North end group talks erosion

The North End Coalition of Property Owners, a new group consisting of north end property owners and associations, held a forum Thursday night at at the Longboat Key Center for the Arts, a Division of Ringling College of Art that focused on beach erosion that threatens Gulf-front properties.

More than 80 people in attendance heard Town Manager Dave Bullock and District 5 Commissioner Pat Zunz discuss the town's decision to move forward with placing sand in the area of North Shore Road as soon as this summer to protect a Longbeach condominium building that's not protected by a seawall and is facing severe erosion. 

"We have our work cut out for us and if you live at Longbeach you're seeing things you haven't seen before," Bullock said. "The town will pump some sand in here to protect this building as soon as we can. The north end beach is our main priority right now."

Canal dredging, a town center concept, north end redevelopment and traffic issues were also topics of discussion. 

The group formed last year to start a dialogue for several north end topics, which also include Whitney Beach Plaza, a north end revitalization plan, cellular service and a better collaboration with The Longboat Key Center for the Arts.

For more information, pick up a copy of next week’s Longboat Observer.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].