Hot wheels. 23
Friendly enforcement. 24
JAN. 24, 2018 FREE
VOLUME 26, NO. 13
AsTheWorldTerns alert to global warming. 6 Anna Maria engineers answer pier rebuild questions. 4
Meetings
On the government calendar. 4 Day dock delay holds up water taxi launch. 5
Op-Ed
The Islander editorial, reader letters. 6
10-20 YEARS AGO
From the archives. 7 Island leaders push back on state rental legislation. 8
Happenings
Community events, announcements. 10-11 Save a date. 12-13
PropertyWatch.
14
BB extends building moratorium. 16
Streetlife. 20 WMFR announces annual awards. 21
Obituaries. 22 Holmes Beach observes Florida Arbor Day. 24 A winter sunrise. 26 AME kids take kindness challenge. 26 Football dominates center field. 28 Winter fishing. 29
ISL BIZ. 30
The Best News on Anna Maria Island Since 1992
www.islander.org
Holmes Beach presses for treehouse demolition
By Terry O’Connor Islander Reporter It’s time to knock it down. the nearly five-year legal battle waged between the city of Holmes Beach and the owners of an illegal beachfront treehouse is entering its final stages. Or so the city hopes. the city issued a code enforcement notice Jan. 18 directing the treehouse owners to apply for a demolition permit. Failure to do so within three weeks likely would result in a city lawsuit to force compliance, according to Mayor Bob Johnson. After the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a petition filed by Lynn tran and husband Richard Hazen, the treehouse owners said they would ask the city for a reprieve from demolition for the treehouse at their property at 103 29th St., which includes their home and four short-term rental units named Angelinos Sea Lodge. “We had planned to ask the city leaders for reconsideration, taking into account the fact that there are many others who have asked the treehouse to stay from near and far, all the way to London, Germany and
notice, tran wrote. “to our disappointment, we received a code enforcement notice from the mayor to apply for a demolition permit, following the order of the defunct code enforcement board back in 2013,” tran wrote. “We don’t have a plan today.” Johnson said tran and Hazen have until Feb. 9 to apply for a permit to demolish the structure, which was built in 2011 without city or state permits. tran said earlier in January she would ask for a meeting to pursue saving the treehouse. Instead, the city issued what amounts to an ultimatum. tran and Hazen have been under city order to remove the treehouse since 2013. It’s been a long, expensive court battle. tran and Hazen say they’ve paid more than $180,000 in attorney fees and costs, which does not include city-imposed fines Holmes Beach is pressing the owners to ordered July 22, 2015, of $50 per day, apply for a permit to demolish their treeamounting to $45,600 as of Jan. 19. house. Islander Photo: Bonner Joy City treasurer Lori Hill said Holmes Spain,” tran wrote in a Jan. 19 email to the Beach has paid nearly $130,000 in attorney Islander. fees and costs. those hopes were dashed by the city More treehouse news, pages 2, 3.
Cold-stunned sea turtle rescued by youth
ITPO charts 2018 course. 14
Shorebird survey. 27
By ChrisAnn Silver esformes The Islander It pays to pay attention in school. Max Higgins, 11, of Anna Maria, a fifthgrader at Anna Maria elementary School, applied knowledge learned from educational talks at his school when he discovered a green sea turtle in trouble Jan. 19 in the rocks on the shoreline near the Rod & Reel Pier in Anna Maria. According to his mother, Laurie Jo Higgins, Max was fishing at dusk near the rocks when she came to pick him up. He told her he’d found a turtle in the rocks and took her to the spot. “Max knew not to touch it and that we were supposed to call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission hotline for help,” Higgins said, referring to federal regulations that prohibit handling the endangered species. “He said he knew what to do because he’d learned from turtle Watch talks at his school.” Higgins said they waited with the sea turtle until FWC representatives contacted Suzi Fox, Anna Maria Island turtle Watch
executive director, who responded to the scene. Fox identified the juvenile green sea turtle and confirmed it was suffering the effects of a rapid drop in water temperature, known as “cold-stunning.” Please see SeA TuRTle Page 2
AMI chamber names new president
After six years on staff and several months as acting president of the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce, terri Kinder is the new president for the Kinder 600-plus member business organization. Please see TReeHOuSe Page 2 Kinder stepped into the top position on the departure of president Deb Wing Dec. 1, 2017. then-board chair eric Cairns said a nationwide search for a replacement would begin, however, the search stayed in-house. Kinder began work at the chamber more than six years ago and was promoted to vice president in July 2015. A vice president has not been named. Kinder said Jan. 19, “I’m very humbled by the faith (the board members) are putting in me to continue moving the chamber forward as a positive resource for our business community, its residents and visitors.” A juvenile green sea turtle is prepped for Board chair Bev Lesnick did not respond transport Jan. 20 to Mote Marine Labora- to a request for comment by press time. tory in Sarasota. Islander Photo: AMITW — Sandy Ambrogi