MANATEE -- Members of the Tourist Development Council today OK'd a motion stating that it is "unwise" for cities, such as those on Anna Maria Island, to allow what are essentially small hotels to be built in residential neighborhoods.

"It is not right," said TDC member Ed Chiles, owner of two restaurants on the island, who complained about large, 10- or 12-bedroom structures that have been called "oversized rentals" in Holmes Beach and Anna Maria. Other TDC members agreed, and the motion passed unanimously during the council's meeting at County Administrative Center.

The issue at hand was the growing number of large-scale single and two-family duplexes inside a specific area in the cities. Residents have complained the larger duplexes are changing the character of the communities from residential neighborhoods with long-term renters to vacationers coming to the island for a single week.

Voters ousted the mayor and several other city officials in Holmes Beach in November in a hard-fought election battle in which the "oversized rentals" issue was a key theme.

Sara Kennedy, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7031. Follow her on Twitter