Manatee County legislators consider consolidating 3 Anna Maria Island cities and Bradenton
All options are on the table in a study pushed by Manatee County legislators that will help state officials decide if the three cities on Anna Maria Island should be combined into one new city, consolidated into the city of Bradenton, or de-annexed altogether.
Legislators started the effort last year when the state approved a bill that allows Manatee County to build a parking garage in the city of Holmes Beach without a permit from the city.
That effort included plans for the research arm of the state legislature, the Office of Program Policy Analysis, to study the consolidation of the three island cities.
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Rep. Will Robinson, R-Bradenton, said results from the study will not be ready in time for consideration during the upcoming 2024 legislative session. Instead, the bill is likely to be completed around the summer for consideration in 2025.
He told the Herald-Tribune that the growing ratio of short-term rentals on the island compared to the number of permanent residents led him to question whether it is necessary to have three municipalities overseeing island governance.
"Do we really need three police departments, three building departments, three of everything in these small cities?" Robinson said. "That's really all it is, it's a study that evaluates all the options."
"The most likely thing we do is do nothing because it's complicated, it's a big deal to people that live out there, but I think right now is a good time to study it," he said. "I know people are concerned about the city of Bradenton option, but Sen. (Jim) Boyd and I thought we should study all the options out there and not just options we like or don't like."
City of Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth said state-level pre-emptions approved in 2011 prevent cities from imposing limits on the length of stay, which has led to a glut of short-term rentals on Anna Maria Island and other tourism destinations.
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She expressed concern about the possibility that the creation of a new city, or consolidation into Bradenton, could lead to more density and high-rise construction on the island.
"The cities, with their charters, have been able to protect this and make this a destination everyone wants to go to," Titsworth said. "The city of Holmes Beach alone contributed $40 million to the bed tax... We have zero debt and we have $12 million in reserves. Who wouldn't want us?"
"The real thing is that the (city) charters are protecting the residents out here, the city commission can't just come in and say we want to raise height limits," she said. "It has to go to a referendum. The voters get to say that. Well if they get rid of the charters they don't have to deal with those pesky constituents."
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Anna Maria, Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach could join with Bradenton
