Council Meeting Covers Wide Range of Issues

The Marco Island City Council met on November 1, which because of the Thanksgiving holiday schedule, will be their only meeting this month.

Newly-elected Chairman Erik Brechnitz assumed the position of Chair for an unprecedented third time. 

During the time allotted for citizens’ comments, local resident Dr. Gerald Swiacki came to the podium to request that council revisit enacting a rental registration ordinance. During the October 18, 2021 City Council meeting, the newly-designated Assistant City Manager, Dr. Casey Lucas, reported on city staff’s work creating a potential Registration Program for short term rental units on Marco Island.

This issue received some traction, as Councilor Rich Blonna expressed support for such an ordinance. Blonna did, however, oppose the annual inspection suggestions made in the presentation.

Deed restrictions continued to be an issue of discussion, specifically those that prohibit businesses from operating in neighborhoods designated for single family homes. Deed restrictions are not controlled by the city, but instead were relegated to the Marco Island Civic Association (MICA) by the Deltona Corporation prior to the city’s incorporation in 1998. 

Council Vice Chair Jared Grifoni questioned why, in the event that the Registration Program is passed, the city wouldn’t require all homes be registered. In this discussion, Grifoni agreed with Councilor Becky Irwin and Chairman Brechnitz, stating that yearly safety inspections would open a massive “Pandora’s Box.” He further stated that he did not see any advantage to what was being proposed.

Councilor Greg Folley shared his belief that this issue is premature, and said that he would like to wait and see how the new noise ordinance might play out. “I wouldn’t mind seeing this come back a little later and with more citizen input in a few months. I don’t want to say we are done with it.” Folley moved to defer the matter until the second meeting in January 2022. He originally received a second to his motion from Chairman Brechnitz, but that motion was opposed by Vice Chair Grifoni, who questioned the wisdom of doing that without further direction to staff. Brechnitz subsequently withdrew his motion and the entire issue went silent.

Council continued to work on the much-debated noise ordinance, setting 10 PM as a time certain and applying a 68-decibel rating and/or plainly audible standard. Marco Island Police Chief Tracy Frazzano pointed out that the data shows the vast majority of noise complaint calls are made between 10 PM and midnight.

Marco resident and former city councilor Howard Reed came forward, saying that, “Peace and quiet is a property right.” Reed felt that every time the noise ordinance had come forward, it continued to be weakened. Issues concerning Short Term Rentals (STRs) were also a concern during Reed’s four years on council.

Resident Chris Hanson reminded councilors that sound travels on water. He stated that he had purchased his home on Marco for peace and quiet. Hanson expressed his aggravation with the noise issue, specifically that he would have to stay up until after 10 PM to make a call to authorities. He requested a compromise in time to a 9 PM cutoff for noise. “Why would these people think it’s okay to make this level of noise?” said Hanson.

Councilor Blonna suggested that 9 PM should be considered as an amendment to the proposal. However, Chief Frazzano explained that the decibel standard is already in effect 24 hours a day, seven days a week. She stated that they are trying to find a happy medium, based on existing data and input from the public.

The changes proposed were adopted by a 5-2 vote, with Councilors Blonna and Joe Rola opposed.

Council also passed legislation to approve changes to the Commercial Sign Ordinance. These changes will allow McDonalds to update its signs to newer, more technologically advanced signage for its dual drive-thru lanes.

Council “tweaked” city ordinances to allow cosmetic tattooing, a modern, semi-permanent makeup technique, to be performed at island beauty salons.

Council modified existing ordinances to permit the use of synthetic turf in residential areas. Synthetic turf application is now allowed within the Land Development Code.

Council discussion turned to whether to retain the services of outside counsel or hire an in-house attorney to represent the city. After a lengthy discussion, council agreed to continue the services of Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman, the city’s present law firm.

Council’s next regularly scheduled meeting will be at 5:30 PM on December 6, 2021 in Council Chambers.