Moore's nets P&Z support

Moore’s Stonecrab Restaurant, 2.0: Coming soon to a Village near you — that is, at least if the recommendations and approvals keep coming.

On Tuesday, the Longboat Key Planning and Zoning Board unanimously recommended approval of requests by Moore’s co-owner Alan Moore to revert the 47-year-old restaurant property at 800 Broadway from residential back to commercial zoning and to modify the Comprehensive Plan to reflect the use.

The recommendation is key to Moore’s plan to build a new, modern version of the waterfront restaurant in the Longbeach Village that keeps its historic charm, although the Longboat Key Town Commission will have final say over both requests. The recommendations came just five days after the Zoning Board of Adjustment’s Feb. 9 decision to allow the restaurant to reduce property street setbacks to 20 feet and bay yard setbacks to zero feet.

The ZBA approvals are contingent on the commission proceeding with the planning board’s recommendations at two separate public hearings beginning next month.

Moore told the Longboat Observer he plans to file a site plan and a special-exception permit with the town in the coming weeks for the same number of seats — 185 — he currently has.

“We’re going to tear the whole building down and rebuild,” Moore said. “It’s going to be gorgeous and modern, but it won’t lose its old Florida charm.”

Moore requested the conversion of his property back to commercial at the request of potential investors Mark Caragiulo and Tom Leonard, both Sarasota restaurateurs.

Reverting the zoning is a requirement of Caragiulo’s and Leonard’s investment because, under current zoning, the restaurant could not be rebuilt if destroyed.

“They contacted us this summer and asked if we wanted to sell, and we declined,” Moore said. “But they wanted a waterfront restaurant, and we decided to partner up and make something beautiful together.”

The property has been zoned residential since 2010, when the commission agreed to a request from Moore to rezone the property to residential to refinance high-interest loans.

Land-use consultant Peter Daly and Moore presented drafts Tuesday of new restaurant sketches that show a white, modern-architecture restaurant that’s moved back 7.8 feet off the water.

Moore said he met with approximately 55 Villagers at his restaurant two months ago “and got no negative responses.” None of the 10 people in the audience Tuesday spoke against the requests.

“We’re excited for the future of Longboat Key and want to prepare for it,” Moore told the board. “Tourism is coming back strong and once the Hilton and the Colony eventually comes back, this island will be back better than ever.”

Town staff recommends approval of both requests.

“We feel waterfront restaurants are a very unique asset to the Key and we need to encourage them in every way we possibly can,” said board Chairman Al Hixon.