ULI Update: Making progress

The Urban Land Institute’s report isn’t sitting on a shelf.

Planning, Zoning and Building Director Alaina Ray took to the podium March 23 to update the Longboat Key Town Commission at its regular workshop about the progress of ULI projects that are in the works.

“We’ve accomplished a lot,” said Mayor Jack Duncan. “It’s good to remind people the ULI process is showing some real success. We have a lot of projects that are going to start popping up real soon.”

Pedestrian crossings
The Florida Department of Transportation design process for crosswalks at the following locations is underway. Construction is expected to begin at the end of the year.
• Longboat Club Road (Country Club Shores beach access area);
• North of The Diplomat;
• South of the Centre Shops, 5350 GMD;
• North of the Centre Shops near Companion Way;
The town is also applying for a grant that would help with costs of filling in a Gulf of Mexico Drive sidewalk gap from Broadway to the Longboat Pass Bridge through the Metropolitan Planning Organization. The town submitted its application in February 2014, and if the project is approved soon, funding could be available in 2019.

Town gateways
The town hired a consultant who presented concepts to the commission March 23 for roundabouts at Broadway and Longboat Club Road on Gulf of Mexico Drive. Town staff has received direction to talk to FDOT about the roundabouts, which the consultant believes will be approved. “The roundabouts create an opportunity for entry features, with public art fountains, landscaping and pedestrian accessibility,” Ray said.

Gulf of Mexico Drive
The town is studying the undergrounding of overhead utilities, and a funding-method analysis is under way. A referendum is tentatively planned for November to ask taxpayers whether they want underground utilities.

Town Center
The town purchased 2.81 acres of land for a future town center two years ago and will present concept designs for public input later this month. Two town center steering committee meetings were held in March. A market analysis for a town center was completed and land development revisions for an overlay district take place in the fall. The town is also pursuing potential interest from a local educational institution for a cultural center partnership.

Bayfront Park
Commissioners approved a final concept plan for the park, but Town Manager Dave Bullock is working to bring down the $3.9 million cost before presenting a revised plan to commissioners in April.

Code revisions
The town completed an outline development plan ordinance and adopted a personal wireless services ordinance that bans cell towers on the island. Town staff is also working to get approval for a nonconforming properties revision, and new tourism use categories will be presented to the Planning and Zoning Board soon. All of the code rewrites should be complete in fiscal year 2016-17.

Digital communications
The town adopted a telecommunications ordinance and is exploring an option for a fiber optic network that could be installed along Gulf of Mexico Drive as part of an undergrounding project.  

Whitney Beach Plaza
Town staff is looking at opportunities where the comp plan and land development codes could encourage and incentivize redevelopment in the area. The planning board will see potential redevelopment scenarios at a later date.

Rental code
The commission opted not to make changes to the town’s 30-day rental ordinance. The town’s code enforcement officer created a brochure to educate residents about single-family home rental requirements.
 

No regular workshop
The town called it a “regular workshop.” But the March 23 regular workshop wasn’t exactly a regular workshop.
The workshop started at 1 p.m. and wrapped up just past 7:30 p.m.

Commissioners and staff got so tired at one point that Planning, Zoning and Building Director Alaina Ray said, “Good afternoon, commissioners…I mean… good evening commissioners.”

Town staff placed a Publix sub order for commissioners at 6:30 p.m. with seven items left to discuss on a 19-item agenda.
Commissioners wrestled with a 911 emergency dispatch system discussion for more than two hours, then discussed roundabouts and a wastewater pipe at length.

Commissioner Pat Zunz asked for smaller future agendas.

“I request in the future if we have such a full agenda, we don’t attempt to do it all in one day,” she said. “It’s not fair to us, to the issues and the people who come here.”

The commission directed Town Manager Dave Bullock to inform commissioners if future agendas will be lengthy so they can split the agendas up or hold specific meetings for lengthy items.

“Meeting adjourned,” Mayor Jack Duncan said at the end of the meeting. “Don’t forget to take your sandwiches home. Or eat them here if you’re too hungry to wait.”
 

Day drinking on Sundays begins in May
It’s still illegal to buy a drink at Longboat Key restaurants or in stores from 7 a.m. to noon Sundays, and that’s not going to change until after season is over.

But the Longboat Key Town Commission unanimously agreed to modify an ordinance on the books to repeal the restriction at it March 23 workshop. The change will come back to the commission on first reading at its April 6 regular meeting, and in May, the commission can approve the modification on second reading.

The city of Sarasota and Sarasota County did away with a similar ordinance last year.