Association must sign off on Colony renovation

Colony Beach & Tennis Resort unit owners who want to open a couple of beachfront buildings faced a major hurdle last week.

Town Manager Dave Bullock sent a memo to Colony Beach & Tennis Resort Association President Jay Yablon dated Thursday, Jan. 24, explaining some unit owners who want to renovate and re-open units have approached the town.

“The town believes that any request to perform work on the property or take responsibility for any portion or obligation of the property will need the written consent of the Association,” Bullock wrote. “This written consent will need to be presented to the town prior to the grant of any permit applications or utility account modifications.”

Those owners, according to Planning, Zoning and Building Director Robin Meyer, have even hired an appraiser to establish the value of the buildings they might seek to re-open.

But, now that Yablon and the Association must sign off on any proposed renovation, it’s likely the buildings won’t be re-opened individually.

Yablon told the Longboat Observer two weeks ago that opening up the units “is not a sanctioned activity by the Association.”

Yablon said a Colony owners’ meeting will be held at the end of February to discuss other potential redevelopment proposals.

Several issues exist with renovating the resort’s existing buildings.

Meyer said most of the buildings around the property use wooden pilings as part of their foundation and suggested it might be a stretch to convince Florida Emergency Management Association officials those repairs can be performed.

FEMA mandates that property owners are limited to spending no more than 50% of the value of an existing structure that doesn’t currently adhere to current flood regulations.

“What’s defined as the foundation for other buildings on the property will have to be investigated when the time comes,” Meyer said.

In the meantime, Bullock has named Assistant Town Manager Anne Ross as the Association’s new contact person for all Colony matters.

“Over the past year, town staff has fielded many questions from different owners associated with the Colony,” Bullock wrote. “This has taken a fair amount of staff time and is not always efficient. Therefore, the town is naming (Ross) as the representative to coordinate staff efforts and efficiencies.”