Pelican Press AN OBSERVER NEWSPAPER
INSIDE
THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2011
62061
S I E S TA K EY S A RA S OTA
booming business By Rachel Brown Hackney | Managing Editor
No. 1 beach equals big summer season A full parking lot at Siesta Key Beach is translating into a lot of customers for Key merchants and restaurants.
DIVERSIONS It was while touring cathedrals 50 years ago in Europe that Grace Greene discovered her appreciation for stained glass.
NEIGHBORHOOD
As predicted, Key businesses are seeing a lot more tourists than usual this summer, thanks to that No. 1 beach ranking bestowed on Siesta Public Beach before Memorial Day weekend. Anecdotal reports from the island’s law enforcement officers and the county’s code enforce-
ment officer are borne out by statistics from local shops, rental companies and businesses, the Pelican Press has learned in interviews. The Palm Bay Club on Midnight Pass Road has recorded a more than 20% surge in revenue this summer, Assistant Manager
Carlin Strouse said, with its busiest May, June, July and August ever. “Certainly the telephone’s ringing nonstop would suggest (help from the ranking),” Strouse said.
SEE TOURISM / PAGE 2A
Rachel S. O’Hara
Beach Bazaar customers have been gathering up souvenirs as well as beach supplies.
PITTER PATTER OF FELINE FEET
COOPED UP
13A
Sophie Williamson’s interest in chickens has taken her from addressing the City Commission to raising hens in her backyard.
I SCREAM …
16A
Who can resist an ice cream social in the middle of summer? St. Boniface members welcomed the cool treats.
4
CELEBRATING
YEARS
1971-2011
INDEX
Business directory.........22A Classifieds ...................22A Community Calendar......19A Cops Corner..................11A Crossword.....................21A Opinion..........................6A Real Estate...................20A Weather........................21A
Vol. 41, No. 5 | Two sections YourObserver.com
Tatiana Staats
Weather conditions this summer may make it easier for Siesta residents to spot the normally reclusive, resident bobcats on the south end of the Key, including this mother and her kitten. See details and more photos on Page 15A.
know your neighbors
By Rachel Brown Hackney | Managing Editor
Short-term rentals continue to upset residents Although sympathetic to tourists, the county’s code enforcement officer is working to end illegal home rentals on Siesta Key. As illegal short-term rentals continue to spark complaints, Code Enforcement Officer John Lally has found himself trying to balance the demands of tourists and full-time residents, “I really don’t want (tourists) to leave with a bad taste in their mouths,” Lally told members of the Siesta Key Association earlier this month. The key to citing someone for violating the county’s ordinance on short-term rentals are the leases provided to the rent-
ers and an exchange of money, Lally said. However, procuring those documents is a delicate task. “I’m trying to be as light-footed as I can on this,” he said. Lourdes Ramirez, former longtime SKA president, told Lally she understood his compassion for tourists. “But understand that those of us who live in those singlefamily neighborhoods and deal with these (short-term rentals) … especially during Spring
Break, when (visitors) think they can party into the pool area and they’re very loud at one o’clock in the morning … it’s very hard for us as well,” she said. Short-term rentals don’t belong in areas zoned Residential Single Family, she added. Catherine Luckier, current SKA president, said she and her fellow board members continue to receive emails and
SEE RENTALS / PAGE 8A