Kumbaya, James Madison and Interested Men...It Matters

There are particular moments in public affairs when the people stimulated by some irregular passion, or some illicit advantage, or misled by the artful misrepresentations of interested men, may call for measures which they themselves will afterwards be the most ready to lament.
                                         -James Madison, The Federalist No. 63



After the thunder and lightning of this city’s politics throughout much of 2010, that whiff of kumbaya-scented incense floating down Pine Avenue of late is, to many, a relief. Mayor Selby has held to pre-election promises of bridge building and consensus seeking, to the snickering delight of some, the quiet chagrin of others and the reluctanct self-loathing acquiescence of the Fourth Estate. But, hey, he’s got the sides talking like he said he’d do and that is worthy of a sincere pat on the back.

Holiday gatherings and the spirit of the season have imbued a sense of camaraderie, real or imagined, among the elected, the electors and, inevitably, those who seek to manipulate both. And a week from today, the P&Z Board will be back at it, discussing yet another new parking ordinance on Pine Avenue and the manipulators will be front and center. In this context, “manipulator” is not necessarily a derogatory term. We all manipulate others in our lives in some form or another by negotiating, controlling or influencing to our advantage (Come on, admit it. Who went out to get the paper when it was 35° this morning and how was that decision made? Hmm?). The point is this: yes, it’s been relatively peaceful since the election and that’s a good thing but the elephant, Pine Avenue parking, is still in the room. And so are those “interested men.”

But a funny thing happened on the way here.

COAM COMP PLAN REVISION

The Comprehensive Plan of the City of Anna Maria (COAM) is under a Future Land Use Plan that is environmentally based--Conservation FLUC—and which covers the coastal ecosystems along the three water sides of Anna Maria. The Conservation FLUP allows no development. The COAM wants to make specific changes to the Conservation FLUP and several policies which would allow development on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of Property owners and city administrators. The prime motivation for this action is to protect the COAM from property rights lawsuits.

There are a number of violations of Florida Law in their proposed amendments but the most disturbing fact is that the Conservation FLUP is the only element that provides environmental protection for the city. If the currently proposed amendments are passed, it might have the unintended consequence of opening the west coast of Anna Maria to development. The COAM is attempting to change the Comprehensive Plan to comply with zoning but Florida Law requires zoning to comply with the COMP plan.

Text amendments to COMP Plans should be based on changes in conditions, mistakes, state requirements/amendments to 9J-5, to describe a new FLUP, add a new plan element, or generally to clearly direct the local unit of government towards goals and objectives that preserve and protect environmental resources while guiding growth for economic purposes. The COAM may argue that the proposed text amendment is an attempt to fix a mistake, but based on the adopted EAR , and the environmental evidence on land surrounding the coastal perimeter in the form of sensitive flora, fauna and protected coastal landforms it appears that the original language is in the public interest, and there was never a mistake. The city did not provide any studies or evidence to support the change.

The city could address the problem of inconsistency between the zoning regulations and the COMP Plan by amending the zoning regulations to make them consistent. The current plan protects the city’s environmental resources. Florida Law requires zoning and Land Development codes to be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan.

If anyone wants to make comments to the DCA regarding this process, they can make comments to Mr. Ray Eubanks (ray.eubanks@dca.state.fl.us) or to Mr. Chris Wiglesworth (chris.wiglesworth@dca.state.fl.us) at the DCA and mention Case # -- Anna Maria 11-1.

If anyone is interested in a more comprehensive look at the proposed changes, contact me by email and I’ll forward the document to you. (rofriday@wisc.edu)

Anna Maria COMP Plan Revision

On Dec. 9th the City of Anna Maria sent a proposed revision of its COMP plan to the DCA (Dept. of Community Affairs). A major change is to remove the wording "Preservation-no development allowed". This is an attempt to avoid a lawsuit from a property owner that wants to develop beachfront lands that are zoned "Preservation". It might have unintended consequences for development along the west coast of Anna Maria. Next week I will post additional information about this process. The DCA case number is "Anna Maria 11-1".

Carolyne Norwood's "Tales of Three Cities"

We just wrapped up reading island local Carolyne Norwood’s newest book, her second, about the history of Anna Maria Island. One thing is for sure, this island has never had a shortage of characters, large personalities and stories to go with them. Norwood’s “Tales of Three Cities” brings many of them to life with 284 pages of anecdotes and pictures. It was such a blast to read we are starting it again.

The book is also available at the Anna Maria Island Historical Society, 402 Pine Avenue, or by visiting their website at http://www.amihs.org/. You can also contact Carolyne at carolynenorwood@tampabay.rr.com or phone (941)778-1514 to get your copies signed or personalized for your intended recipients. The book retails for $20 and all sales benefit the Historical Society.

What a great holiday gift idea for AMI friends and family.

Just Breathe

By Bill Yanger

The back fender clangs staccato as the salty beach cruiser bounces off the pavement and onto the sandy path that leads to my church. A seagrape leaf, red veined, round and waxy, hangs just close enough to slap my shoulder and two plump breasted dove take to startled flight, wings whistling in reproach of the sudden intrusion and harmonizing with the melodic hum of a late day sea breeze through the brittle limbs and needles of Australian pines tilting, always, to the lee.

Scattered orphan pine needles provide traction over the shifty sand as the path bends first to the left around a scarred and sagging sable palm and then back to the right toward my sanctuary. I jump off just as the tires bog. I lay the bike behind a dune sprouting tufts of sea-oat grasses and look out over the brigades of kindred dunes marching in either direction while morning glories pop with purple panache along their jade-green railroad vines snaking between.

