BY PAM BRANNON Gulf Breeze News news@gulfbreezenews.com

The 2013 PBA Annual Membership Meeting was held on Monday, October 21st at the Beach Community Church Hall. Members voted on a change to their By-laws, heard from Attorney Danny Kepner on the tax lawsuit, about Flood Insurance, Fee Simple Title, Restore Funds and an idea for improvements to Park West. Read Meeting Minutes

On September 5th, the PBA Board of Directors unanimously elected Terry Preston as the new PBA President. Terry, who currently serves on the PBA Board, was one of the first female graduates of the US Merchant Marine Academy in 1978, and bought her house on Pensacola Beach in 1979. After a career that included sailing on coastwise tankers, managing the Environmental department of the Naval Aviation Depot and Directing the Environmental, Safety and Quality departments for Atlantic Marine’s Alabama Shipyards, she returned to her island home in 2007 and runs her own EHS consulting business. Jim Cox, who served as President for the past 5 years, has moved to Gulf Breeze. He is still very interested in Beach issues and plans to stay involved with PBA.

As you know, all our Pensacola Beach properties are leased from the County. Everyone else in the County owns their property, called fee-simple ownership. If the Florida Supreme Court rules that our land and leasehold improvements are subject to ad-valorem taxation, then the Escambia County has committed to provide fee-simple title to Beach leaseholder, so we will have a title just like all other Escambia citizens and businesses. However, since the original deed from the U. S. government contains restrictions on Escambia County’s ability to transfer title to any land on Pensacola Beach, it will literally require an act of Congress to change the original deed.

In August, U. S. Representative Jeff Miller introduced “HR 2954”, a bill to allow Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties to make fee-simple title available to leaseholders. A sponsor for the Senate is still needed to get the legislation into that chamber’s agenda. The process in Congress will probably take two or three years.

So IF the Florida Supreme Court rules against the leaseholders and says both the land and improvements are subject to ad-valorem taxation, and IF both houses of Congress pass legislation, leaseholders should be able to obtain fee-simple title to their property. The draft Federal legislation includes a provision saying that any profit the County makes on the transfer of fee-simple title would revert to the Federal government. The County’s current intention is that they would transfer title with just an administrative fee.

There have been several editorials in the Pensacola News Journal raising the question of whether fee-simple title will allow privatization of our beautiful beaches. The draft legislation specifically says “Escambia County and Santa Rosa County shall in perpetuity preserve those area on Santa Rosa Island currently dedicated to conservation, preservation, public, recreation, access and public parking..”

So our beautiful 8 miles of public beaches and all the other great public parking and access will be preserved.

PBA worked with the staff of Escambia County and Santa Rosa County on the language of the draft legislation, and we are please to see it finally move forward.

Each year there are nesting sea turtles that do not come to our beaches because of bright lights, or hatchlings that are distracted by lights and crawl inland to death rather than toward the Gulf waters. In July, the County adopted a Sea Turtle Lighting Ordinance for Pensacola Beach. The Ordinance defines what kinds of lights are permitted if they are within eyesight of the Beach. Generally, lights must have cutoffs so there is no light shining onto the beach, or need to be of a low-spectrum color, like high-pressure sodium lights or bug lights, which do not attract the sea turtles. Also, white metal halide lights are prohibited throughout the island.

The rules are effective immediately for new construction, and existing residences and businesses have 5 years to come into compliance. At PBA’s urging, the SRIA and Grover Robinson will be seeking BP RESTORE funding to help residences and businesses with the cost of compliance.

PBA worked closely with the County environmental staff and the local Beach businesses to craft the Sea Turtle Lighting Ordinance. Over the next 5 years are Beach will gradually become more turtle-friendly!

Last month the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners approved a new Noise Ordinance. It contains provisions to prohibit unreasonably loud noises, with particular attention to prohibiting such noise after 10:00 pm. However, for Pensacola Beach the Ordinance left in place the current rule of not permitting noise above 70 decibels at any time, 24/7, in both the Core Area and residential areas. The County asked the SRIA to come back with a recommendation for a revised ordinance for Pensacola Beach which would differentiate between the needs of the Core Area and the residential areas.

