P&Z sounds off on Cedars' outdoor dining request

Town staff recommended that the Longboat Key Planning & Zoning Board approve Cedars Tennis Resort owner Randy Langley’s request to move 38 of the resort snack bar’s 58 seats outdoors.

The P&Z Board approved the recommendation, but removed a single sentence from the 20 conditions of the special-exception use, which stated:

“No music or amplified voices shall be allowed in the outdoor dining area or in any other outdoor location on the Cedars Tennis Club property.”

The board left in place the following sentence:

“Noise shall not be audible more than 50 feet from the property boundary and shall otherwise be in accordance with Section 130.02, Loud and Unnecessary Noise, of the Town Code, as may be amended.”

Langley told the board that he is trying to re-brand the facility, which was previously known as Cedars Tennis & Fitness Club, as Cedars Tennis Resort. He said that outdoor music by the swimming pool would help him to create a “resort-style atmosphere.”

Some board members said that the condition amounted to a prohibition on music. But the staff report stated that the town has received complaints about outdoor music at the resort.

But P&Z Board Chairwoman B.J. Webb pointed out that during a resort tennis tournament, the tennis announcer’s voice would be considered one of the “amplified voices” prohibited by the condition.

The board approved Langley’s request as recommended by staff with the single sentence removed. As the result of the approval, Langley can move a maximum 24 seats from the indoor snack bar to six tables located outdoors underneath an overhang that are currently used for casual seating, along with another 14 seats to the bar area at the existing pool cabana. The total number of dining seats will remain at 58.