I squint at the path funneling out onto a blinding whiteness, like a giant sugar bowl has tipped and spilled its contents in front of me, broken only by a cresting high tide depositing a ragged line of Sargasso clumps and sea cockles before disappearing into an emerald infinity called the Gulf of Mexico. The air sniffs briny and young, as if newly conceived, then freed to flutter and soar.

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

By Bill Yanger


They’re back. Here's 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! Nice…uh…coat.

Like it?

Yeah, some climber just called from Mt. Everest, he wants it back.

What can I say, it got cold, like overnight, and the thing’s toasty.

Dude, you’re wearing khaki shorts and flip flops.

It’s not that cold, come on.

Right. So anyway, why the bandage on your hand?

Nothin.

Nothing? Sure looks like something to me, all wrapped up professional like. Cut yourself carving the Thanksgiving turkey?

Nope.

Open a knuckle changing spark plugs in that thing you call a boat?

Nah, she’s runnin’ sweet as ever.

What then?

Ain’t a big deal. Just learned a tough lesson, that’s all.

Looks like a painful lesson. It still hurt?

A little sore yeah but I’ll get over it. Just won’t do that again. Ever.

What again?

Kind of a long story.

You got a steaming cup a coffee and here come my scrambled eggs as we speak. Plenty of time. Talk to me.

You’re sure a nosy S-O-B.

Damn right. And you’re stubborn. Just tell me the story before I stick this fork in that wound of yours.

Flattery Will Get You Nowhere

We’ve all heard the well-worn phrase “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” Perhaps it’s true. But not all who are imitated are flattered and emulation does not equate to assent and affiliation. Free speech is a glorious concept and we will be the first in line to defend the right of expression, whether inspirational or confrontational. Or, frankly, even foolish.

So we acknowledge the recent proliferation of new blogs to the fray. Just don’t associate the views of the imitators with those of the imitated.

This blog and this writer have taken a break since the election, a necessary breather after the fractious clamor of a chaotic summer in our little Eden. But we have not gone away. We will continue to bring you food for thought, some sweet, some savory, with perhaps a necessary sprinkle of bitter here and there. You may chuckle, you may fume but we hope you are provoked to think. Regardless, our words will continue to be sincere, well-intended and factual.

And they will only be found here.

Stay informed.

Bill Yanger

Important P&Z/City Commission Meeting November 30, 6:00 p.m.

There will be a joint meeting of the City Commission and the Planning & Zoning Board to discuss, once again, the Pine Avenue parking situation, and how the existing regulations may or may not be changed. As you may recall, after much deliberation, this was made a non-issue some time ago, but it's back. The commissioners and members of the P&Z need to hear from Anna Marians and how you feel about changing (or not) existing code.

For the complete history of the issue, enter "90" in the search box to the right. You will be directed to numerous posts on the subject, dating back to October 2009.

Try Doing Anything 50,000 Times

While we all soaked in post-election realities, along about 10pm this evening this little blog ticked past its 50,000th reader since January. Try doing anything 50,000 times.

We hope the thoughtful will keep reading and the curious will keep clicking in to stay informed. From places like West Sussex in England (nearly everyday; thanks LT!), Ontario, Canada and Malaysia and Romania and Nepal and ... and 38 other countries around the world and just about every State in the union, you logged on to stay informed.

The haters will continue to hate, of course, but they will click in to do so and we thank them for that, as well. We ask thoughtful readers for continued feedback and criticism...we take it seriously. You can contact us at ourannamaria@tampabay.rr.com

All the best to the best.

Unrewarded Mediocrity

In her never ending quest to navigate the Islander into the oblivion of mediocrity, Bonner Joy must be thrilled with her paper's showing at the most recent Florida Press Association Awards October 14, 2010 where she was able to convince her industry peers to acknowledge the Islander's excellence with exactly...uh...zero awards. Yep, zero, nilch, nada. Go figure.

By the way, her local competitor The Sun received 9 awards. Congrats to them.

Stay informed.

Congratulations Mike Selby!

It's official: Mike Selby is Anna Maria's new mayor.

509 votes to 426.

The Choice is Clear When Considering What It Takes to be Mayor

I’d like a few moments of your time to address the mayoral race here in the City of Anna Maria, and what I think, in my past experiences, is needed at this time.

As a former three-term commissioner, I served concurrently with two mayors, Sue Lynn and Fran Barford. Both administered our city with very different styles. It’s not important to elaborate on the differences, but I can say with all certainty, there’s a right way and a not so effective way to run our city.

Some will say that since the mayor doesn’t have a vote, there’s really not much to be concerned about from the standpoint of policy or experience. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Administratively, our city is in as good a shape as it has ever been. It is undeniable that to keep it that way and make needed on-going improvements requires seasoned skill and expertise. 

Being mayor, first and foremost, is about solid management skills. The more our mayor knows about how to manage people effectively, the better off our city will be. Your staff will work harder, they’ll accomplish more, and the city will run smoother, more efficiently.

The more our mayor knows about how to deal with often-difficult conflicts, especially as the “face” of the city, the better life will be for everyone.

And the more experience our mayor has managing multi-million-dollar budgets, the lower your taxes will be.

It is my considered opinion that one candidate for mayor simply does not have the depth of experience nor maturity in business and financial affairs to face such challenges. It is my opinion that one candidate does have what it takes to meet the challenges of being mayor to the betterment of our city. That candidate is Mike Selby, a man of unimpeachable character, solidly backed by 30 years of very successful business experience. 

I don’t see any experience in his opponent’s background that qualifies her to effectively deal with today’s challenges and multi-million-dollar finances. Nothing personal; just the facts. If I were interviewing both for the job, the choice would be very clear. 

So, putting personalities aside, please take the time to think about who you would feel comfortable with when it comes to managing the issues and the finances of your city.