Please Florida Legislator, How Many More Residents Do We Have to Lose Before You Wake Up?
The Beach Community of Anna Maria Island is down 20% in permanent residents. Here’s one more example reported in the Sun Newspaper on March 1, 2017 where a resident has served his community for years, but has had it with the disruption caused by vacation rentals. He is no longer a participant, just a statistic.
P&Z member leaving AMI over rentals
JOE HENDRICKS | SUNBY Sun Staff Writer
Bradenton Beach Planning and Zoning Board member Frank Harrison tendered his written resignation last week after recently announcing that he would soon be leaving the board because he and his wife, Priscilla VonAhnen, are selling their house on 11th Street South and leaving their Island home of more than 40 years.
The couple is moving across the bridge to the north end of Longboat Key. In recent years, Harrison has repeatedly expressed displeasure that he and his wife gradually became the only permanent residents left on a street that is now populated by vacation rental homes. The couple spearheaded the citizen-led efforts to enact the voter-approved, six-month building moratorium that is scheduled to expire in May.
During his final planning board meeting, Harrison encouraged the board and the city commission to continue working to address the concerns associated with large vacation rentals taking over residential neighborhoods.