Key Club likely to appeal writ ruling

The Longboat Key Club and Resort will appeal Judge Charles E. Roberts’ ruling that granted the Islandside Property Owners Coalition (IPOC) and the L’Ambiance and Sanctuary condominium associations a writ of certiorari, according to a Jan. 5 email to the Longboat Key Town Commission from Town Attorney David Persson, and Persson recommends that the town appeal as well.

Key Club Associates attorney John Patterson confirmed Friday morning that the resort would likely take the case to the Second District Court of Appeals in Lakeland.

According to Persson’s email, the judge “appears to find that the Zoning Code for the Town is unambiguous and does not require interpretation.”

Persson wrote: “…it is difficult to determine why the code as currently constructed is not ambiguous, if for no other reason, as there are many reasonable interpretations arising out of the same provisions of the same Code. Thus the Town staff’s determinations should be granted deference unless clearly erroneous.”

Persson also cited the ongoing Colony Beach & Tennis Resort case, in which U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday overturned key rulings by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge K. Rodney May, as an example of out dramatically a second court’s review can change the determinations of a first court of review. The email states that an appeal leaves open the possibility of a settlement between the parties.

“There is nothing in the Judge’s Order that cannot be achieved by the Town legally and properly grant the Development Order. The Judge did not fault the Development Order, just the language of the Town’s existing Code to grant it. In fact, the Order provides a road map to achieve lawful approval of the Development Order should Key Club and the Town so choose,” Persson wrote.

Persson will ask the commission for permission to file an appeal in the event that the Key Club appeals at its Jan. 9 regular meeting. The Key Club would continue to reimburse the town for legal expenses in the event of an appeal.

For more information, pick up a Jan. 12 copy of the Longboat Observer.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].