A new Sea Turtle Conservation Center is being built at the foot of the Navarre Bridge.  It will feature sea turtle exhibits and live sea turtles.  It will also have medical facilities and an operating room to treat and rehabilitate injured sea turtles.  The Center has launched a $350,000 campaign to fund the costs of the construction and equipment, and has raised about $250,000 so far.  Contributions should be made payable to the Navarre Chamber Foundation, 8668 Navarre Pkwy, Suite 142, Navarre FL 32566. For more information about this organization visit http://navarrebeachseaturtles.org.

The PBA Board of Directors has approved a $2,000 contribution to the Center.

2013 PBA annual dues of $30 are due now.  If you haven’t already paid your 2013 dues, you can pay on line at www.pbadvocates.org, or you can mail them to P. O. Box 1262, Gulf Breeze Fl 32562. If you have mailed a check in the last few days,  your membership record may not yet be updated with Active status. A family can have multiple email addresses (max of 3) attached to a single membership. To add a spouse or household member, login to your account, click View Profile, and in the Bundle summary section, click the Add Member button.

If you find these newsletters informational and relevant, please join PBA if you are not a current member. Membership costs $30 per year and is open to residents, leaseholders and those with any type of  business interest. Your 2013 membership status is shown below. Last year we implemented a new website that makes it easier to renew online. You can login to this site to pay your dues and update your member or contact profile.

To renew or update your membership login to our website with your email. You will need to reset your password the first time you access the site.  Once you have logged in successfully, click My Profile link in upper right corner of the screen to update your member/contact information.

New members can join online at http://www.pbadvocates.org/join

Currently, no dogs are allowed on any of our beaches.  The SRIA is considering a proposal that would:

• Allow dogs from sunrise to 10:00 am at both Park East and Park West
• Dog parks would be open 365 days per year
• Dogs at Park West would have to be on leashes
• Dogs at Park East could be off-leash except during bird and turtle nesting season
• Owners are required to pick up any dog poop – bag dispensers will be provided

This is going to be a hotly debated topic. There are people who feel strongly on both sides of this issue.  There are issues involving enforcement of the rules, liability, protection of endangered species, etc. to be resolved. The SRIA has asked the PBA to poll its members on the proposed dog parks, and a straw poll will be taken at the PBA Annual Meeting on November 12th.  If you cannot attend that meeting, but have an opinion on this matter, please submit a proxy form or e-mail your comments to info@pbadvocates.org.

The SRIA will have a public meeting on the dog parks on Wednesday, November 14th at 5:00 pm at the SRIA offices. The results of the PBA straw poll will be reported at that meeting.

On Tuesday, November 6th, the FL Supreme court will hear oral arguments on both the Navarre Beach case challenging taxation of leased land and the Pensacola Beach residential challenge of taxation of leased improvements.  The oral arguments begin at 9:00 eastern (8:00 local) time. Each side has only 20 minutes to argue each of the cases, so the whole proceeding should take 2 hours or less.

If you want to go in person, the Supreme Court is located at 500 S. Duval St. in downtown Tallahassee.  Keep in mind the 1 hour time change. 

If you want to watch the proceedings, you can access them at http://wfsu.org/gavel2gavel/

On Monday, November 5th from 6:00 to 8:00, Commissioner Grover Robinson will conduct a Town Hall meeting at the SRIA offices. Subjects include:

• BP fines – RESTORE Act monies coming to Escambia County
• Proposed Turtle Lighting Ordinance
• Proposed Noise Ordinance
• Discussion of events during hurricane Isaac and how they affected Beach residents and Businesses

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.

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