Proposed overlay: End of discussion?

The 55-foot elephant won't be in commission chambers at this week's Longboat Key Town Commission special meeting. That's because on June 4, the commission added a Whitney Beach overlay back into proposed Comprehensive Plan amendments but struck references to height that would have allowed for structures up to 55 feet on second reading.

But, Longbeach Village residents still have concerns about the proposed overlay that they'll voice at the 2 p.m. Thursday, June 21 meeting.

Craig Walters, who, with other Village residents, developed a “Village in the Park” concept for properties included in the overlay that would be modeled after Pine Avenue on Anna Maria, made a presentation of related ideas and sketches to the commission at its June 4 meeting.

Since then, he has taken out advertisements in local newspapers about the idea and has started a website, villageinthepark.info, to promote it and to encourage the commission to delay the proposed overlay.

Walters said that he believes the overlay language is unclear and leaves room for disagreements.

“The biggest failing of the overlay, as written, is the lack of clarity,” he said. “I and some of my neighbors tried to think of words that we thought would make it better. But we thought it would be a whole lot better to start from scratch.”

Acting Village Association President Michael Drake believes that the overlay would prevent the “Village in the Park” concept from ever moving forward. He said that many residents aren't necessarily against an overlay but want something sustainable for the area.

“What we've been trying to tell the commission from the outset is, 'You're putting the cart before the horse,'” he said. “Why put it in place when you haven't gone out to find the best land use for the area? No matter where you are in the world, typically a developer goes out and determines the best use and then comes back with a plan.”

If the overlay is adopted, the seven parcels included would retain their underlying uses and zoning. But a developer would have the option of consolidating some properties with at least two of the following land-use types: residential, tourism units, commercial, office, public facility, private institutional or recreational, with no one use exceeding 80% and residential comprising no more than 30% of the total site.

During the June 4 commission meeting, Town Planner Ric Hartman compared the establishment of an overlay to pieces of a puzzle that can be moved around but can't be expanded.

Hartman told the Longboat Observer that an overlay wouldn't infringe on property owners' rights but would provide a foundation for mixed-use, which isn't currently allowed, if a developer brought forward such a proposal.

Rich Juliani, co-owner of Whitney Beach Plaza, which is the largest of the properties that would be included, said that he has been holding off on beginning plaza renovations until the commission decides whether to adopt the overlay.

“I just thought it was a good idea not to antagonize anyone by immediately starting construction,” he said.

Juliani said that establishment of an overlay wouldn't affect immediate plans for the plaza but could impact the property's development in the long term if he chose to expand it.

The commission agreed to continue the public hearing for the amendments to a special meeting after several residents worried at the June 4 meeting that the public wasn't aware that the discussion was taking place.

But the clock will be ticking at the special meeting.

The process of amending the Comp Plan began last summer with the Planning & Zoning Board making recommendations that were then sent to the commission for two hearings and then transmitted to state and local agencies for review. The state proposed the changes as an ordinance Dec. 28, which began a six-month clock for the changes.

The changes went back to P&Z, then back to the commission twice and will continue once more June 21 before the review process expires June 28.

The amendment would likely have to go through the entire transmittal and adoption process as a new amendment if not adopted by the deadline.