Publix receives P&Z recommendations

It took nearly six hours for Publix Super Markets Inc. to reach checkout time at the Dec. 13 Longboat Key Planning & Zoning Board meeting, but the Lakeland-based supermarket chain ultimately got each item on its shopping list.

The P&Z Board voted to recommend a site plan and three outline development plans (ODPs) with amended departures for plans for the site owned by Publix, along with two adjacent parcels currently owned by Bay Isles Enclave Acquisition LLC and W. Howard Rooks, which Publix is under contract to purchase.

The site plan and ODPs will move forward to the Longboat Key Town Commission for approval with P&Z recommendations.

Publix agent Michael Leeds, of RMC Development Services, spoke about the plan, which he said was the product of more than two years of working with town staff. He listed the special features that the rebuilt supermarket will have such as in-house foods prepared by chefs, a salad bar, food court with outdoor seating and enhanced wine-and-cheese offerings.

“This is truly going to be a unique store and a special store,” he said.

But board members had questions about the plan, particularly when it came to parking, traffic and landscaping issues.

P&Z Board Chairwoman B.J. Webb asked Joel Freedman, of Freedman Consulting & Development LLC, about the amount of parking proposed for the site — 407 off-street spaces compared to the 247 required by town code.

“I don’t think you’re going to see a population explosion by Longboat Key, so I’m surprised by the increase,” she said.

But Freedman said that Publix had already reduced the five spaces per 1,000 square feet of retail space it typically requires to 4.2 and said that the shopping center would offer a new shopping experience that would entice shoppers to linger.

“Think about where you know of a Publix that has an outdoor café,” he said. “People are going to stay there. This is going to be a great place to hang out.”

Publix agreed to amend its request for a departure in town code from the parking setback adjacent to Bay Isles Parkway, removing its request for a departure between Gulf of Mexico Drive and the first property entrance after hearing concerns that it would reduce the landscape buffer along the roadway.

Attorney Michael Furen, who represents the Bay Isles Master Association, said that his client supports a redeveloped Publix but had concerns about the visual impacts of the plan. He asked that as a condition of approval, the board recommend requiring a landscape maintenance bond to ensure that Publix maintains its landscape buffer. Board members rejected that request, pointing to a new town zoning code that requires the replacement of landscaping if damaged.

Board members also worried about potential hazards in a proposed travel corridor that would run through the center of the parking lot with two lanes and angled parking that would result in cars backing into incoming traffic.

“As a board, I think we should go on record as saying we’re opposed to this,” board member Leonard Garner said.

Leeds agreed to address traffic concerns further with Publix officials but said that he could not agree to changes without further discussions.

The site plan will require one commission meeting and public hearing, while each of the ODPs will require two commission meetings and public hearings. Publix proposes closing its existing store next April, demolishing it in May and re-opening before Christmas of 2012.

Glass is half full?
Michael Leeds, of RMC Development Services, told the Planning & Zoning Board that the most common question he gets about the Longboat Key Publix is this:

“Will it have a liquor store?”

Leeds couldn’t give a definite answer at the Dec. 13 P&Z meeting, but he said that a liquor store would most likely be somewhere in the shopping center, although he didn’t say if it would be a Publix liquor store. A liquor store inside the supermarket would not be possible due to state laws, Leeds said.