Longboat Key Town Commission candidate profile: Larry Grossman, District 4

What are changes you would like to see to the town’s policy on beach renourishment?

Instead of alternating between periods of stuffing our beaches with sand or of beach starvation, the town should look into continuous feedings of sand from sand lost to the inlets. I am very aware of the importance of a well-managed beach to successful survival of loggerhead turtles during the six-month nesting season. 

What are your thoughts on a terminal groin at the north tip of the island?

I would support a long jetty at the northern tip of the island.

What should the town do to help alleviate traffic issues?

I have advocated that the neighboring cities and counties adopt traffic demand management plans as part of their comprehensive plans and land development regulations. Developers can vest large amounts of new development and then submit plans for transportation. 

I would require that both the development plan and traffic mitigation plan be submitted together as a condition of approval and vesting. Issuance of a development order would require an ongoing program to mitigate traffic impacts and encourage and finance alternatives to use of private, low occupancy vehicles. Use of buses, jitneys, car sharing, water taxis, bicycle routes and autonomous vehicles would all be employed to reduce traffic and parking demand affecting the islands. Before the MPO, I suggested these schemes be considered in the study.

 I would also seek to amend the town’s comprehensive plan and land development regulations to implement traffic demand management requirements on new development such as a redeveloped Colony project.

What are some other issues on Gulf of Mexico Drive you want tåhe state to address?

I would ask the state for more pedestrian crosswalks, particularly across the street from the Zota Hotel connected to an existing public beach access walkway now being improved by the developer. I would also ask FDOT to consider analyzing intersections up and down Gulf of Mexico Drive and to construct two roundabouts at Broadway and at Longboat Key Drive as attractive entranceways and as measures to slow and continuously move traffic. 

Do you think the town should allow the opportunity for mixed-use redevelopment on nonconforming properties? 

Nonconforming properties are different, and many of these sites may be built out and too small or infeasible for redevelopment for higher mixed-use densities. Mixed-use development requires large sites. The town needs to identify which sites are suitable or desirable for redevelopment. I am concerned that the notion of opportunity PUD land use categories applied to nonconforming sites implies that all these sites are suitable for redevelopment.

Should developers have the option to build above eight stories with more strict open space, setback or other regulations? 

Height is only one zoning parameter and should not be isolated from other building factors such a building bulk and site coverage. There really isn’t anything attractive about building tall rectangular boxes surrounded by parking and open space. The Aria is four stories above parking and very attractively fits into the landscape and does not overwhelm the site. There is just no magic height that is appropriate for every site. The commission needs to allow flexibility in heights but with a public purpose and objective in mind. 

Do you feel the current proposal for the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort redevelopment is compatible with Longboat Key? 

I don’t like the design and not adding to the quality of development as distinct from downtown Sarasota. I’m not convinced that residential should be added to the site that has traditionally been a tourist use.

How would you describe your vision of what Longboat Key should look like in 15 years? 

The general theme for Longboat Key in 15 years is modernization with undergrounding of utilities, streetscaping along GMD, redesigned intersections, two roundabouts at either end, a redeveloped Whitney Plaza with adjacent properties to the north, a Town Center anchored by government offices and a cultural and information resource center walkable and connected as a place to go for residents and visitors, a redeveloped Colony site and rehabilitation of older properties reskinned with more modern design and amenities. All this can happen without changing the character of LBK.

As the town moves to update the charter, are there any rules or language you would like to see changed?

Make members elected rather than appointed. Allow for single-member representation of districts. Two of the members could be elected at-large with the rest by district. I would also seek to eliminate the referendum by density provision once the island has an updated comprehensive plan and land development regulations.

What are three main priorities you would undertake as a town policymaker?

1) Outreach and more citizen participation and engagement.

2) More transparency.

3) A strong comprehensive plan and sensible and fair land development regulations to manage growth, ensure the preservation and enhancement of our natural resources, and to further enhance the beauty of the built environment, fiscal soundness, balance of residential with tourism and supporting commercial and service facilities, traffic management and travel mode options, a sense of one community with diverse neighborhoods, housing and lifestyle choices, and an attractive Town Center.

Why do you think you are the best candidate?

I believe that my level of civic engagement and my background as a city planner will make me a capable and effective representative in dealing with the planning and traffic issues affecting LBK, and I hope the electorate will give me the opportunity to demonstrate these skills and commitment as a LBK commissioner.