Mar Vista project will be reviewed again

More than 40 Longbeach Village residents packed Town Hall for the Longboat Key Town Commission’s 1 p.m. Monday, May 20 regular workshop to request the town reconsider a Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant & Pub site plan amendment and special exception approval.

It turns out they didn’t need to ask.

At the start of the workshop, Mayor Jim Brown announced that Mar Vista owner Ed Chiles has requested a re-hearing and the project will be reviewed again at a later date.

The news didn’t stop a large portion of the audience to rise to the podium to denounce the project. Some residents even suggested the hearing shouldn’t be held again until October when more Village residents will be back in town.

What commissioners approved on May 6 increases restaurant seats by 11 spots with a second story waterfront dining addition and adds a meeting room and a small deck in an adjacent historic house that could be used for private parties.

Currently, the restaurant at 760 Broadway has 169 indoor and outdoor seats. The recent approval allows the restaurant to increase its seat total to 180 seats with the addition of a second story that offers views of Sarasota Bay.

The major difference in the application, though, involves an old house, dubbed the Jordan House, which sits behind the restaurant closer to Broadway. The old house is currently used for storage and Mar Vista owner Ed Chiles is looking to utilize it for patrons.

Village residents have expressed concern with the approval and are worried that the restaurant’s total maximum occupancy capacity (either sitting or standing) now reaches 331 total possible patrons.

Chiles, though, said the 331 number is one he will never come close to exceeding. Chiles said he would never put more than 60 people in the meeting space and if the restaurant is full in season, he has no intention of scheduling gatherings in the meeting room at the same time.

For more information on today’s workshop, pick up a copy of Thursday’s May 23 Longboat Observer.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].