Forum discusses Longboat Key revitalization

Longboat Key is aging and needs to spruce up both its properties and its image — quick.

That was the consensus at a revitalization forum sponsored by the Longboat Key Revitalization Task Force and the Longboat Key Public Interest Committee Thursday night at the Longboat Key Hilton Beachfront Resort.

Mayor Jim Brown told the crowd the town is in the process of hiring a consultant to guide it in changing its codes and Comprehensive Plan and to make it easier for applicants to renovate their aging properties.

When Brown said it  will take at least a year or longer to complete the process, some people  groaned.

“I realize there are a lot of arrows coming my way tonight,” Brown said. “Government is set up to be slow that way and it’s frustrating for us that are involved. But we are responding the best way we can.”

Brown said the main reason revitalization is needed Key-wide is simple.

“If you do nothing, people will continue to come to Longboat Key,” Brown said. “But whether you can sell your $500,000 house for the same price you paid or higher is the question.”

For more information about the forum, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Jan. 31 Longboat Observer.