26
www.amisun.com
THE SUN
MAY 8, 2019
AIRBNB: Fined $250 per day FROM PAGE 1
According to the Florida Division of Incorporations website (Sunbiz.org), Denise Valley has incorporated and dissolved four LLC’s at that address, including two that list 302 North Shore Drive Suite C as the address. According to the Airbnb listing, the Airbnb host is named Floyd and four of the five Airbnb reviews posted in April mention Floyd by first name only. The Airbnb listing addressed at Tuesday’s hearing lists a $97 per night rental rate and touts the property as the “best deal on the Island.” State records list Floyd Calhoun as the registered agent for three dissolved LLC’s using the 302 North Shore Drive address – including the dissolved Here Realty LLC that listed both Valley and Calhoun as registered agents. Neither Valley nor Calhoun attended Tuesday’s hearing.
When presenting the city’s case, City Clerk LeAnne Addy said the unregistered Airbnb was discovered on Oct. 23 by the city’s contracted screen scraping firm that conducts online searches for non-registered vacation rentals. A warning notice was sent to the LLC’s Anna Maria post office box on Oct. 24. A second warning was sent on Nov. 26 and a third on March 7. The last notice stated the alleged infractions would be addressed at the special magistrate hearing if not addressed within five days. “As of today, they’re still advertising on Airbnb and they’re not registered,” Addy said during the hearing. Addy said the property owner owes the city a $297 registration fee for 2018 and a $290 registration fee for 2019. The fees are based on the city’s eightperson maximum occupancy allowance for a three-bedroom vacation rental. City Attorney Becky Vose said the
As of today, they’re still advertising on Airbnb, and they’re not registered.” LeAnne Addy, City Clerk accruing fines would become a lien on the property if unpaid. Vose said if the lien is not addressed and continues to grow the city could eventually pursue foreclosure on the property. During Tuesday’s hearing, it was not known or noted that the property is already the subject of foreclosure proceedings initiated last July by HMC Assets. Manatee County court records list Valley, DLVAMI 302 North Shore LLC and Calhoun and additional unknown tenants as defendants in the ongoing foreclosure proceedings.
A visit to the property on Tuesday revealed a second address, 302 B, painted near one of the elevated duplex’s four garage doors. The Airbnb website includes a second listing for the property that mentions a pending full-scale remodeling effort and an anticipated total occupancy of 20-plus people. “There is room for the entire family plus the in-laws plus the cousins,” the second listing says, noting the Airbnb rental has perhaps the largest swimming pool on the Island, spas and enough room to play volleyball.
MAGISTRATE: Rules in city's favor FROM PAGE 1
he received on March 15 while staying at his parents’ second home at 60 North Shore Drive. The citation lists a Tampa address as Lynch’s primary residence. Owens also ordered Lynch to pay an additional $150 administrative fee to help cover the appeals hearing costs. Manatee County Sheriff ’s Office Deputies Matthew Kenyan and Robert Desch responded to the initial noise complaint at approximately 2 a.m. According to Kenyan, they witnessed people on the balcony screaming and talking loudly. Lynch was asked to quiet things down and warned that a repeat visit would result in a $500 citation. Approximately 45 minutes later, the deputies returned in response to a second complaint. When standing at various distances from the house the deputies could still hear loud talking and low-end bass sounds coming from inside the house. At this point, the citation was issued. Kenyan told Owens deputies responded to prior noise complaints and issued verbal warnings at that address in 2015 and 2017. Lynch’s father, Fred Lynch, attended the hearing. He said his son couldn’t attend because he was taking exams. Fred Lynch said he was not there to represent his son or challenge the citation, but he did
tem turned all the way up, but it was not relevant to the case being discussed.
PARKING VIOLATIONS
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
A family member staying at this Anna Maria home was cited and fined for a noise ordinance violation.
want to express his concerns as a concerned citizen. An email Fred Lynch sent the city was included in the hearing packet. It expressed concerns about harassment by a neighbor and the way the deputies handled this situation. During the hearing, Lynch claimed the deputies used words that were “inappropriate.”
Using a tablet and a portable speaker, Lynch showed Owens a video he shot later that he felt disproved the deputies’ claims regarding the loud bass noises being audible at the stated distances. Owens said she would allow Lynch the courtesy of showing the video he recorded from various distances with the TV audio sys-
Owens ordered Bradenton resident Kathy Brooks-Rock to pay a $50 fine for parking her Volvo alongside Rose Street in the opposite direction of the traffic flow while visiting vacationing friends. The apologetic citation recipient told Owens this was her first traffic ticket, and she didn’t know Anna Maria and other Florida cities prohibit parking in the wrong direction. Owens ordered Bradenton resident Stephen Ierardi to pay a $50 fine and an additional $150 administrative fee for parking his BMW within 20 feet of the crosswalk at the intersection of Gulf Drive and Palm Avenue. Ierardi told Owens he not aware of this law, and there was no warning sign. In both parking cases, Owens said ignorance of the law is no excuse. It was also noted that a warning sign has now been placed where Ierardi received his ticket. Addy said Tuesday’s code enforcement hearings were the first scheduled during her time as city clerk and future hearings would be scheduled once a month as needed.
