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Redington Beach

Split delegation gives Redington Beach chance to regulate short-term rentals

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Members of the Pinellas Legislative Delegation voted 6-4 Tuesday to pass a local bill that would give Redington Beach a chance to regulate short-term rentals. The bill, if passed by the Legislature, would give the town a chance to cure a mistake that was made in 2008 when town officials adopted a rule against short-term rentals. Although the council approved the ordinance, they did not give voters a chance to endorse the rule during a referendum. A referendum is required…

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Redington Beach may be able to regulate short-term rentals under proposed local bill

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

In 2008, Redington Beach passed an ordinance banning short-term rentals. But last year, they discovered that the ordinance was not enforceable because it had never gone to the voters as required by the Town Charter. That left officials with no way to handle two short-term rentals that left neighbors complaining. But members of the Pinellas County Legislative Delegation may come to the rescue. Under a local bill proposed by state Rep. Kathleen Peters and state Sen. Darryl Rouson, the ordinance…

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In nine Pinellas cities, some are re-elected, others face the voters next year

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Officials in 15 Pinellas cities are scheduled for a date with the ballot box in next March’s municipal elections. But, with qualifying closed in nine of those, some elected can relax because they have no opposition and are considered re-elected. Others weren’t so lucky. They’ll be facing the voters March 14. Here’s where the score card stands as of Friday. GULFPORT Two seats on the five-member council are up for grabs. In Ward 2, incumbent Christine Anne Brown is facing…

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Pinellas Legislative Delegation hears from frustrated beach mayor, homeowners

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Redington Beach Mayor Nick Simons and four of his constituents came to ask members of Pinellas’ Legislative Delegation to help municipalities that want to regulate short-term, vacation rentals. Delegations members heard their pain and frustration and made a move toward helping Redington Beach and a similar problem in Indian Rocks Beach. But they showed no interest in working to loosen restrictions on municipalities and counties that want the power to regulate those type rentals. “I want to see this problem…

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Jennifer Webb vows to help angry, frustrated homeowners in Redington Beach

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Jennifer Webb promised that, if elected, she would file a bill to overturn a state law that prohibits cities from restricting short-term rentals. Webb did not stop on that one issue. If elected, Webb said, she would work to restore home rule, the power of a municipality to regulate issues within their borders. Many municipalities have complained in recent years that laws passed by the Florida Legislature have eroded the concept of home rule by restricting cities’ legislative powers. “It…

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A point-by-point rebuttal of Diane Stenle’s editorial criticizing early mail-in voting

in Peter/The Bay and the 'Burg by

Let’s start being honest about why the St. Petersburg Times seeks to downplay the significance of early, mail-in voting: if voters cast their ballots early, that will lessen the importance of the Times‘ coverage, especially its editorial recommendations. My point-by-point response to Diane Stenle’s editorial is in italics. Candidates might as well throw out the play book on how to run campaigns for local offices in Pinellas County. It’s a whole new ball game. The game changer: mail balloting. Stenle…

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On the beaches, voters return familiar faces to their city halls

in The Bay and the 'Burg by

Voters re-elected incumbents in Belleair, Belleair Bluffs and Indian Rocks Beach as residents headed to the polls on March 10 to cast their ballots in their municipal elections. The residents of Belleair Bluffs gave Chris Arbutine a new two-year term and re-elected all three incumbent members of the city commission. Joe Barkley will finish out the remaining year of a two-year term. Suzy Sofer and John “Jack” Nazario outpolled Robert Russo to win full two-year terms. Winning with more than…

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