PBA, who has been working on this issue for two years, met with SRIA staff and with SRIA Board members, and on August 29th the SRIA approved a recommendation to the County that the residential areas of Pensacola Beach adopt the County standards of “no unreasonable noise, especially after 10:00 pm”, but that the 70 decibel rule stay in effect in the Core Area, where many businesses have bands, etc. that perform after 10:00pm. We are pleased with this progress, and will now work with the BOCC to get it adopted by the County.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon

Pensacola Beach, Florida--Casino Beach Parking Lot, West End (Near Ft. Pickens Road Entrance)

Download Event Flyer

Free Paper Shredding

We have contracted with Gilmore Services to provide a shredding truck and operator. Anyone may bring 50 lbs. of household documents to be shredded. No business may participate. Just drive up to the truck and your documents will be unloaded and shredded.

 

Community Yard Sale

 

We will once again host another community yard sale called ‘Junque in Your Trunque’. All sellers must register in advance and we can accommodate up to 50 sellers. The cost to have a table is $20 for non-members and free to paid members of PBA. 

 

Applications are also available at the Pensacola Beach Visitor's Center or the Island Times Newspaper. Completed applications can be dropped off at the Visitor's Center or mailed to PBA, PO Box 1261, Gulf Breeze, Florida, 32562. You MUST submit an application and a check to sell.

At ‘Junque in Your Trunque,’ you may sell household items; no retail, arts/crafts, consumables, plants, animals or hazardous material. All items sold must be allowed by law. Additionally, we would like to expand the items to be sold to include surf boards, paddleboards, wet suits and others items used to enjoy the beach. Each seller will be assigned a parking space where you will pull in your vehicle and sell your items from the rear of your vehicle. Bring a table to display your items. If you plan to bring a trailer you must advise us in advance.

Donations

Goodwill Easter Seals will be on site for anyone wishing to make donations, whether or not you are a seller in the Yard Sale. For sellers, they will take items you do not sell if you would like to donate them. They accept all household items, clothing, toys, as well as computers and related electronic, small household appliances such as irons, toaster ovens, microwaves and TVs. An attendant will be on hand to receive the items and issue receipts.

 

ECUA Recycling Information and Children’s Artwork Display

 

ECUA will be on site with their beautiful new recycling truck and giveaways to promote free recycling on

Pensacola Beach. Artwork from the Pensacola Beach Elementary School Art Contest will be on display.

 

Turtle Conservation Center

 

The Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center will be on site to sell coffee and water in reusable containers to raise money to build a center to rehabilitate injured and sick sea turtles.

 

From 10:00 am until 11:30 am we are hosting a Sea Turtle Homecoming on the stage at Casino Beach. This is a celebration of our sea turtles who return to nest. This is a fun, educational event to increase awareness of how we can coexist with these amazing visitors and still enjoy our beach. There will be family fun activities, games and contests, and information for children and adults.

 

Sponsored by the Pensacola Beach Advocates, the Holiday Inn Express Pensacola Beach, the Margaritaville Beach Hotel and ECUA.

Let your voice be heard !  Escambia County is holding a public hearing on the two proposed dog parks on Pensacola Beach this Thursday, Feb. 21^st at 5:30 in the County Building chambers at Palafox and Government streets.

At the PBA annual meeting on November, we held a straw poll on the dog parks, and PBA members voted 3 to 1 against the dog parks.  In January, the SRIA approved two dog parks for a one year trial period.  The locations are both on the Gulf – at parking lot B, just east of Park West, and parking lot E, just east of Portofino.  Dogs will be allowed from sunrise to 10:00 am (7:00 to 10:00 during turtle nesting season), and they must be on a leash.  Owners are required to pick up the dog feces.

 

Now the issue is now before the Board of County Commissioners.  If you have an opinion on the dog parks – for or against – PBA encourages you to attend the public hearing on Thursday and let your voice be heard.  It is important that the Commissioners hear from the public on this issue.  They will be voting on it this Thursday Feb 21st.

On Tuesday, November 6th, the FL Supreme court heard oral arguments on both the Navarre Beach case challenging taxation of leased land and the Pensacola Beach residential challenge of taxation of leased improvements. We do not know when the court will make their final ruling. Please note that if you have had any change in ownership on a property that is involved in the lawsuit you should send an email to beachtaxes@gmail.com. For more information visit http://www.pbeachtaxsuit.com. 

The Santa Rosa Island Authority has approved a one-year trial of two dog parks on Pensacola Beach. Escambia County will vote to approve or dis-approve this decision soon. The parks are to be located at Park East (past Portofino on the Gulf side where the elevated bathrooms are located) and Parking Lot B (an open section of Gulffront next to Portside Villas prior to the public park/picnic area on Ft. Pickens). Dogs must be leashed and off the beach by 10:00am.