blocks, Sandy Mattick made a motion to nominate Randall Stover for Chair of the P&Z Board. There were no other nominations and Randall Stover was elected as Chair of the P&Z Board.

Mayor Fran Barford’s latest P&Z Board appointee, Bob Barlow, then made a motion to nominate Sandy Mattick for Vice Chair. Jim Conoly made a motion to nominate Frank Pytel. Sandy Mattick was elected as Vice Chair of the P&Z Board.

216 Pine Avenue Site Plan Approved

The 216 Pine Avenue site plan was approved with some stipulations - 4 votes yes, 3 votes no.
Sandy Mattick, Bob Barlow, Mike Yetter and Randall Stover voted 'yes'.
Frank Pytel, Margaret Jenkins and Jim Conoly voted 'no'.

Attention – February 23, 2010 6:30 P.M. P&Z Board Public Hearing on 216 Pine Avenue Site Plan

There is a very important item on the Planning & Zoning Board’s agenda tomorrow evening, February 23, 2010 6:30 p.m.. The agenda item reads as follows:

“PUBLIC HEARING: A continued public hearing from January 19th to consider a revised site plan for 216 Pine Avenue, Lots 1 and 2, Block 46, Anna Maria Beach, Third Addition, in an ROR zone district.”

Please attend the Feb. 23rd hearing meeting and help encourage the P&Z Board to continue this hearing to a later date. Too much is in controversy for this hearing to proceed tomorrow evening.

And if the P&Z Board does proceed with the hearing, I hope they will be encouraged to deny the plan.