City Commission Work Session

1 MINUTES City of Holmes Beach City Commission Work Session February 24, 2026, 2:00 p.m. Patricia A. Geyer Commission Chambers 5801 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach FL 34217 Present: Commissioner Diggins, Commissioner Oelfke, Commissioner Patel, Commissioner Schaefer Absent: Chair Whitmore Staff Present: Mayor Titsworth, City Attorney Mora, City Clerk Johnston, Chief Tokajer, Director of Development Services Minor _____________________________________________________________________ 1. Call to Order Vice-Chair Diggins called the meeting to order at 3:45 p.m. 2. Roll Call 3. Comments by the Public None. 4. Unfinished Business 5. New Business 5.a Draft Ordinance 26-03 - Seaside Gardens - Non-Conforming Structures Director of Development Services Minor reported that the City Commission had previously adopted an Ordinance relating to Seaside Gardens that allowed their non- conforming structures to be reconstructed according to code if involuntarily damaged 50 percent or more of the townhome's market value. A poll was taken during the February 26, 2026, meeting held by the Seaside Garden's Civic Association, Inc. The majority of those in attendance requested the City's code be changed to also include those townhouses "which have been voluntarily demolished". Director of Development Services Minor and Building Official Schwartz met with a property owner earlier that morning. It was noted that the proposed Ordinance would allow all the townhouse buildings in their group to go up at once. The property owners plan to attend the City Commission meeting when the Ordinance is presented for First Reading. An issue that came up during their meeting was that when the structure was permitted the firewall goes to 36-ft. There was a question of whether windows would be allowed if there was no adjoining wall.

2 Director of Development Services Minor explained that once a wall goes up next to an adjoining unit it is no longer a fire wall. However, if the neighbor then decides to build up that adjoining wall would then become a firewall. In addition, there is a common wall agreement with the neighbor that had to be honored. Faux windows would be allowed. Discussion continued relating to fire walls and common walls requiring fire related requirements. AMI Sun Newspaper Report Hendricks asked for clarification relating to the Seaside Gardens non-conformities. Director of Development Services Minor explained that due to their non-conforming status, they could not rebuild. There was no mechanism to approve the non-conforming single family attached townhomes and they could not meet the lot size, setbacks, lot coverage, impervious surface coverage, etc. Ordinance 23-03 allows the property owners to rebuild if involuntarily damaged by 50 percent or more. The proposed Ordinance allows rebuilding at any time if voluntarily demolished. Parking or storage will be required to be on the bottom level if they choose to build up. Though impacts during construction of the damaged townhomes are significant when sharing a common law, the City has not received any complaints. Action: There was unanimous consensus to move Ordinance 26-03 to a Regular Meeting for First Reading. 6. Questions and Comments 6.a Questions and Comments from Mayor and City Commission None. 6.b Questions and Comments from City Attorney None. 6.c Questions and Comments from Staff Death of Manatee County Commissioner Felts Chief Tokajer announced that he had just received a phone call from Chair Whitmore stating that Manatee County Commissioner Carol Felts was found dead at her home. 6.d Questions and Comments from the Public and Press 7. Adjournment Vice-Chair Diggins adjourned the meeting at 4:02 p.m. _________________________ City Clerk _________________________ Minutes Approved