"I think enforcement is going to be a problem
no matter what we put in place," Beach Bites
owner Jeff Madden noted.
"I agree with you," Jacobsen replied. "I've
been dealing with [flouting of the SKOD
regulations] since '08," as a member of the
SKVA. "All we can do is continue to try and
push forward."
"People who are going to obey the rules are
going to obey the rules," Russell Matthes,
co-owner of the Daiquiri Deck Raw Bar
restaurants, added. "The caveat [for support-
ing the revision] needs to be … 100 percent
enforcement. Don't pass it if you're not going
to enforce it," Matthes said, referring to the
county commissioners.
"If our current [county] Code Enforcement
[officer] is too busy dealing with illegal rent-
als and everything else on the key," Jacobsen
continued, "what is the point of going through
all of this. … There were rules in place that
weren't being enforced from the get-go."
(John Lally, the primary Code Enforcement
officer on the key, has told SKVA and Siesta
Key Association (SKA) members — as well
as this reporter — that violations of the coun-
ty's regulation regarding rentals of homes and
condos have made up the vast majority of
cases he has investigated over the past sev-
eral months.)
Businesses theoretically self-enforce the
SKOD provisions, Kay Kouvatsos, co-owner of
Debra Lynn-Schmitz is the executive director of the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce.
Sarasota News Leader August 8 & 15, 2014 Page 53
