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Letter to the editor

Landlords on beach win over panel of judges

By Times Staff Writer
Published December 11, 2007

CLEARWATER

It's okay for one group of homeowners on north Clearwater Beach to continue renting out their homes for less than a month. That's the unanimous ruling from a three-judge panel on the 2nd District Court of Appeal. Clearwater has contended it outlawed short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods decades ago. But the city began to enforce the ban in earnest about 2003, when the number of short-term rentals on the beach exploded. At that time, the city also revised its ordinance to ban any residential rentals shorter than 31 days. In May, Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Nelly Khouzam sided with landlords of 31 properties who said they had been renting long before 2003 and said the city's enforcement had been lax. Khouzam did say the ban applied to any other property that started the practice after 2003.

PALM HARBOR

20-year-old faces molestation charge

A 20-year-old Palm Harbor man has been arrested on a charge alleging he molested a middle-school-aged girl in a restroom at his apartment complex's pool late Sunday afternoon. Aubrey G. Griffin, who lives at Stonegate apartments at 31177 U.S. 19 N, was arrested and admitted to his actions early Monday morning, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said. Griffin and the victim were acquainted before the incident, officials said. A friend of the victim later told one of her parents what happened, and they, in turn, told the victim's parents, who contacted authorities. Griffin was charged with lewd and lascivious battery and was being held at the Pinellas County Jail on Monday in lieu of $20,000 bail.

TARPON SPRINGS

Woman badly hurt in cycle wreck

A Tarpon Springs woman was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident Sunday evening, authorities said. Tammy Gardner, 36, was riding on a 2004 KTM motorcycle driven by Jeffrey David Bush, 34, of Tarpon Springs when the accident occurred a little after 6 p.m. The motorcycle was westbound on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive when it struck a 2000 Lexus turning north onto Huey Avenue, according to Tarpon Springs police. Police said Gardner, who was not wearing a helmet, suffered life-threatening injuries and was flown to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, where she was in stable condition Monday. Bush was taken to a hospital for treatment of less serious injuries. The driver of the Lexus, Yamini Amin, 44, of Tarpon Springs was shaken but unhurt, police said. An investigation is continuing.

[Last modified December 10, 2007, 20:51:16]