The PBA Annual Meeting will be held Monday, November 12th at 5:30 at the Beach Community Church meeting hall. Agenda items include:

• Update from Attorney Danny Kepner on the oral arguments before the FL Supreme Court on the Pensacola Beach and Navarre Beach tax lawsuits.
• Discussion and PBA membership straw poll on the proposed dog parks on Pensacola Beach (See article below).
• Beachkeepers update
• Election of Directors – we have 6 great candidates for 5 positions

If you cannot attend, you can download a proxy to vote on directors.

It is also time to renew your membership for 2013. Dues are $30 per year for a household or business. A bargain. Bring a check to the meeting or pay online with Paypal on this website.

Escambia County is the only Florida County with nesting sea turtles that does not have a lighting ordinance to reduce the impact of bright lights on nesting sea turtles and their hatchlings.  On November 15th, a new ordinance will be presented to the BOCC to require new and existing (with a compliance time of five years ) construction on Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key to use “turtle friendly” lighting. The ordinance will also prohibit leaving tents, chairs, beach equipment, etc. on the beach overnight, as these can be major obstructions for sea turtles and other wildlife.

PBA has been active in working with the County staff on the wording of the ordinance. If you believe we need this ordinance, please contact Commissioner Grover Robinson to express your support.   His office phone is 595-4940 or gcrobins@co.escambia.fl.us

The existing noise ordinance for Escambia County has been struck down by the local courts as being too vague and not treating all areas of the County consistently.  The noise ordinance for Pensacola Beach had a universal 24/7 sound level limit of 70 decibels , and did not differentiate between different land uses – residential and commercial. A new ordinance is being drafted and will be presented to the Escambia Board of County Commissioners on Oct. 11th.

PBA member Ray Ascherfeld is accumulating signatures on petitions to present to the BOCC to support a more sensible noise ordinance for the Beach and the whole County.  If you are interested in signing the petition to support his effort, call Ray at 934-8977.

The annual meeting for PBA will be held at 5:30 on Monday, November 12th at the Beach Community Church. Commissioner Grover Robinson will discuss the BP oil spill RESTORE Act funding and the potential impact it could have to pay for Pensacola Beach infrastructure and environmental projects. And Attorney Danny Kepner will update us on the oral arguments he made before the FL Supreme Court on Nov. 6th and the status of our tax lawsuits. Please mark your calendar. Bring your checkbook if you want to renew for 2013 or if you haven't paid your dues for 2012.

Property taxation is an issue of great importance to many Beach leaseholders.  There is some news that PBA members might be interested in.

In February of 2012 the Florida Supreme Court accepted jurisdiction in the Pensacola Beach and Navarre Beach cases challenging ad valorem taxation of leasehold improvements and land.  At that time, the Court dispensed with oral argument in both cases.  We received word today that the request oral argument made by the attorneys representing the leaseholders has been granted.  Oral argument in both cases has been scheduled for the docket on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 9am.  The order in which the cases on the docket are heard will be determined later.  The Court indicated that a maximum of 20 minutes per side will be allowed for the attorneys to make their case.

The Pensacola Beach case is known as 1108 Ariola, ET. AL vs. Chris Jones, ET. AL (SC11-2231) and contests the taxation of leasehold improvements.  The Navarre Beach case is known as Accardo ET. AL. vs. Gregory Brown (SC11-1445).  The briefs filed with the attorneys from both sides as well as the "Friend of the Court" brief filed by Portofino in support of the Pensacola Beach case can be viewed at www.pbeachtaxsuit.com   It is not light reading.

Keep in mind that November 6th is election day and that Tallahassee is one hour ahead of Pensacola.  More information will be forthcoming for those interested in travelling to Tallahassee to attend the oral argument and how to view the arguments over the Internet.

The schedule for the oral arguments is nearly 2 months away.  When the Supreme Court will render a decision, is still unknown.  At least, the issue of taxing leasehold property will have its day in the highest court in the state.

If you have any questions, please email them and we will try to address them on the PBA web site or in our newsletter.

Submitted by Lila Cox

 

In July, all the necessary documents were filed with the FL Supreme Court regarding the Pensacola Beach and Navarre Beach ad-valorem tax cases. Our attorneys requested an opportunity to make oral arguments, but the Court turned down that request. Now we sit and wait. The Supreme Court is under no obligation to rule within any specific time, but our attorneys are hopeful for a ruling before the end of the year.

Pensacola Beach Advocates conducted an online survey to get input from the community on the Pensacola Beach Master Plan. A total of 631 people completed the survey, giving their priorities on 26 different topics.

The top ten items that received the most support (high or mid priority) include:

• Expanded trolley service (75%)
• Improve pedestrian crosswalks (73%)
• Left turn lane eastbound into Via DeLuna shopping ctr (71%)
• Improving signalled intersection (65%)
• Moving SRIA offices (65%)
• Put Via DeLuna utilities underground (65%)
• Roundabout at Ft. Pickens Entrance (54%)
• Add landscaping to core area ony if it does not reduce parking (53%)
• Add a parking garage (51%)
• Electric smart signage on parking availability (51%)

View detailed summary of survey results at our website.

For 2013, the County will no longer be sending our separate billings for MSBU fees. They will be included in your Ad Valorem tax bill you receive in November. The Ad Valorem taxes, together with the MSBU fees, will be due March 31st, 2013, as they have been in the past.

The Ad valorem taxes billed are for calendar 2012. The MSBU taxes (on the same billing statement) will be for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2012, as they have been in the past. If a leaseholder were to sell their leasehold in 2013, the closing agent should treat these two portions of the tax bill separately for the purposes of pro-rating taxes in the closing statement.

There is a public hearing scheduled for September 11, 2012 at 5:00pm at the Commissioners Chambers on the first floor of the County Government Complex at 221 Palafox Place, Pensacola FL.

Thank goodness Tropical Storm Isaac spared Pensacola Beach. We can handle a tropical storm. The ECUA had issued an order on Monday to shut down the water and sewer service on Pensacola Beach on Monday night. The PBA and several beach businesses aggressively contacted ECUA officials and County Commissioners and were able to get ECUA to reverse that order. We felt it made no sense for the County to issue a voluntary evacuation order and for the ECUA to discontinue service to those residents and businesses that decided to stay. We will work with County and ECUA officials to clarify the decision making process for future storms.

You can sign up for email alerts from the Santa Rosa Island Authority for announcements regarding emergency information, tropical weather updates, evaluation inormation, damage assessments and return information after an evacuation. Visit http://sria-fla.com/e-alert-signup.php to sign up.

Make plans to participate in RECYCLEMANIA on October 13t (where you can sell or donate your treasures, shred sensitive documents, and donate non working electronics).

The day includes:

• Flea Market/Island-style Yard Sale where individuals may bring household items to sell from 8-12noon. Yard sale “space” is FREE to PBA members, and only $20 for non members. To reserve your space and register, go to www.pbadvocates.org, stop by the Pensacola Beach Visitors Information Center, or pick up an Island Times for a registration form.
• Goodwill Easter Seals will have a truck to accept your donated items. You can donate what you don’t
  sell at the end of the sale, or if you don’t want to participate in the yard sale, just bring your items to donate! They will take household items including small appliances (irons, toaster ovens, microwaves, TVs, etc.), clothing, toys, and also computers and related electronicsundefined working or not.
• Free shredding by Gilmore Services

Thanks to our sponsors of this event. Premier Island Management Group, Santa Rosa Island Authority, Holiday Inn Express Pensacola Beach, Pensacola Beach Women's Club and the Island Times.

Beachkeepers is still accepting sponsors ($100) and volunteers for this event.

For more information