Casino boats eyeing Longboat's coast

APRIL FOOLS —

A giant “cha-ching” sound echoed through Longboat Key Town Commission Chambers earlier this week when commissioners heard the town received a letter of application from the Calusa Indian Tribe to anchor a casino boat to the Islander Club groins.

The boat would be the first of a “Calusas to Condominiums” casino theme that the tribe hopes to unveil throughout the state. Rumors circulated during the District 3 election that recently re-elected Vice Mayor David Brenner, who lives at the Islander Club and once chaired the board of an Atlantic City casino, would bring gambling to the island.

But insiders say that wasn’t how the plan came about.

Instead, a resident suggested the idea of a casino boat shaped in the image of the iconic “long boat” for which the Key is named. The suggestion was made during a mid-Key community planning exercise last summer during which University of Las Vegas freshmen, under the supervision of tourism-and-recreation Professor Dr. Daniel Bling, interviewed stakeholders about ideas for the central part of the island. Stakeholders then discussed the ideas during a mid-Key planning charrette. The tribe, which has sought to increase its gaming interests in the state, seized on the idea and submitted an application to town staff.

However, noted in the application was a section from town codes on permitted uses within a Planned Unit Development (PUD). A town staff member said upon close reading of that page someone apparently doctored the page and added “and casinos” to the list of permitted uses.

Two commissioners said they have received emails from constituents who wrote that they thought, if monitored properly, a casino would help rekindle Longboat Key’s flagging tourism. Another commissioner cited the vital funds that casinos could add to town coffers.

An Islander Club resident expressed strong opposition to the application, telling commissioners in his letter the casino “would do nothing but attract riff-raff people from the mainland and cause endless traffic jams.” The letter writer said “parking would be a nightmare.”

The application suggests the Calusas are in discussions with Publix Super Markets to build a two-story parking garage and would offer its casino patrons free shuttle service to and from the casino boat.

Casino developers made several concessions that they said would benefit the town: They agreed that the boat’s flashing lights would have low-wattage bulbs to avoid disorienting nesting turtles and to create a vegetation buffer between the boats and a sea grape area that helps to shield lights from sea turtles.

Some Islander Club residents told the Longboat Observer that the plan was a win for the condominium and promised to hold a “Welcome Back Snowbirds Casino Night” if approved. However, a group of residents has formed the Islander Club Property Owners Coalition (ICPOC) and plan to file a petition for a writ of certiorari in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court.